Gar Woods Grill & Pier, Riva Grill, Bar of America, and Sparks Water Bar guests serve up support for Tahoe

Four of the Lake Tahoe region’s most iconic restaurants offer their guests a way to give back to the local environment, and it’s added up in a major way. By leaving contributions of any size to their checks, guests at Gar Woods Grill & Pier, Riva Grill, Bar of America, and Sparks Water Bar have raised nearly $400,000 for the Tahoe Fund. 

“When you visit one of these quintessential Tahoe restaurants, you’re not only enjoying an incredible meal or a signature Wet Woody, you can also give back to this special place and inspire others to do the same,” said Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund CEO. “We are so thankful for this longstanding partnership and their unwavering support of our work.” 

This partnership is part of the Tahoe Fund’s $1 for Tahoe program. Created to offer a simple way for those who love Tahoe to help make it even better, $1 for Tahoe raises money to restore and improve the environment and enhance recreational opportunities through guest donations. Proceeds from the program support the efforts of the Tahoe Fund in its mission to improve the Lake Tahoe environment for all to enjoy.

“We’re proud to have supported the work of the Tahoe Fund for over a decade,” said Tom Turner, CEO of Tahoe Restaurant Collection. “Thanks to our guests, every small act of generosity over the last ten years has made a big impact for Lake Tahoe.” 

The funds raised from guest contributions goes directly to projects that help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, improve lake clarity, and make it easier to get around, enjoy, and take care of Lake Tahoe. Some of the projects that benefit include: innovative pilots to prepare communities for wildfire, restoration efforts in the Upper Truckee River watershed, and the next section of the East Shore Trail.

When scuba divers cleaned up all 72 miles of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline, they weren’t just pulling out a whopping 25,000 pounds of trash. Dive teams from Clean Up The Lake (CUTL) were also identifying “hot spots” or areas along the shoreline with high concentrations of litter. 

With support from the Tahoe Fund, Tahoe Blue Vodka, and other partners, CUTL divers revisited 20 hot spots on the Nevada shoreline in 2023 to observe changes in litter accumulation and perform surveillance for aquatic invasive species (AIS).

The good news? These 20 hot spots had only 879.5 pounds of submerged litter in 2023, compared to 2,937 pounds of litter during the initial cleanup in 2021. This data suggests that the 72-mile cleanup was a long-lasting, low impact solution for keeping litter out of Lake Tahoe.

The CUTL team is also analyzing data from hot spots on the California side of the lake. Although that analysis has yet to be finalized, results are looking similar to those of the Nevada side, showing that Lake Tahoe is significantly cleaner now than it was in 2021. 

Even with such promising results, there’s still more work to be done. During this monitoring project, the CUTL team also conducted deep dive surveys near each hot spot location at 35 and 70-foot depths. These dives revealed that there’s still a high concentration of litter in those deeper zones that will need to be removed as part of a future project. 

Photos by Clean Up The Lake

Starting last week, trail users on the popular multi-use Legacy Trail in Truckee will find new messages stenciled in chalk along the path. From educational “share the path” and “keep right” reminders, to more tongue-in-cheek messages like “friends don’t let friends block trails” and “it’s okay to be shy, but if you’re about to pass, say hi,” the goal of the new Take Care Tahoe campaign is to reduce trail user conflicts and collisions on paved paths in the region. The two biggest issues are large groups blocking the entire trail by walking side-by-side, and bikes going too fast around pedestrians. 

“The Town is happy to be partnering with Take Care Tahoe on this pilot initiative. As the popularity of our trail system continues to grow, reminders of trail etiquette are becoming more important,” said Jen Callaway, Truckee Town Manager. “We have heard from our community there is a need to deter user conflicts and accidents on trails. With this campaign and fun messaging, we will be able to see how effective this type of signage and communication can be to remind everyone how to use our trails.”

The campaign will launch with an initial list of 20 messages that include straightforward instructions, funny reminders, and Spanish-language messages. The public will be encouraged to share their feedback and new message ideas on Take Care Tahoe’s website and social media channels. Any new message ideas that are submitted have the potential to become new stencils.

“As more people use paved paths to walk, run, and ride throughout the region, it has become more important than ever to remind users about how to share the trail with others,” said Noah Shapiro, Take Care Tahoe program manager. “We’re hoping that a series of lighthearted messages stenciled along the trail itself will grab the attention of more people than a traditional posted sign might.”

In addition to the Legacy Trail, the campaign will be introduced on the Trout Creek trail in Truckee once construction is completed. In the future, it may also be expanded to other regional multi-use paved trails.

Learn more about the trail etiquette campaign at takecaretahoe.org.

Nineteen miles of trail that travel through Desolation Wilderness from Echo Lakes to Lake Aloha are in desperate need of extensive restoration work due to high use, erosion and extreme weather events. To address this critical need, the nonprofit Tahoe Fund is partnering with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association to launch a $50,000 matching campaign. 

“In the last year alone, the section of trail that travels from Echo Lakes to Lake Aloha had over 2,000 trail users per week between June and September,” said Morgan Steel, Executive Director, Tahoe Rim Trail Association. “With the support of Tahoe Fund donors, we will be able to undertake major restoration work to repair and fortify this popular section of the Tahoe Rim Trail system co-aligned with the Pacific Crest Trail.” 

The work to be completed over the next two years will include re-establishing the trail tread, completing extensive rock work to make the trail surface safer for hikers and equestrians, and adding drainages to decrease erosion. Together, these trail restoration activities will protect water quality, prevent habitat and landscape fragmentation, and protect sensitive biological resources.

“This beloved section of trail takes you to gorgeous alpine lakes and through pristine wilderness,” said Deb Howard, Tahoe Fund board member. “We’re calling on our community to help fund this restoration work to give all trail users a safer, more enjoyable experience, while also reducing the impact on Tahoe’s sensitive alpine environment.”

All donations to the Echo Lakes Trail Restoration project will be doubled until the $50,000 fundraising goal is reached. Contributions will also be matched with funding from the Latrobe Fund and in-kind contributions from California Conservation Corps, the Pacific Crest Trail Association, and the US Forest Service. 

Learn more about the project and donate at www.tahoefund.org/desolation.