May 2025 Conservancy Newsletter
Published: May 16, 2025
May is Wildfire Awareness Month, and partners at Lake Tahoe are marking the occasion through outreach and action. Read below for what actions community members can take, and what land managers and fire agencies are doing, to increase wildfire resilience in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
For the Conservancy, wildfire resilience starts with the public lands we manage. Read below for updates on our active forestry projects to protect communities and natural resources.
May is also when our seasonal field crews begin work, and we welcome their support in managing thousands of Conservancy properties on the California side of the Basin.
Jason Vasques, Executive Director
California Tahoe Conservancy
Protecting Communities, Restoring Forest Resilience
The Conservancy’s Community Forestry operations have resumed for the season. Conservancy projects this year will improve forest health and reduce hazardous fuels on public open space lots in:
- The North Upper Truckee neighborhood of El Dorado County,
- west shore neighborhoods in Placer County from Tahoe City to Tahoma, and
- the Al Tahoe and Sierra Tract neighborhoods in the City of South Lake Tahoe.
Under a good neighbor authority agreement with the USDA Forest Service, the Conservancy treats all the public open space lots in a neighborhood at the same time to reduce wildfire risk.
In addition to Conservancy projects getting underway, six seasonal forestry aides have begun work throughout the California side of the Basin to prepare future forestry projects for implementation. See below to meet the new forestry aides.
Creating a Resilient Tahoe: Fire Adapted Communities for Wildfire Preparedness
[In January], the devastation of the LA wildfires unfolded as flames spread from the chaparral into the neighborhoods of Palisades and Altadena. Living in Tahoe, residents face similar risks, and a team of Lake Tahoe fire, forestry, and conservation agencies say communities here have the chance now to significantly lower the risk of another catastrophic wildfire. The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team is calling on every resident and property owner in the Tahoe Basin to help them protect Lake Tahoe and has the know-how to help you Get Defensive. –Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team
Read the full call to action from the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team
Still Time to Share Your Ideas: Upper Truckee Marsh South
The Conservancy is still seeking community ideas for future restoration and recreation opportunities at the Upper Truckee Marsh South property, including the site of the former Motel 6. Join a site tour with Conservancy staff on May 21, or take the online survey, or both!
Register for the May 21 Site Tour
Spanish interpretation is available for the tour, and the survey is also available in Spanish.
Field Crew Begins
The 2025 forestry, land management, and restoration crews have begun work to maintain and restore Conservancy lands, reduce wildfire risk and improve forest resilience, and protect Lake Tahoe’s water quality. The field crews operate via a longstanding partnership with Tahoe Resource Conservation District (Tahoe RCD).
Do You Like Nature?
Then have we got a pair of videos for you. Suggested volume setting: turn it up 11.
Conservancy Staff Updates
New Employees
Amy Nelson
Fish and Wildlife Scientific Aide – Breeding Bird Specialist
Amy Nelson joined the Conservancy staff in April. Amy oversees surveys to ensure work done on Conservancy lands does not disturb nesting birds, in compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Amy’s work helps ensure that Conservancy restoration and public access projects avoid the unintended consequence of birds abandoning their nests during the breeding season. She brings extensive background in ecology, botany, and wildlife, and recently worked with Tahoe RCD, leading a field crew working on Conservancy properties.
Seasonal Forestry Aides
Six seasonal forestry aides began work this month for the Conservancy. Forestry aides work on forest health and fuel hazard reduction projects on Conservancy lands, primarily identifying project boundaries and marking trees for removal.
Pete Brown
Forestry Aide
Pete Brown earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Western Washington University, and comes to the Conservancy with a background in biological survey and monitoring projects as well as academic research in the field of botany.
Alex Friend
Forestry Aide
Alex Friend earned his Bachelor of Science in Forestry and Fire Science from the University of Montana, where he gained hands-on experience working on trails, fire, and a forest inventory and analysis crew. In his final year in Montana, he worked as a forester for the State of Montana. Alex grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California, and spent many summers exploring the Eastern Sierra Nevada.
Cameron Grant
Forestry Aide
Cameron Grant returns to the Conservancy, having just graduated from the University of Utah, where he studied Urban Ecology and Environmental Science. Cameron worked as a seasonal forestry aide in 2024 as well, and the Conservancy welcomes him back.
Pippin Jardine
Forestry Aide
Pippin Jardine earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. Throughout her studies she participated in numerous field research opportunities, including collaborating on NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s SBG High Frequency Time-Series (SHIFT) campaign based at Sedgwick Ranch Reserve in Santa Barbara County. Her field research experience includes angiosperm field measurements, sample processing, and analysis.
Gary Spolarich
Forestry Aide
Prior to joining the Conservancy, Gary Spolarich worked for the USDA Forest Service in the Cabinet Ranger District in northwestern Montana. His previous experience included two AmeriCorps terms as a Forestry Crew Leader and Trails Crew Member with the Montana Conservation Corps, working on invasive plant management and habitat restoration for Cleveland Metroparks, serving as an interpretive guide with the Virginia Service and Conservation Corps at Pocahontas State Park via AmeriCorps, and a term of service with AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps. Gary earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Pittsburgh.
Natasha Stott
Forestry Aide
Natasha Stott earned her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Sustainability from Northern Arizona University. Prior to joining the Conservancy, Natasha worked with the Fire Adapted Communities Program at Tahoe RCD.
Upcoming California Tahoe Conservancy Board Meetings
The Board will meet on June 12, 2025. An agenda will be available on the Conservancy website ten days prior to the meeting.
Lake Tahoe in the News
Lake Tahoe welcomes new Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team Program Manager – Tahoe Daily Tribune, April 24, 2025
A message from a Firewise Leader; Creating fire-adapted Lake Tahoe neighborhoods – South Tahoe Now, May 13, 2025
Tahoe in Depth – Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, May 2025
Show Your Love for Tahoe While Protecting It
When you order a California Lake Tahoe license plate, you help build biking and hiking trails, restore fish and wildlife habitat, and protect Lake Tahoe’s famous beaches and blue waters. 96 percent of all funds from Tahoe plate sales come back to Lake Tahoe.
Show Your Love for Tahoe While Protecting It
When you order a California Lake Tahoe license plate, you help build biking and hiking trails, restore fish and wildlife habitat, and protect Lake Tahoe’s famous beaches and blue waters. 96 percent of all funds from Tahoe plate sales come back to Lake Tahoe.