November 2025 Conservancy Newsletter
In this season of thanks, I’m grateful to our seasonal staff and crews that play integral roles in advancing California Tahoe Conservancy projects and maintaining your public land. Read below for updates on their accomplishments, as well as opportunities to provide input on proposed improvements on the California side of Van Sickle Bi-State Park.
Jason Vasques, Executive Director
California Tahoe Conservancy
Public Invited to Provide Feedback on Improvements to Van Sickle Bi-State Park
The Conservancy wants your input on proposed improvements on the California side of Van Sickle Bi-State Park. Building on a 2019 Vision Plan for the park, the Conservancy is exploring options to improve the park entrance, trails, and facilities, as outlined in this new story map.
How to Participate:
- Take the Online Survey
- In-Person Workshop | 5 pm on Thursday, November 20 at Lake Tahoe Community College
Meet in the LTCC Board Room (L104), located in the Roberta Mason Library building.
The survey is available in both English and Spanish. Spanish interpretation will be available for the public meeting.
The proposed Van Sickle Bi-State Park Safety and Equitable Access Improvements Project includes a new shared-use trail that will meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a new entrance plaza, day-use picnic and gathering areas, and more.
The Conservancy also proposes to build the Dennis T. Machida Memorial Greenway (Van Sickle Connector), which will also meet ADA standards, to connect the California day-use area to the end of Chonokis Road. View the story map to see the location.
The Conservancy and Nevada State Parks co-manage the 725-acre Van Sickle Bi-State Park, which offers hiking trails, picnic areas, and the historic Van Sickle barn and cabins.
Eagle Rock Trail Temporarily Closed for Hazard Tree Project
The Eagle Rock Trail is temporarily closed to facilitate work to address hazard trees adjacent to the trail. The Conservancy expects to reopen the trail before the end of the month.
On November 10, the Conservancy began removing approximately 50 hazard trees for public safety on the popular west shore hiking trail. A hazard tree is a dead or dying tree that is at risk of falling, and has a striking target.
The Conservancy acquired Eagle Rock and the surrounding 54.5-acre parcel in 1987 to provide public access, recreation, and opportunities for restoration of environmentally sensitive lands.
Field Season Roundup 1: Forestry Aides
The Conservancy’s seasonal forestry aides finished their busy field season earlier this month. The Conservancy designs its forestry projects, for which the seasonal forestry aides provide critical support, to improve forest resilience and reduce wildfire risk for these public lands and the surrounding communities.
Here are some highlights, by the numbers:
- 564: Number of Conservancy properties where the forestry aides worked to prepare new forestry project areas for implementation.
- 8: Number of forestry projects where the forestry aides helped review and refresh property flagging and marks to ensure work could proceed.
- 110: Number of areas where forestry aides completed monitoring plots. This work included forest monitoring in project areas where a forestry project had not yet begun, and also post-project monitoring in areas where forestry work has concluded.
Field Season Roundup 2: Field Crews
Our field crews organized with Tahoe Resource Conservation District have wrapped up their work for the year. The crews play an integral role in helping to maintain Conservancy properties. Crew members completed 149 land management projects, 72 forestry projects, and 10 restoration projects on Conservancy land. For example, this year’s crew repaired over a mile of fencing, helping protect open space and environmentally sensitive areas.
If you missed it, check out this video of the crew repairing the fence that protects Tahoe Yellow Cress, a rare plant that only grows along the Lake Tahoe shoreline.
Field Season Roundup 3: Improving Conservancy Wildlife Surveys
Field season has also ended for the Conservancy wildlife team, which works to understand what wildlife species are using Conservancy lands, and to ensure wildlife are protected during project implementation.
This year, the Conservancy’s wildlife team made improvements that resulted in greater efficiencies for wildlife monitoring and improved coordination among Conservancy programs. The Conservancy added a new seasonal scientific aide on staff, and implemented a new workflow for nesting bird surveys. Staff developed an online application using ArcGIS Field Maps to coordinate nesting bird surveys among programs. The additional capacity and improved tools made it easier and more efficient to complete surveys.
One goal of the Conservancy’s wildlife surveys is to ensure that Conservancy restoration and public access projects avoid the unintended consequence of birds abandoning their nests during the breeding season. Staff completed nesting bird surveys on 637 Conservancy properties, in some cases surveying properties multiple times. Staff located 32 bird nests, flagging and protecting them as projects advanced in those areas.
Another goal of the wildlife program is to inventory species that use Conservancy land, especially before and after project implementation. To this end, staff completed 104 point counts on 52 locations on Conservancy properties. A point count is a standard method of surveying for birds, where a single observer at a specified location counts all birds seen or heard during a specified period of time. The Conservancy also deployed monitoring equipment that included three bat detectors, two spotted owl autonomous recording units, and two baited camera stations for monitoring carnivore diversity, all on Conservancy lands for which future restoration and forestry projects were being planned. Data from these surveys and the new equipment will help the Conservancy plan restoration projects, and will also help inform adaptive management after restoration work is complete.
Videos and photos: Goshawk chicks in a nest, bears playing on Conservancy land in South Lake Tahoe, staff setting up bat detection equipment, and staff holding a rubber boa.
Videos and photos: Goshawk chicks in a nest, bears playing on Conservancy land in South Lake Tahoe, staff setting up bat detection equipment, and staff holding a rubber boa.
Parking Improvements Complete at the Conservancy’s Elks Club Property
This summer, the Conservancy completed a project to improve water quality and accessibility at the Conservancy’s Elks Club property. The Conservancy reconstructed the old parking lot and installed Best Management Practices (BMPs) to capture storm water runoff, which can carry sediments and other pollutants that harm water quality. The new parking lot features improved accessible connections to existing trails. Located along the Upper Truckee River near U.S. Highway 50 in El Dorado County, this property is a popular recreation hub for people accessing the river and nearby trail networks. These improvements build on significant recent work by El Dorado County on the same property that has already improved water quality, habitat, and public access.
Lake Tahoe in the News
How to Get a Free Lake Tahoe Ski Ticket With a License Plate – Powder, November 3, 2025
TRPA to hold public meetings on housing policies – South Tahoe Now, November 16, 2025
D.L. Bliss State Park Set to Reopen in May 2026 After Major Infrastructure Upgrades – California State Parks, November 17, 2025
Plates For Powder Returns
Ski For Free at a Tahoe Area Resort When You Buy a Tahoe License Plate
The Tahoe Fund has launched Plates for Powder, the annual program that offers free skiing opportunities to those who purchase a Lake Tahoe license plate. Proceeds from California Tahoe plate sales and renewals support the Conservancy’s work.
Learn how to purchase your plate and redeem your free lift ticket by visiting tahoeplates.org.