The Tahoe Daily Tribune recently published the following op-ed by Tahoe Fund CEO Amy Berry welcoming the growing members of the Tahoe community;

It is no secret that remote working and distance learning is giving many new home buyers and second homeowners the opportunity to live full-time at Lake Tahoe. We think this is a great opportunity for Tahoe.

Over the years, we at the Tahoe Fund have discussed the benefits of a less transient population to help increase engagement in issues and to help support a year-round economy. Rather than homes sitting empty most months of the year, we are hopeful we will now have a more vibrant and engaged community.

I know a little something about joining the Tahoe community. I first moved here in 2003 from New York City. I felt a bit like a fish out of water. I was madly in love with the blue lake and towering mountain peaks, so it felt like an easy decision to move here.

But going from city life to mountain life took some adjusting. And not just because of my new neighbors (a family of black bears). That’s why I want to take the time to say on behalf of the Tahoe Fund board, welcome to your new adventure in Tahoe.

Tahoe is an amazing place to live all year round. It is full of other people just like you who have made the big decision to call the mountains and this beautiful lake home. You will soon learn that you are in a very small community. Before long, you will know the names of the supermarket check-out staff, your barista, all the dogs at the dog park and your neighbors. You will also learn the value of good snow tires in the winter, fat skis to navigate epic powder days and that you can sneak in a few early morning ski runs before your first conference call of the day.

I will admit, I lived for many years here in a state of ignorance. I rode the trails and wondered, who built all of these? I swam in the lake and wondered, how is it so clear? I read all those interesting historical signs and thought, who took the time to write these? It wasn’t until years later that I started paying attention to the work that goes into managing Lake Tahoe.

I remember being shocked to learn that there are more than 50 organizations working together to improve Tahoe’s environment.

Now, as CEO of one of those organizations, I am acutely aware of the hard work that happens every day to maintain a balance between the human and natural environments.

At the Tahoe Fund, we work closely with these organizations to ensure more environmental improvement projects are completed. Our mission is to use the power of philanthropy to improve the Lake Tahoe environment for all to enjoy.

Thanks to the wonderful support of the private community, we recently celebrated our 10-year anniversary and the completion of more than 40 projects that helped secure more than $50 million in public funding. We also celebrated the first anniversary of the new Tahoe East Shore Trail that we helped make possible with more than $1 million in private donations. Working with our partners, we are continuing to help improve lake clarity, expand sustainable recreation, fix our forests, solve our transportation issues, and help create stewards of Tahoe.

I hope you will take the time to get engaged and learn more about the work that is being done in your neighborhood and around the basin to improve the Tahoe environment. I hope you will learn to ditch your plastic water bottles for the best tasting water in the country, Tahoe Tap. I hope you will lock up your trash from bears. I hope you will join a trail building day to help us create a sustainable trail network. I hope you will get engaged in the issues and speak up for Tahoe’s environment.

And, I hope you will check out TahoeFund.org to see how you can help support one of our many collaborative projects. While you are there, sign up for our weekly Tahoe Fun Facts to get some true “locals’” knowledge so you can impress your friends and family. With your passion, engagement and support, Tahoe will continue to be the place we all want to call home.

On behalf of Senator Cortez Masto, we are pleased to invite you to the first-ever virtual and 24th annual Lake Tahoe Summit on August 25, 2020. This year’s Summit keynote speaker will be Nevada native and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist David Wise.

Click on this link or the picture below to register for the 2020 Lake Tahoe Virtual Summit!

Educational campaign works to create a balance between recreational uses and wildlife protection

TAHOE CITY, Calif. (Aug. 17, 2020) – Lake Tahoe organizations working to harmonize wildlife protection and responsible recreation reported today a successful effort to protect fledgling peregrine falcons while still allowing access to popular hiking and climbing routes near the birds’ nesting sites. For the second year in a row, young peregrine falcons successfully left their nest at Castle Rock. 

“The goal of this collaborative is to learn more about how the pair of falcons respond to different types of human presence so we can better tailor our management. This approach allows us to take the proper actions to protect the future of these birds while keeping the area open. We want to keep it open but encourage people to be mindful of what they’re doing and to be smart about how they’re recreating in the area,” said Stephanie Coppeto, wildlife biologist at the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. “We’re thrilled that our collaboration has been able to increase public awareness and we appreciate the public’s cooperation in adhering to the signs and protecting these birds and their young.”

The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), Nevada Department of Wildlife, California Tahoe Conservancy, Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS), and Sierra Ecotone Solutions have monitored peregrine falcons as a special interest species dating back to 2009. Over the years of monitoring, falcon populations increased and expanded to new areas of the Basin like Castle Rock. Located in the southeast region of Lake Tahoe near Kingsbury Grade, the granite outcrop is an ideal nesting spot for the special bird. However, with excellent views of the lake, its popularity among climbers and hikers presented a new challenge for the raptors.

The Castle Rock nest successfully fledged for several years until 2017, when it failed for the first observed occurrence. That year, construction began at the trailhead to expand the parking lot, attracting more people to hike and climb and come in close contact with the falcons. The exact reason the nest failed however, is unknown due to the myriad obstacles the birds must overcome before leaving the nest.

The following year, the collaboration brought on another partner, the Tahoe Climbing Coalition, who worked with the organizations to inform the climbing community to avoid routes closest to the nesting site. The climbing community obeyed these requests, but for the second year in a row the nest failed. 

