Looking for the perfect present for your loved one? You can give the gift of Tahoe by purchasing engraved bear or trout plaques. 

The Tahoe Fund offers personalized trout plaques on the iconic East Shore Trail and bear plaques in Heritage Plaza and along SR 28 in Tahoe City. You can also add a name to the donor wall at the start of the East Shore Trail.

East Shore Trail

On the iconic East Shore Trail, we have trout plaques available for purchase. You can also add your name to our donor wall with a contribution of $100 or more. Be sure to make your contribution before September 1, 2025 to be included on the next donor wall!

Proceeds will support the next section of the East Shore Trail, from Sand Harbor to Spooner Summit, as well as bike trails all around Lake Tahoe.

Click here to get a trout-shaped plaque – $5,000

Click here to add a name to our donor wall – $100 or more

Tahoe City

In Heritage Plaza and along SR 28 in Tahoe City, we have bear plaques available in Mama Bear and Baby Bear sizes. The plaques will hang on the fence looking out over the lake. Proceeds from the plaques will support trails in Placer County, North Lake Tahoe.

Click here to get a bear-shaped plaque – $5,000 for Mama, $2,500 for Baby

Thanks to the generosity of Tahoe Fund donors, the nonprofit reached its $200,000 fundraising goal to support the California Tahoe Conservancy’s efforts to demolish the former Motel 6 building, restaurant, and parking lot in the Upper Truckee Marsh. This is the next step in removing these developments and restoring the sensitive wetland area.

“Over the years, our donors have paved the way for significant change in Lake Tahoe,” said Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund CEO. “This time, they are helping us unpave paradise — to begin restoration planning efforts for the largest watershed in the Basin. We are thrilled to help unlock the public funding needed to take the next step in the most important restoration project in Tahoe.” 

The Motel 6 property and surrounding 31 acres were acquired in March 2024 by the California Tahoe Conservancy with funding from the Conservancy, the California Wildlife Conservation Board, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Tahoe Fund and the League to Save Lake Tahoe. 

Contributions from dozens of Tahoe Fund donors and major gifts from the Latrobe Foundation and the Robert S & Dorothy J Keyser Foundation helped the organization reach its fundraising goal for this campaign. The Conservancy is working with the Department of General Services to prepare for demolition of the former Motel 6, vacant restaurant building, and parking lot. Demolition is anticipated to begin in fall 2025.

“We are grateful to the Tahoe Fund and their donors for their support,” said Jason Vasques, Executive Director for the California Tahoe Conservancy. “Being able to combine private and public funding for important projects like this is the perfect model to advance restoration at Lake Tahoe.”

Right now, the Conservancy is seeking restoration and recreation ideas from the public to help inform the future of the Upper Truckee Marsh. Learn more at https://tahoe.ca.gov/share-your-ideas-upper-truckee-marsh-south-project/.

Strategic resort leader brings valuable experience, business acumen and passion for the Lake Tahoe environment to the Board

The Tahoe Fund welcomes Shaydar Edelmann, vice president and general manager of Heavenly Mountain Resort, to its Board of Directors. Edelmann’s resort leadership experience and deep connection to the Lake Tahoe environment will further the efforts of the organization to improve the Lake Tahoe environment for all to enjoy.

“I’m excited to welcome Shaydar to our Board of Directors. His knowledge of the region and its challenges, paired with his professional experience will be invaluable to our efforts,” said Verdi DiSesa, Tahoe Fund board chair. “As we look to the future and continue to seek out new opportunities to improve the Tahoe environment, his insights will surely be an asset to the Tahoe Fund.”

Edelmann’s career in the ski industry has spanned the past 25 years, with most of it spent in the Lake Tahoe area working for resorts including Alpine Meadows, Boreal Mountain Resort, Soda Springs and Woodward Tahoe. Edelmann has demonstrated his commitment to environmental stewardship and community engagement through various projects, including helping to establish California’s first recycled water snowmaking system. He also managed the construction and opening of Woodward Tahoe before serving as the general manager of Woodward Park City during its construction and grand opening. Edelmann joined Vail Resorts in 2020, serving as vice president of mountain operations at Park City Mountain Resort before moving back to the Tahoe area in 2024 to lead the team at Heavenly.

In addition to contributing to the Tahoe Fund board of directors, Edelmann serves on the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Council and is a member of the Ski California executive committee. In his free time, he enjoys skiing and snowboarding, golf, mountain biking, and traveling around the world to catch as many surf waves as possible.

“The Tahoe Fund has a strong track record in its efforts to improve the Tahoe environment. I look forward to working with the exceptional, dedicated staff and board, and to contributing to the organization’s efforts to ensure the Tahoe environment is both cared for and accessible for everyone to enjoy,” said Edelmann.

The Tahoe Fund is a nonprofit organization that supports environmental improvement projects that restore lake clarity, expand sustainable recreation, promote healthier forests, improve transportation and inspire greater stewardship of the region. Learn more about the Tahoe Fund and its current and completed projects at www.tahoefund.org.

The key to restoring Tahoe’s forests and preventing catastrophic wildfire is a robust and talented workforce. That’s why the Tahoe Fund is raising $50,000 to provide scholarships for more than 50 students in Lake Tahoe Community College’s (LTCC) Forestry Education & Job Placement program.  

LTCC’s Forestry Education & Job Placement Program teaches students how to assist with forest management, planning, and implementation work. For three years running, the Tahoe Fund has provided scholarships for students in the program, and recently awarded a grant to support the program administrator to ensure student success. 

“We can’t fix our forests without foresters and a robust forest health workforce, and that workforce is critically understaffed,” explained Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund. “We are hoping our community can see what we see—that these students are our future, and any support we can provide may make all the difference in their success and ours.” 

Over the next five years, forestry management occupations are projected to have more than 200 annual job openings in the greater Sacramento region alone. Approximately 76% of these jobs will be for middle- and high-skilled occupations. California community colleges like LTCC are a big part of the plan to prepare this crucial workforce of the future.

LTCC Forestry program graduates will be prepared for careers with Tahoe-based employers, including CAL FIRE, the USDA Forest Service, the California Tahoe Conservancy, the Tahoe Resource Conservation District, private forestry contractors, and other agencies that are part of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team.

Spencer Benlien, a former scholarship recipient in the Forestry program, is now attending the Rausser College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is studying Ecosystem Management and Forestry. He shared his experience in the program during LTCC’s Scholarship Awards Banquet last year. 

“I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the scholarship committee for believing in my potential and providing this opportunity for me,” said Benlien. “It is an honor I cherish, a validation of my endeavors, and a motivation to continue striving for my dreams.”