Blog - Tahoe Fund

TAMBA AND THE TAHOE FUND OFFICIALLY OPEN THE UPPER TYROLIAN TRAIL

October 18, 2022 by Caroline Waldman

Old logging roads above Incline Village, NV transformed into a new singletrack trail designed by freeride mountain bike athlete Cam Zink’s trail building nonprofit

The Upper Tyrolian Trail, North Lake Tahoe’s newest singletrack mountain bike trail featuring berms, jumps and other interesting natural features is now open above Incline Village, Nevada. The project was spearheaded by the Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association (TAMBA) with a $60,000 grant from the Tahoe Fund. Its completion was celebrated today by the volunteers, supporters and donors who made it possible.

Together with the U.S. Forest Service and Sensus R.A.D. Trails, a trail building nonprofit by local freeride mountain bike athlete Cam Zink, TAMBA converted old logging roads into nearly two miles of sustainable singletrack trail that connects Tahoe Meadows off Mount Rose Highway to the existing Tyrolian Downhill Trail. The new upper section of the trail provides an official start trailhead with improved signage, and was designed to reduce mountain bike traffic on the Tahoe Rim Trail.

TAMBA crew places the final sign on the new Upper Tyrolian Trail

“This trail project was a long time coming, and we’re thrilled to be officially turning it over to the public to enjoy,” said Patrick Parsel, TAMBA trails director. “Building sustainable trails in the Tahoe Basin is our priority, and we couldn’t do it without the support of partners like the Tahoe Fund and the U.S. Forest Service.”

The first part of the Upper Tyrolian Trail was built as a flowy singletrack trail that incorporates natural features to enhance the rider experience. After 0.75 miles, the trail transitions to one with professionally designed and built rollovers, tabletops, step-ups, step-downs and triple-option jumps that provide a unique and challenging experience for riders to practice and build their skills.

The second element of the project was to decommission miles of eroded logging roads in the area where the Upper Tyrolian Trail begins. These dirt roads were used extensively by logging operations and were not designed to manage stormwater. Decommissioning included scarifying compacted areas, naturalizing the soil surface with pine duff, and incorporating erosion control features to reduce sediment runoff into creeks that flow into Lake Tahoe.

“TAMBA’s commitment to building trails that provide sustainable recreation throughout Tahoe are unparalleled, and partnering with them to complete this trail aligned perfectly with the Tahoe Fund’s mission,” said Caroline Waldman, sustainable recreation program director for the Tahoe Fund. “We’re proud to have contributed to this effort.”

Learn more about the Upper Tyrolian Trail project here.

As Mosquito Fire Burns, Forest Health Partners Deploy New Technology to Help Reduce Wildfire Threats Across 1.5M acres in the Tahoe Region

September 22, 2022 by Caroline Waldman

Land Tender™ uses high resolution imaging and artificial intelligence to modernize planning for forest health treatments

As the Mosquito fire burns, and one year after the Caldor fire burned into the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Tahoe Fund and Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation announced the deployment of Land Tender™, a powerful new software tool developed by Vibrant Planet, that will allow land managers to collaboratively address wildfire threats and plan forest health and restoration treatments. Land Tender will be used in the Tahoe Basin and surrounding critical watersheds covering 1.5 million acres, making this the largest deployment to date of this new system.

Land Tender, also jointly funded by California Tahoe Conservancy, is the leading community wildfire resilience and wildland health decision support system in the United States. The platform will be deployed across the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Middle Truckee River, American River, Bear River, Feather River, and Yuba River watersheds. Much of that area is either burning, under high wildfire threat, or in need of reforestation, fueling the need for faster, more informed wildfire resilience and restoration planning and monitoring.

“Traditional solutions are inadequate with the rate of change and severe impacts we’re seeing in this new age of ‘megafire’,” explained Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund. “Vibrant Planet’s software allows us to speed up the timeline of critical community protection and forest health, while at the same time giving us more information than ever before to do what’s best for the environment. It’s a powerful complement to other recent Tahoe Fund initiatives, including a new sawmill in Carson City and scholarships for the new forestry program at Lake Tahoe Community College.”

Land Tender will provide granular-level detail on dozens of key forest health metrics in the region, including tree densities and potential mortality; vulnerability of endangered species habitats, recreational trails, and waterways. From there, Land Tender enables land managers to collaboratively create forest treatment plans based on a number of desired outcomes, such as reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, or maximizing water quality or protecting recreational opportunities.

Demonstration of fire hazard in Land Tender platform

Land Tender also estimates the cost of such treatments, and allows land managers to monitor and report on project progress, shift priorities and resources based on evolving conditions and threats, and gain insights into the effectiveness of different techniques. Ultimately, workflows done by these groups in Land Tender will reduce multi-year planning processes to weeks, allowing managers to rapidly develop community wildfire protection plans and proactively address forest health challenges.

