Published: Sep 19, 2024

Tahoe Conservancy Releases Racial Equity Action Plan 

Conservancy Board Also Authorizes Agreement for Continued Cross-Country Ski Area Operations on Conservancy Land Near Tahoe City, Grants $100,000 to Improve Interpretive Signage Along Upper Truckee River 

Kings Beach, Calif.—At a meeting of its Board today, the California Tahoe Conservancy released its Racial Equity Action Plan. Informed by two years of community outreach and collaboration with the Equity and Wellness Institute, the new plan complements the Conservancy’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan, particularly its commitments to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California and racial equity principles.  

“This plan will help guide our work on racial equity for years to come,” said Jason Vasques, Executive Director of the California Tahoe Conservancy. “I’m grateful to all who contributed their knowledge and perspectives as we developed it, including the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, partner organizations and agencies, our own staff and Board, and many community members and visitors.”  

Actions by federal, state, and local governments have created and maintained racial inequity through law, policy, funding, programs, and organizational culture. Government agencies at all levels are increasingly assessing and improving their policies and practices to rectify historical discrimination and avoid future inequities. 

While its Strategic Plan provides the Conservancy’s overarching equity vision, in the Racial Equity Action Plan, the Conservancy outlines operational actions to work within its mission to ensure the Conservancy’s actions reduce, not perpetuate, inequity. Goals set in the plan include improving equity in hiring and retention, maintaining and strengthening the Conservancy’s commitment to the Washoe Tribe, and improving community engagement and communications.  

At the same meeting, the Board authorized a long-term license agreement with the Tahoe City Public Utility District (TCPUD) to continue to use and maintain existing roads and trails for recreational purposes and to groom winter trails for cross-country skiing on Conservancy properties near Tahoe City. The Tahoe Cross-Country ski area spans over 50 kilometers and crosses the Dollar Property and land owned by the TCPUD, California State Parks, and the USDA Forest Service. Under the agreement, the TCPUD or its concessionaire will continue to offer free skiing for local students, low-cost youth and senior passes, nature education, and initiatives to improve access for people of color.  

Also at the meeting, the Board authorized a $100,000 grant to Tahoe Resource Conservation District (Tahoe RCD) to develop a signage plan for the Upper Truckee River corridor. Although Lake Tahoe Basin partners have protected much of the lower nine miles of the Upper Truckee River, the area lacks consistent and widespread interpretive signage. Tahoe RCD will work with the Conservancy and other partners to develop and begin implementing a plan that results in signage educating people about the history of development and impacts, watershed restoration projects and partnerships, recreational resources, safety and wayfinding, and tribal and cultural values. 

The Board also discussed the Conservancy’s Tahoe Livable Communities Program with a joint presentation with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.  

During the meeting, the Conservancy also released a video on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. The video highlights accomplishments from four decades of collaborations with federal, tribal, state, and local partners to restore and enhance the extraordinary natural and recreational resources of the Lake Tahoe Basin. 

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The California Tahoe Conservancy is a state agency, under the California Natural Resources Agency and established in 1984, with a mission to lead California’s efforts to restore and enhance the extraordinary natural and recreational resources of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Learn more at tahoe.ca.gov.