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TAKE CARE TAHOE PROMOTES USE OF SLED CORRALS TO REDUCE PLASTIC WASTE AT POPULAR SLED HILLS

March 24, 2023 by Caroline Waldman

With this winter’s seemingly endless snowfall, Tahoe’s sled hills have been packed with families every weekend. After a day of fun, these locations can become blanketed in broken plastic sleds and other discarded trash, creating an excess of waste on the hills and a hazard to other sledders. Take Care Tahoe and its partner organizations have set up sled corrals to help manage this issue at five of the most popular sites for sledding in the Tahoe region. 

“Cheap plastic sleds lead to an enormous amount of trash because they break easily and are difficult to clean up,” explained Marilee Movius, Senior Community Engagement Manager, League to Save Lake Tahoe. “Not only are the sharp shards of plastic sleds dangerous for other sledders, they begin to break down into microplastics that will eventually end up in the lake.”

Take Care Tahoe encourages all users to practice Slediquette – this means properly disposing of broken sleds in designated sled corrals, or using dumpsters, sealed trash cans or simply taking trash home with them if other disposal options aren’t available. Each sled corral is a small, fenced off area made for collecting broken pieces of sleds. These corrals are located at Spooner Summit, Van Sickle Bi-State Park at Stateline, Fallen Leaf Lake Road and Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake, and Truckee. Take Care Tahoe Volunteers, including members of the League’s Tahoe Blue Crews, work throughout the winter to remove sleds and other trash from these areas.

On Saturday, March 25 from 9am – 2pm, community members and visitors are invited to showcase their Slediquette by taking part in a cleanup event at the Spooner Summit sled hill. More information and a link to register can be found at keeptahoeblue.org/events.

Collecting the trash from broken sleds in one, centralized place makes it easier to clean up, but it doesn’t solve the problem of producing more trash in the first place. The most environmentally friendly option is to buy a more durable sled, ideally made out of wood or metal that will last for multiple seasons. Local Raley’s stores in Tahoe provide more durable options. 

“Raley’s is proud to partner with Tahoe Fund and Take Care to reduce the trash that comes from plastic sleds. Keeping Tahoe clean and safe is our priority. In stores, we expanded our offerings to include more durable, eco-friendly and long-lasting sleds. This is both better for the environment and a better investment for our customers,” said Chelsea Minor, Raley’s Executive Director, Community Impact & Public Affairs. 

In addition to bringing home everything you bring on your outdoor adventure, as another element of practicing good Slediquette, recreators are strongly encouraged to choose official sledding hills instead of pulling off the side of the road to find their small hill fun. At official sledding hills, vendors offer sled rentals, parking and restrooms, and are required to keep their hills litter-free. At unofficial hills, the combination of unmanaged, off-highway parking and nearby traffic can put sledders in danger.

Sledding is one of the highlights of the winter season in Tahoe. It is an activity that everyone can enjoy, regardless of age, skill level, or previous experience in the snow. However, it is important that everyone does their part to clean up after themselves to help protect the natural environment and keep our sled hills safe and trash-free.

For more information about practicing Slediquette, where to rent or buy metal and wooden sleds, and the locations of managed sledding hills around Lake Tahoe, visit takecaretahoe.org/sleds.

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Filed Under: News

Tahoe Trails Madness

March 14, 2023 by Caroline Waldman

Over the last few weeks the Tahoe Fund has been running a March Madness style tournament to determine the most popular trail in Tahoe. This March was the snowiest on record, meaning it’s still not hiking season, but March is always bracket season!

Congratulations to the 2023 Tahoe Trails Madness Champion: the Rubicon Trail! The Rubicon entered this tournament as one of the favorites, known for its great lake views, accessibility, and recognizable name.

The champ went up against tough competition in the tournament, facing Ellis Peak in the first round and Mt. Tallac in the second. In the Final Four, Rubicon easily topped Eagle Rock and the Marlette Flume Trail to bring home the title. 

Thanks to everyone who voted over the last three weeks; we received thousands of votes both online and on Instagram. Now that the tournament is over, we just need to wait for our trails to melt out. See you all on the Rubicon Trail this summer!

Check out this map to see the locations of the top 16 trails and the breakdown by region.

Filed Under: News

New Legislation Protects Critical Funding Source for Lake Tahoe

March 7, 2023 by Caroline Waldman

Last week, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto introduced new bipartisan legislation to extend the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, an essential source of federal funding to improve Lake Tahoe’s environment. She is joined by California and Nevada congressional leaders Sens. Feinstein, Padilla and Rosen, along with Reps. Amodei, Garamendi, Titus, Lee and Horsford. 

The current Lake Tahoe Restoration Act is set to expire in 2024, spelling the end of hundreds of millions of federal dollars for Tahoe’s Environmental Improvement Program. Originally passed in 2000 and then again in 2016, this legislation has helped to fund projects that improve forest health, lake clarity, fight invasive species and protect habitat. 

“The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act is an absolutely critical source of funding for Tahoe’s environmental improvement projects,” said Caitlin Meyer, Tahoe Fund Chief Program Officer. “We are so grateful to our congressional leaders for championing this important legislation to continue a decades-long legacy of caring for our national treasure together.”

