Conservancy Board Awards $7 million in Proposition 1 Grants

Published: Mar 17, 2016

South Lake Tahoe, Calif.—March 17, 2016—The California Tahoe Conservancy Board today awarded more than $7 million for seven watershed restoration and forest health projects with funding from Proposition 1, the 2014 water bond.

The projects are key elements of Tahoe’s Environmental Improvement Program (EIP), a collaborative interagency effort to restore and protect Tahoe’s natural and recreational treasures.

“These awards demonstrate California’s continuing commitment to the EIP and the Lake Tahoe basin,” said Patrick Wright, the Conservancy’s Executive Director. “They will help improve the clarity of the lake, the health of our watersheds, and the quality and resiliency of our forests.”

The projects approved for funding include:

  • Lake Tahoe Invasive Plant Control Project, Tahoe Resource Conservation District, $700,000: To remove aquatic invasive plants from several marinas in the south shore.
  • Johnson Meadow Acquisition, Tahoe Resource Conservation District, $4,234,000: To help acquire the largest privately-owned meadow in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and a key segment of a large-scale plan to restore the Upper Truckee River.
  • Meeks Meadow Restoration, Washoe Tribe, $228,530: To support planning related to restoring the ecological, hydrologic, and cultural functions of Meeks Meadow.
  • Lake Tahoe West Collaborative: A Multi-Jurisdictional Landscape Restoration Strategy, National Forest Foundation, $849,100: To develop an interagency plan to restore and protect forest health and key watersheds Emerald Bay to Tahoe City.
  • Lake Tahoe Basin Wildlife Protection and Water Quality Enhancement Project, Lake Valley & North Tahoe Fire Protection Districts, $850,000: To develop a plan to streamline permitting of forest health projects surrounding Tahoe’s urban and residential communities.
  • Antone Meadows Dam Removal and Restoration, Burton Creek State Park, California Department of State Parks, $149,938: For planning activities to restore sections of Burton Creek and remove the Antone Meadows dam and related infrastructure.
  • Tahoe Storm Water Resource Plan, Tahoe Resource Conservation District, $150,000: To develop a comprehensive water quality plan to reduce and treat runoff that degrades the lake’s clarity.

At the same meeting, the Board also approved funding to extend the South Tahoe Greenway bike trail, approved updates to its Memorandum of Understanding with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for the Conservancy’s Land Bank, and authorized a long-term license agreement with the University of Nevada, Reno to operate a fire camera on Conservancy-owned land at Ward Peak.