Things changed in 2019 when the collaboration conducted an experiment with staff who were monitoring the nests. They sent volunteers up the climbing and hiking routes nearest the nests while observing the falcons’ behavior. They discovered that hikers caused more distress than the climbers when they traveled above the birds’ nests. The question became:  how do you protect the birds from disturbance and ensure compliance from hikers who frequented the area? 

The solution was to educate hikers about the impacts their actions have on the young birds with signage along the many trails at the site. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association (TRTA) helped place signs requesting hikers not to summit Castle Rock until the birds have fledged. In addition, the Climbing Coalition’s influence among the climbing community helped encourage climbers to select other routes during the nesting season for the sake of the birds.

This spring and summer, as COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders drove people to spend more time outdoors, TINS noticed an immediate impact on the falcons when hikers returned to where they were nesting. The group was alerted and the partners sprang into action. The TRPA printed signs and installed them on the trail, and the nonprofit Tahoe Fund jumped in to help pay for the continuation of the monitoring by TINS. Normally, each partner contributes several monitoring visits per season to this unique site, but with COVID most of the partners were not able to get into the field during the critical spring months. With the support of the Tahoe Fund, TINS was able to keep the monitoring schedule on track and remove the signs as soon as the young fledged.

“Lifting the closure once it’s no longer needed each year gains the confidence of the hikers and climbers using the area, building trust that these voluntary closures are not arbitrary, which in turn leads to better compliance and better outcomes for the birds,” said Will Richardson, executive director of Tahoe Institute for Natural Science. “This was the first year they raised triplets!”

Trail improvement project will enhance trail user experience and reduce environmental impacts to Lake Tahoe

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. (Aug. 11, 2020) – A $45,000 grant from the Tahoe Fund has allowed the nonprofit Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) to begin a trail improvement project that will reconstruct sections of the Upper Tyrolian Trail in Incline Village. The project is designed to enhance the user experience, make critical trail connections, rehabilitate and restore old logging roads to reduce erosion and improve lake clarity. It is expected to be completed by the end of October 2020

In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, TAMBA’s intention is to improve the existing trail conditions and establish a dedicated mountain-bike focused connection to the Tyrolian Downhill Trail. TAMBA has contracted with local professional freeride mountain bike athlete Cam Zink’s nonprofit trail building company, Sensus R.A.D. Trails, to convert old logging roads into nearly two miles of sustainable singletrack trail that will connect the existing Tyrolian Downhill Trail to the Mount Rose Highway at Tahoe Meadows. 

A new upper section of the trail will provide an official start trailhead with improved signage, and reduce mountain bike traffic on the Tahoe Rim Trail. The current Tyrolian Downhill Trail will not be closed during construction. To avoid slowing construction down, TAMBA asks that rider stay off the new trail until it has been completed. 

“TAMBA has established themselves as an organization committed to building sustainable trails in the Tahoe Basin,” said Allen Biaggi, Tahoe Fund board chair. “This project supports our effort to create expanded opportunities for sustainable recreation, while balancing the environmental initiatives of our region”. 

“The support provided by the Tahoe Fund is what has allowed this trail project with tremendous environmental benefits to move forward,” said Ben Fish, TAMBA president and board chair. “This project is a long time coming, and the Tahoe Fund’s mission is well-aligned with ours. Their contribution made it possible to bring a professional trail contractor to build the flow style upper trail, and decommission and restore the logging roads.” 

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

The second connection to be made is a 0.4-mile long realignment of the existing trail known as the Tyrolian Connector Trail that connects the Tahoe Rim Trail to the Upper Tyrolian Trail. A low-angle singletrack traverse will be created to join the proposed alignment of the new Upper Tyrolian Trail. The realignment will have beautiful panoramic views of Lake Tahoe and will avoid old, eroded, fall-line dirt roads. 

The trail project is still in need of $15,000 to be completed this year. Donors interested in supporting the project can contribute at tahoefund.org or tamba.org. Learn more about the Upper Tyrolian Trail project here. 

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – The Tahoe East Shore Trail will be temporarily closed to public access between the Tunnel Creek Café and Sand Harbor on Tuesday, August 4 (all day), and Wednesday, August 5 through Friday, August 7 (after 8:00 p.m.) for the initial phase of a community mural art project. The Tahoe Fund, Tahoe Public Art and Nevada State Parks collaborated to commission the mural to augment the natural beauty of the Tahoe East Shore Trail and transform a utilitarian tunnel into a community-involved, relevant art experience. “We are excited to be adding a community art project to one of Nevada’s most iconic State Parks,” said Robert Mergell, administrator for Nevada State Parks. “Our hope is that this unique art installation will inspire and connect with locals and visitors for generations to come.” In response to the call for artists earlier this year, 34 artists submitted proposals for the chance to paint the mural. The project scope required artists to involve local youth in the creation of the project and ensure its completion could be accomplished with minimal closure of the tunnel and trail. Submissions came from as far as the UK and Canada with the majority coming from local and regional artists. Tyler Rivenbark and Frida Ticehurst-Rivenbark, a husband and wife art and design duo based in North Lake Tahoe, were selected to paint their mural concept by a panel of judges. Raley’s is providing a $5,000 stipend to the artists and Kelly Brothers Painting will donate all of the paint required for the mural. “Our intent with this art piece is to convey the natural beauty of this region,” said Tyler and Frida. “We want to remind people of the gift we all share by living in or visiting this region, amplifying the sense of belonging, and encouraging participation in keeping this place beautiful and full of enjoyment.” A physically distanced ribbon-cutting celebration is planned for when the tunnel art project is complete, which is anticipated to be sometime in mid August. Please note that access to Sand Harbor via the Tahoe East Shore Trail remains closed until further notice for COVID-19 health and safety precautions.