When Charles Jennings moved to Elk Point four years ago, he noticed thick green and brown plants dominating the bottom of the marina. The plants were knocked back last fall but could possibly return. A new, innovative bubble curtain installed across the marina entrance earlier this month is making the possibility of another weed infestation less likely.

The Tahoe Resource Conservation District and Marine Taxonomic Services made the initial treatment in the marina last year by installing underwater mats called bottom barriers, which starve the invasive weeds of sunlight. But the initial treatment does not guarantee the plants won’t return.

“The main goal of the Elk Point Marina bubble curtain is to keep aquatic invasive species plant fragments from entering the marina where they could establish new plant infestations, and to collect and dispose of the plant fragments,” said Charles Jennings, vice president of the Elk Point Country Club Homeowners Association.

The homeowners association, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), the Tahoe Fund, and the League to Save Lake Tahoe partnered to fund a bubble curtain across the marina entrance to keep invasive plant fragments from reestablishing in the marina. Perforated air hose lines on the bottom of the channel create walls of bubbles that help slow plant fragments from entering the treated area. Unlike the bubble curtains in the channels of the Tahoe Keys, this bubble curtain works in reverse, to keep plant fragments out, rather than in.

“We are excited to partner on this innovative new use of a bubble curtain to keep aquatic invasive plants out of the marina,” said Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund CEO. “Aquatic invasive species are one of the great challenges the lake faces, and it is going to take all of us working together on new solutions.”

Aquatic invasive weeds such as Eurasian watermilfoil are not native to Tahoe and without a natural check to their growth, the weeds quickly colonize and outcompete native species. Watercraft can spread aquatic weeds around the lake from fragments tangled on their propellers and anchors, resulting in new infestations that are expensive and difficult to treat.

“It’s a constant battle to control and treat aquatic weeds,” said Dennis Zabaglo, TRPA aquatic resources program manager. “Fortunately, we collaborate with many public and private partner organizations like Elk Point Country Club to implement the best emerging technologies to protect the lake.”

The addition of the bubble curtain at Elk Point is an example of the technology’s multiple uses to protect and restore Lake Tahoe. The jointly funded bubble curtain is a way to protect collaborative investments in past successful AIS treatments.

“Our three years of experience with the bubble curtain pilot program in the Tahoe Keys have proven this innovative technology is an important ingredient in tackling the most dire ecological threat to Lake Tahoe,” said Jesse Patterson, chief strategy officer for the League to Save Lake Tahoe. “We’re proud to build on that success by working with the folks at Elk Point, TRPA and the Tahoe Fund to put aquatic invasive species in check and Keep Tahoe Blue.”

The multi-agency Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species action agenda calls for continuation of the comprehensive watercraft inspection program to protect the lakes of the region from new AIS, and a control program to tackle invasives that were introduced before watercraft inspections began in 2008. Since the start of mandatory inspections at Tahoe, no new AIS have been detected in the basin.

Created as a resource, TahoePublicBeaches.org guides visitors and locals to over 40 public beaches in the Tahoe Basin

Ahead of Memorial Day weekend and the start of the summer season, the Tahoe Fund and eight agencies that manage Lake Tahoe’s public beaches have updated tahoepublicbeaches.org. Designed as a resource to guide visitors and locals to over 40 beaches that surround the iconic shores of Lake Tahoe, the site offers details about frequented hotspots to little known hidden gems. Users will find information about how to get to each beach, where to park, hours of operation, and what amenities and services are offered if any.

“Because travel and outdoor recreation have changed over the past year, this type of tool–offering a one-stop-shop for information has become more important than ever,” said Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund CEO. “As people seek refuge in the outdoors and land managers work to meet the challenges of rapidly increasing visitation to the Tahoe Basin, TahoePublicBeaches.org is a great resource to help educate people about the 40+ beaches that surround the lake.”

A collaborative effort, the site was developed by the Tahoe Fund and co-funded by the California Tahoe Conservancy through the Lake Tahoe License Plate Program. Eight public agencies assisted with the project to create one central place for beachgoers to find public beach information. The partners include: California Tahoe Conservancy, California State Parks, City of South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe City Public Utility District, North Tahoe Public Utility District, Nevada Division of State Parks, the U.S. Forest Service, and Tahoe Transportation District.

