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. 

Todd Chapman Joins Tahoe Fund Board of Directors

TAHOE CITY, Calif. (July 21, 2020) – As the nonprofit Tahoe Fund celebrates 10 years of service in support of environmental projects in the Tahoe Basin, the organization’s board of directors gains new leadership with the naming of longtime board member Allen Biaggi as its new board chair, and the addition of Todd Chapman to its board of directors.

Biaggi, a third generation Nevadan from Douglas County, has extensive environmental experience and has been a member of the Tahoe Fund Board of Directors since 2010. He served as the Director of Nevada’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (a cabinet level position) under governors Guinn and Gibbons, and as the Administrator of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection under governors Miller and Guinn.

During his tenure with the State of Nevada, Biaggi served on numerous boards and commissions including the Commission on Workplace Safety, the Governor’s Climate Change Committee and the State Petroleum Board. Most notably for the Lake Tahoe Basin, he served on the Bi-State Fire Commission in the wake of the Angora Fire and sat on the Governing Board of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for six years, including three years as its chairman. He succeeds Katy Simon Holland as board chair, a role Holland held for two years. She will remain on the Tahoe Fund Board of Directors.

“It has been a pleasure to serve on the Tahoe Fund board for the past 10 years,” said Allen Biaggi, Tahoe Fund board chair. “I look forward to taking on this leadership role at a time where we are celebrating 10 years of success, while staying laser focused on the impact we want to have over the next 10 years.”

Todd Chapman, president and CEO of JMA Ventures, also joins the Tahoe Fund Board of Directors. Chapman has spent much of his life visiting Lake Tahoe and has deep ties to the region through JMA’s ownership of Homewood Mountain Resort and the West Shore Cafe. The company also recently completed construction of the new Soaring Ranch mixed use project anchored by a new Raley’s marketplace in Truckee, California. Mr. Chapman has also participated in other boards including The Bay Club Companies, Squaw Valley-Alpine Meadows, and Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, where he served as vice chair.  He earned his B.S. from Boston College, and Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University.

Todd Chapman, president and CEO of JMA Ventures, also joins the Tahoe Fund Board of Directors. Chapman has spent much of his life visiting Lake Tahoe and has deep ties to the region through JMA’s ownership of Homewood Mountain Resort and the West Shore Cafe. The company also recently completed construction of the new Soaring Ranch mixed use project anchored by a new Raley’s marketplace in Truckee, California. Mr. Chapman has also participated in other boards including The Bay Club Companies, Squaw Valley-Alpine Meadows, and Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, where he served as vice chair.  He earned his B.S. from Boston College, and Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University.

“Todd is a great addition to our board of directors,” said Biaggi. “The experience he brings to the Tahoe Fund, and the passion he has for Lake Tahoe will be a tremendous asset to the organization and the environmental projects we continue to be focused on.”

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

“Since its inception amid a contentious era in the Tahoe Basin, the Tahoe Fund has served as a unifying force in its ongoing effort to restore and preserve a national treasure.”

We are thrilled to share a beautiful article from the summer issue of Tahoe Quarterly on the first 10 years of the Tahoe Fund and all that your support has made possible.

Click below to read the full article.