“Historically, public and private landowners created and executed land management plans independently,” explained Allison Wolff, CEO of Vibrant Planet. “In the face of catastrophic wildfire and other climate change driven impacts, we’re excited to offer a solution that can help land managers come together across jurisdictions to more rapidly map, model and get funding for forest health treatments that meet the goals of all affected parties, both within and downstream from multi-jurisdictional landscapes.”

“Collaboration is challenging when stakeholders with different points of view on what they value in a landscape, or their backyard, cannot see each others’ perspectives or how different scenarios might play out in the future,“ said Stacy Caldwell, CEO of Tahoe Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation. “Vibrant Planet’s software allows landowners and other stakeholders to develop scenarios that meet their objectives, then share their scenarios with each other to drive to alignment so that we can get more protective and restorative work done faster.”

THE TAHOE FUND AND EARTHVIEWS RELEASE FIRST-EVER “STREET VIEW” STYLE MAP OF LAKE TAHOE’S ENTIRE SHORELINE

September 15, 2022 by Caroline Waldman

Interactive Map Offers 360-degree Views and Underwater Images of Lake Tahoe

Today, the Tahoe Fund and EarthViews released the first-ever “Street View” style map of all 72 miles of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline. This new, interactive Lake Tahoe ShoreView Map offers a 360-degree view of the shoreline, as well as underwater views and water quality data.

“This map allows people to see Tahoe like never before,” said Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund. “You can tour Emerald Bay, ‘paddle’ through the iconic rocks of Sand Harbor, or explore the hidden beaches along the East Shore with just the click of a button. Best of all, this new tool is bringing a wealth of data and information to scientists and conservation organizations working to improve the health of the Lake.”

According to UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, conditions differ widely around the Lake’s nearshore — or the area ranging about 350 feet from the shoreline — due to variations in temperature, stormwater flow and runoff, aquatic invasive species, the effects of recreation, and fluctuation in lake levels. With these factors impacting water quality and the Lake’s iconic clarity, it’s critical to closely monitor the conditions on the shoreline.

“This comprehensive look at today’s conditions will serve as a significant historical marker,” explained Brian Footen, president and co-founder of EarthViews. “Scientists will be able to look back 5, 10, or 50 years from now and understand how water quality and the physical shoreline have changed over time.”

To create this map, Footen spent seven days circumnavigating the Lake in a kayak, with cameras and water quality measurement tools strapped to the vessel. Using mobile mapping technology, Footen was able to capture synchronized imagery and data every ten seconds as he navigated along the nearshore. This information was then published online as a “street view” like experience letting the user explore the shoreline from their desktop or mobile device.

For the past year, Footen has been conducting several conservation-minded waterway mapping projects for EarthViews, most notably the Puget Sound in Washington and the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Recently, he presented his findings from the Lake Tahoe ShoreView Map to the Tahoe Science Advisory Council to help inform on-going research and data collection in Lake Tahoe.

The Tahoe Fund, a nonprofit organization that supports environmental improvement projects around the Tahoe Basin, provided the funding for the Lake Tahoe ShoreView Map. The organization works to improve lake clarity through funding initiatives like the 72-mile scuba clean up of Lake Tahoe and the Taylor-Tallac aquatic invasive species removal project.

“This new tool is an opportunity to inspire learning and showcase the beauty and breadth of this Lake,” said Berry. “But don’t just take our word for it, go see it first-hand.”

Explore the Lake Tahoe ShoreView Map here.

Resources for the Mosquito Fire

September 12, 2022 by Caroline Waldman

*Photo from CAL FIRE Nevada Yuba Placer Unit*

Firefighters are bravely battling the Mosquito Fire, which continues to burn in the Tahoe National Forest. More than 11,000 residents of Placer County and El Dorado County are under evacuation orders. In Tahoe, smoke from the fire continues to impact air quality.

Here’s a round-up of resources to help you stay informed about the fire itself, evacuation orders, air quality, and closures.

Mosquito Fire Incident Reports

Air Quality/Smoke

Evacuation Maps

U.S. Forest Closures

Relief Fund

Photos from 2022 Summer Cocktails

August 31, 2022 by Caroline Waldman

On the eve of the 26th annual Lake Tahoe Summit, Tahoe Fund supporters, friends and elected officials gathered for an evening of cocktails in celebration of Lake Tahoe.

Guests had the opportunity to hear directly from US Senator Jacky Rosen, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, Secretary Wade Crowfoot, and NV Energy President and CEO Doug Cannon. The event was sponsored by NV Energy and featured wines from axr Napa Valley.

Photos by Hannah Pence are now available on Flickr and Facebook for all to see. Please feel free to share your favorites and tag @TahoeFund!

View the Photos