In addition to information about each beach, the facilities available and how to get there, TahoePublicBeaches.org offers information about the Lake Tahoe Water Trail, convenient transportation options, and how people can do their part to help take care of Lake Tahoe. Website visitors can also find information including details such as which are the dog friendly beaches, where to BBQ, rent paddleboards, boats or find shade.

Visitors and Lake Tahoe area residents are encouraged to bookmark the mobile-friendly website and use it to plan their next trip to one of Tahoe’s public beaches. Learn more at tahoepublicbeaches.org.

Homewood Resort’s Marina is home to the first on-the-water electric boat charging station on Lake Tahoe thanks to a partnership with the Tahoe Fund.

Following in the footsteps of the automotive industry’s transition to electric vehicles, the boating industry is moving in the same direction. Electric boat charging stations will be critical to the adoption of electric watercraft. 

“We are thrilled to help power the first of what we hope will be many electric boat charging stations on Lake Tahoe,” said Allen Biaggi, Tahoe Fund board chair. “Clean powered boats will help ensure a cleaner Lake Tahoe.” 

“We are excited to take this step into electric watersport recreation, and to be the first in Lake Tahoe to make it possible,” said Kevin Mitchell, Homewood Resort’s general manager. ”

In 2020, with the support of the Tahoe Fund, the marina installed its first on-water charger. Over the past year, the marina has been working closely with local utilities to upgrade the charging service to power two 100KW Level 3 Fast DC chargers to their harbor.

“We have been working with the Ingenity team on this project for over three years and protecting the unique natural resource of Lake Tahoe has always been our priority so installing an on-the-water EB charging stations at the Marina is 100% in alignment with our commitment,” said David Topol, director of the Homewood Resort’s Marina. “It’s exciting to see this project come to life and provide an electric boat experience at our location this summer. We look forward to sharing this with everyone.”

For more information on the electric boat charger at Homewood Resort’s Marina, visit homewoodmarina.net.

Last month, the Tahoe Fund completed our fiscal year and the end of our 10th anniversary celebration. And what a year it was! 

We started off in the midst of a global pandemic with many uncertainties about the future of our country, our community, and our organization. We wondered what COVID-19 would mean for all of us and how it would impact our ability to continue to support environmental improvements in Tahoe. 

As we gathered with our board of directors in late March 2020, we surveyed the situation and looked to our newly finalized 5-year strategic plan for direction. We decided that regardless of what lay ahead, we would stay committed to our mission of using the power of philanthropy to improve the Lake Tahoe environment for all to enjoy. 

We agreed we would find ways to achieve the goals of our strategic plan to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration, to support innovative ideas to improve the Lake’s water clarity and quality, to make recreation more sustainable, to find innovative ways to improve transportation, and lastly to continue to help more people take care of Tahoe. 

Thanks to the wonderful support of this community, we did just that. 

Over the past 12 months, we were able to provide critical funding to 32 different environmental improvement projects around Lake Tahoe with $1 million in grants. These private funds will be used to leverage more than $4 million in public funds. 

We are so grateful to our long-term donors, our local businesses, and to the many new members in our community who have chosen to get involved in supporting our work. 

While too many to mention here, some of those projects include the expansion of the Take Care Tahoe campaign with more than 2,000 signs around the region and digital billboards on highways surrounding the Lake, a new mountain bike trail that connects Tahoe Meadows to the start of the Tyrolian Downhill, monitoring of owls through digital acoustic equipment to help reduce the environmental permitting time of forest health projects, the underwater scuba clean up of the Lake, and new ambassador programs that will roll out at high use recreation sites around the region this summer. 

Importantly, all of our projects are partnerships. We know that collaboration is the key to progress. We partnered with more than 20 agencies and organizations this past year. This does not include the 50 partners we worked with on the Take Care Tahoe program as we expanded it to include COVID-19 messaging with reminders that we all need to take care of our environment, especially in a pandemic. Together, we were able to accomplish so much more thanks to the dedication and work of our partners.

As we look back on the last year of our first decade, we can’t help but think about what comes next. If we were able to accomplish this much in our first 10 years, we know with the continued support of this great community we will be able to do even more great work into the future. 

Thank you for showing us the true power of philanthropy. 

Read the full recap below.