Learn More

Photo by Hannah Pence

Filed Under: News

Agencies Release First-Ever Trails Strategy for Entire Tahoe Region

March 3, 2023 by Caroline Waldman

Buried beneath an ever-growing blanket of snow lies 585 miles of official trails in the Lake Tahoe Basin. For the first time ever, a coalition of Tahoe partners have developed a Tahoe Regional Trails Strategy to take a basin-wide perspective to trail planning and building. The strategy serves as a blueprint for a connected and accessible dirt trail network for Tahoe. 

“Nearly 90% of the land in the Tahoe Basin is owned and managed by public agencies like the USDA Forest Service, State Parks, and state land conservancies,” said Kira Smith, Senior Planner with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). “This leads to a complex planning environment with differing priorities. The Regional Trails Strategy aligns all of these partners and incorporates extensive public feedback to help guide the future of Tahoe’s trails.”

TRPA has been leading the strategy in conjunction with the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association, Tahoe Fund, Tahoe Rim Trail Association, California State Parks, Nevada State Parks, California Tahoe Conservancy, and Achieve Tahoe. They’ve also incorporated input from 30 partners and received nearly 1000 responses to a survey in English and Spanish about the needs of trail users.

“For years the Tahoe Fund has received independent funding requests for different trail building and maintenance projects throughout the Basin,” explained Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund CEO. “With this new trails strategy in place, we now have a regional perspective that allows us to prioritize our projects, helping to build a more sustainable and accessible trail network in Tahoe.”

The Tahoe Regional Trails Strategy outlines a vision, preliminary priorities over the next 15 years, and strategies for implementation, but leaves details of implementation of any singular project to the land manager and trail steward. As such, the trail alignments shown in the strategy are conceptual.

The team crafted the strategy with the goals of having trails be environmentally sustainable, equitable, connected, enjoyable, and feasible. The strategy is a living document and acknowledges that priority projects could change over time and will require regular evaluation.

“The increased demand for a variety of uses on these trails, including hiking, mountain biking, dirt biking, and horseback riding, means that it’s a critical time for everyone to be working together to ensure that all users can enjoy their public lands,” said Drew Bray, Executive Director of the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association. 

Until now, there has not been a collaborative priority list of dirt trail projects for the region. With the completion of this strategy, the five-year priority list of projects will be adopted into the Environmental Improvement Program (EIP), which has invested $2.7 billion into regional water quality, forest health, transportation and stewardship projects since 1997. 

“Folding this strategy into the EIP, which has a proven track record of success, will allow the partners to set annual priorities and leverage funding for these trails,” said Mike Gabor, Forest Engineering Staff Officer. “This plan assists the Forest Service in long range planning with other agencies and partners by capturing new trail interest and resource needs informing decisions for future opportunities.”

The partners encourage the public to provide feedback on the draft strategy through March 31. There will also be a virtual public webinar on March 21 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. PST on Zoom. The webinar will include an overview of the strategy’s planning process and a look at the biggest trail priorities for the next five years. Public feedback and questions will be available through the chat function during the webinar. 

To register for the webinar, view the draft strategy, or share feedback about the Tahoe Regional Trails Strategy, visit the project website at tahoetrailsplan.org.

View the Strategy

Filed Under: News

TAHOE FUND RECEIVES $187,000 IN DOLLAR DONATIONS FROM GUESTS OF VAIL RESORTS

February 15, 2023 by Caroline Waldman

Funds raised will support environmental improvement projects in the Tahoe Basin

Guests of Northstar, Heavenly and Kirkwood are making sure that their time on the slopes is positively impacting the environment through Vail Resort’s EpicPromise Guest Donation Program. By donating a dollar when purchasing online lift tickets, season passes, lodging and rounds of golf over the past twelve months, guests at these Vail Resorts locations have raised more than $187,000 for the Tahoe Fund to support environmental improvement projects.

“We are thrilled to see how much our guests care about giving back to Tahoe,” said Tom Fortune, VP and COO of Heavenly Mountain Resort and the Tahoe Region. “Through these dollar donations and our EpicPromise program, our guests make it easy for us to support the Tahoe Fund’s work to improve the Lake Tahoe environment for all to enjoy.” 

The Tahoe Fund received a check from leadership and staff at Northstar in January 2023. 

The Tahoe Fund supports environmental improvement projects that restore lake clarity, expand sustainable recreation, promote healthier forests, improve transportation and inspire greater stewardship of the region. Since its inception in 2010, the organization has funded over 80 environmental improvement projects. 

Over the past decade, Kirkwood Ski Resort, Heavenly Mountain Resort and Vail Resorts EpicPromise have contributed over $927,000 to the Tahoe Fund. Dollar donations from Vail Resorts guests have supported projects like the Lily Lake Trail, a 2.1-mile multi-use trail on Angora Ridge; the 72-mile scuba cleanup of Lake Tahoe’s entire shoreline; and the restoration of the 206-acre Johnson Meadow in South Lake Tahoe. In the coming months, Kirkwood, Heavenly and the Tahoe Fund team will determine which upcoming projects this round of funding will support. 

“We are beyond grateful for the guests at Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood resorts,” said Cory Ritchie, chair of the Tahoe Fund Board of Directors. “Their generosity and the continued support of Vail Resorts makes it possible for us to preserve this mountain treasure for future generations.” 

Learn more about the Tahoe Fund and its current and completed projects at www.tahoefund.org.

Photos by Katey Hamill/Northstar California Resort

Filed Under: News

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