TRUCKEE Calif. (Thursday, July 27, 2017) — The Truckee Tahoe Airport board approved an $85,000 funding partnership at last evening’s board meeting for the construction of a multi-feature trail in Kings Beach. The project aims to transform a current OHV trail with major erosion issues into a multi-feature trail for use by mountain bikes, motorbikes, hikers and equestrians. The US Forest Service will build the new trail with volunteers from the Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association (TAMBA). The North Tahoe Public Utility District and the Tahoe Fund are also partners in the project.
The newly designed trail, located off Beaver Street in Kings Beach, will help prevent the flow of sediment from the eroding trail into Griff Creek and Lake Tahoe. The Forest Service and TAMBA will hold a trail design workshop in September to solicit thoughts and ideas from the community for the trail reconstruction.
“The district is dedicated to enhancing our local community,” said Kevin Smith, Truckee Tahoe Airport General Manager. “We are thrilled to partner with these organizations to bring an environmental benefit and a wonderful new recreational opportunity to our constituents in the Basin.”
The Forest Service has been redesigning OHV trails in the Tahoe Basin to help reduce erosion and sediment flow into Lake Tahoe. The Corral Trail in South Lake Tahoe utilizes banked corners and tabletop features to prevent water from eroding straight down the trail. Modeling of the Kings Beach trail by the Forest Service shows that up to a ton of sediment currently flows into Griff Creek. With similar trail redesigns, they have seen a 90% reduction of erosion.
“The Corral trail in South Lake Tahoe is not only reducing sediment into Lake Tahoe, it is now one of the most popular multi-use trails in the Basin,” said Jacob Quinn, US Forest Service Trail Engineer. “By creating a highly designed multi-feature trail with more than 100 features, we are also hoping this will reduce the number of illegal trails we have seen in the area.”
“We have put together a really effective partnership with our amazing volunteers working hand-in-hand with the Forest Service trail crew,” said Ben Fish, TAMBA President. “With this much needed funding from the airport and 500 volunteer hours from TAMBA, we are going to create a unique and fun experience for the North Shore.”
“The Tahoe Fund is all about the power of public-private partnerships to transform the Tahoe environment and improve recreation,” said Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund CEO. “This is a great example of what we can accomplish when we all work together.”
“We are pleased to support all of the project partners that are providing resources to create a great new recreational trail in Kings Beach, said North Tahoe PUD Board President Lane Lewis. “We look forward to supporting this project by helping to engage our local NTPUD mountain bike community in the final design and in trail building days.”
Final alignments and engineering work will be completed later this summer. The majority of trail work is slated for the 2018 season. TAMBA will be looking for local volunteers. To get involved, visit www.tamba.org or email info@tamba.org.
Area Map of Trail Location
Volunteers celebrate the opening of the Corral Trail in South Lake Tahoe, a similar trail will be constructed in Kings Beach thanks to the funding partnership from the Truckee Tahoe Airport
About Truckee Tahoe Airport
The Truckee Tahoe Airport is a regional General Aviation Airport. It is one of nine Special Districts in California operating airports. It is governed by a Board of 5 publically elected officials and directly employs 26 staff. The bi-county District lies across both Nevada and Placer County lines. In 2016 the airport had 32,524 flight operations. The airport is funded by: local airport commercial enterprises such as aviation fuel sales, aircraft services and fees, and building and hangar leases, along with local property taxes and grant funding through both the State of California and the FAA. The airport provides high quality aviation facilities to meet local needs and strives for low impact on our neighbors while enhancing the benefit to the community at large. One of the strategic missions of the District is to give back to its constituent communities. To achieve this goal, the District has provided major funding for the purchase of the Tahoe City Golf Course to maintain open space, planned a new emergency use helipad for Tahoe City and entered into the Kings Beach Multi Feature Trail funding partnership. Next time you find yourself in the area, please stop by and check out our park, enjoy a lunch at the Red Truck Café and watch the amazing aircraft. For more information about your Truckee Tahoe Airport, please visit: TruckeeTahoeAirport.com.
About TAMBA
The Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization that builds, maintains, and advocates for multi-use trails in Tahoe while providing education to all trail users and hosting fun community events. TAMBA works in partnership with land managers such as the U.S. Forest Service, Nevada State Parks, California State Parks, and the City of South Lake Tahoe. In addition, TAMBA helps maintain more than 100 miles of trail per year. Currently TAMBA is thriving with successful partnerships with all major agencies and land managers in the Tahoe area. TAMBA has a track record of building projects since 2011 including Corral Trail, Kingsbury Stinger, Bijou Bike Park, Snapdragon Trail, Sunflower Hill Trail, and continued upgrades to popular trails like Tyrolean, Stanford Rock, Sidewinder, Armstrong Connector, Christmas Valley, Mr. Toads, Flume Trail and more.
About US Forest Service
Over 74% of the area around the lake is public land managed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. Totaling over 154,851 acres, this land includes beaches, hiking and biking trails, wilderness, historic estates and developed recreation areas such as campgrounds and riding stables. The forest is managed to provide access for the public and to protect the natural resources of the area. We hope you will join us in ensuring that the lake and surrounding lands will be even more beautiful and healthy in the future than they are now.
About North Tahoe Public Utility District
The North Tahoe Public Utility District provides sewer and water service to the residents of Kings Beach, Tahoe Vista, Carnelian Bay, Cedar Flat and Agate Bay. The North Tahoe Regional Park, Tahoe Vista Recreation Area and Boat Launch and North Tahoe Event Center are owned and operated by the District and provide recreation opportunities to residents and visitors.
About Tahoe Fund
The mission of the Tahoe Fund is to restore and enhance the extraordinary natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin by building broad support and funding for projects and programs that increase the enjoyment of the region for current and future generations. Since its founding in 2010, the Tahoe Fund has helped complete more than 25 projects, including watershed restorations, new biking and hiking paths, removal of aquatic invasive species, and stewardship programs