National Forest Foundation | Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership

Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership

Resilient Forests, Watersheds, and Communities

Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership

The Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership (Lake Tahoe West) is a collaborative effort to restore the resilience of forests, watersheds, and communities on 59,000 acres of Lake Tahoe's west shore.

The forests, lakes, and alpine peaks of Lake Tahoe’s west shore make it one of America’s iconic landscapes. The region as a whole is home to 54,000 residents and attracts over 6.4 million annual visitors.

Wildfire, drought, and insects and disease epidemics—pressures that are amplified by climate change—threaten forests, watersheds, and communities across the Lake Tahoe West landscape.

The goal of Lake Tahoe West is to restore the resilience of the west shore's forests, watersheds, recreational opportunities, and communities to such threats. The planning area includes approximately 59,000 acres of federal, state, local, and private lands, from Emerald Bay to Squaw Valley.

Lake Tahoe West is a multi-stakeholder collaborative initiative convened by California Tahoe Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, California State Parks, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, and National Forest Foundation.

Project Updates

Lake Tahoe West Restoration Project

The proposed Lake Tahoe West Restoration Project will restore forests, meadows, streams, and wildlife habitat across the west shore of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Project documents are available at the Forest Service's Lake Tahoe West project page. The lead agencies completed a public scoping process in June 2020 and are currently developing the draft environmental document and analysis.

Lake Tahoe West Science Report - Released November 3, 2020

The Lake Tahoe West Science Team evaluated how different management approaches may affect wildlife habitat, fire risks, water quality, economics, and other values up to 100 years into the future. The Science Report summarizes the results of this science effort.

Visit the Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station for more information about Lake Tahoe West Science.

Project Resources

Story Map

Visit Lake Tahoe West's interactive story map to learn about our collaborative approach to restore forests and watersheds on 59,000 acres of Lake Tahoe's west shore.

Landscape Restoration Strategy

The Lake Tahoe West Landscape Restoration Strategy, completed in 2019, provides a collaborative framework to restore 59,000 acres of federal, state, local, and private lands on the west shore of Lake Tahoe.

Landscape Resilience Assessment

The Lake Tahoe West Landscape Resilience Assessment (PDF, 12MB), completed in 2017, evaluated the current conditions and resilience of the west shore landscape.

Lake Tahoe West Science Symposium, May 19 & 29, 2020

The Science Team presented findings from the comprehensive Lake Tahoe West science effort and discussed how results inform future resilience and management of the Lake Tahoe basin landscape.

Additional Resources

Upcoming Stakeholder Committee Meetings

The date of the next Stakeholder Committees meeting is to be determined. Stakeholder Committee meetings are open to the public. RSVP from public parties is requested (but not required) by three business days before the meeting. Please email [email protected] to RSVP.

Stakeholder Group Meeting Summaries

Acknowledgements

This initiative is generously supported by two Proposition 1 planning grants from the California Tahoe Conservancy to the National Forest Foundation, agreement number CTA 15 018L; a State Fire Assistance grant from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, grant award number 17-DG-11052012-145; and funding from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act via the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

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NFF Conservation Connect

Learn more about the NFF's other collaboration efforts here.

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Contact

Connect with the Group

Sarah Di Vittorio, Ph.D., Northern California Program Manager, at 530.902.8281 or [email protected]