California’s ten State conservancies play an integral role in Tahoe conservation -- protecting and restoring natural resources and providing public recreational opportunities. Together, the conservancies comprise a coordinated effort, bringing government resources to designated regions of State and national significance.
The California Tahoe Conservancy was created in 1984 to restore and sustain a balance between the natural and the human environment and between public and private uses at Lake Tahoe.
Since that time, the Conservancy has acquired more than 4,800 parcels of land, comprising over 6,500 acres, for the purpose of protecting the natural environment and promoting public recreation and lake access. The Conservancy manages and implements direct projects on these lands.
The Conservancy has also provided approximately 170 grants to local governments and non-profit organizations for erosion control, public recreation and access, land acquisition, and other projects.
In all, the Conservancy has funded the construction of hundreds of site improvement projects, and has played a major role in the restoration of significant wetland areas and the reduction of fuel hazards within the Basin. Through July 2010, these activities total over $385 million.