Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt hosted a Forest Ecosystem Restoration, Recreation and Tourism workshop on June 30, 1997, in Incline Village, Nev. The workshop is the second of three workshops being held by Clinton Administration officials in preparation for the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum to be hosted by President Clinton and Vice President Gore on July 25 and 26. The information gathered from the workshops will be presented in reports to President Clinton and Vice President Gore during their visit.
The workshop featured three panel discussions: Recreation and Tourism, Forest Ecosystem Restoration, and Fire Hazard Reduction in and around the Tahoe Communities. Panelists include local conservation leaders, business people, members of the academic community, and local, state and federal officials and resource specialists.
"Lake Tahoe is a national jewel and a precious natural resource," said Secretary Glickman. "Almost 80 percent of the land in the Lake Tahoe Basin is managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, and we are working to care for this land and balance its many uses. I am looking forward to meeting and hearing from the people who live, work and recreate in the Tahoe area about the many issues affecting the management of the national forests surrounding the lake."
"In the Tahoe Basin, keeping the lake and forests healthy is the key not only to maintaining a high quality of life, but to maintaining a prosperous economy, as well," said Babbitt. "I’m visiting to learn from the locals because they know this better than anyone, and they can teach us how to help. Mark Twain called Tahoe ‘the fairest sight the whole earth affords.’ Our challenge is to keep it that way."
The Water Quality Workshop hosted by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Michael Davis was held June 18. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater will host the Transportation Workshop July 19 at the University of Nevada Reno.
The ecosystem of the Lake Tahoe Basin has been dramatically altered since European settlers began to settle around the lake in the middle of the last century. Human disturbances, including introduced species, fire suppression, past overgrazing and logging, urbanization, roads, intensive recreational use, and air pollution, have affected not only the clarity of the lake, but the forest’s ability to maintain the function, diversity, and resiliency of its components.
The roots of the current problems in the ecosystem began during the Comstock Era, when the forest around Lake Tahoe was extensively clear-cut to support mining in Virginia City. The progressive deforestation between the 1860s and 1890s led to eventual replacement of many old growth, drought-and-fire resistant Jeffrey Pine trees with the moisture-demanding, fire-susceptible firs. Due to drought, lack of selective thinning, the exclusion of natural fires, and above average rainfall earlier in this century, Lake Tahoe’s forest is now characterized by over-crowded, even-aged trees and dense undergrowth.
It may never be possible to fully recreate historic conditions for many ecosystem components in the Basin, because of the existing impacts of urbanization, roads, and recreational use. The purpose of this ecosystem restoration panel is to explore existing opportunities for improving forest health, bio-diversity, wildlife and fish habitat, as well as water quality. The panel will begin with an overview of the resource condition and trends, followed by brief discussions on forest ecosystem restoration, commercial timber harvesting, and collaborative approaches to restoration. The panel discussion will also provide insights on acquisition activities, wildlife, watershed protection and public perceptions and expectations. Key background points for this discussion are summarized below.
Overstocked forests at Lake Tahoe were hard hit by prolonged drought from 1987-1994. The 25-30% tree mortality in the forest has created a dangerous fire hazard. A catastrophic fire could threaten the basin’s soil, water and wildlife habitat, as well as human lives and property. At the same time, extensive salvage operations could create water quality problems if appropriate erosion control and other management activities are not carefully implemented. To address the complicated forest health issue, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency created the Forest Health Consensus Group in 1992. The desired condition formulated by the group emphasizes habitat, scenic and watershed values of the forest, as well as fire hazard reduction. The ideal condition would be similar to that which existed prior to European settlement.
The Santini-Burton Act of December 23, 1980, authorizes and directs land acquisitions in the Lake Tahoe Basin. In passing the act, Congress declared that the environmental quality of the Lake Tahoe Basin was seriously jeopardized by over-development of sensitive lands, and that the unique character of the Lake Tahoe Basin is of national significance and deserving of further protection. To date the Forest Service has acquired for the public 3,482 parcels of land totaling 11,482 acres of land for ecosystem protection. Approximately 1,000 parcels of environmentally sensitive lands are currently eligible for Federal acquisition.
The Lake Tahoe Basin has approximately 300 miles of streams, 1600 surface acres of lakes (excluding Lake Tahoe), and 71 miles of shoreline around Lake Tahoe. The majority of these waters have been affected by the human activities of the past 130 years. Resource management agencies in the Basin have initiated numerous, integrated programs to inventory and conserve resources, restore water quality, and to reverse soil erosion. The major challenge today is to balance the desire to restore historic ecosystems with the reality of the urban impacts.
Wildlife habitat in the Lake Tahoe Basin has undergone significant transformation since the late 1870s, as a result of the Comstock logging and urbanization. Many native wildlife species no longer exist within the Basin or their density and distributions have been extensively modified. The wildlife management challenge is twofold: To determine how much of the Basin is still suitable for indigenous species and whether it’s practical to try to re-establish those species which have disappeared. Today, more than 260 different species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish can be found at various times of the year in the Tahoe Region. Urban wildlife issues commonly include bear and coyote intrusions into neighborhoods, beaver damage to recreational facilities, maintaining habitat for bald eagles, osprey and goshawk, and ski area impacts on American Martins.
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Last updated: July 3, 1997