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The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, in its capacity as the Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization, on Wednesday adopted an active transportation plan that will help communities continue to improve transportation options for bicyclists and pedestrians in the basin.

Restoring and conserving our environment at Lake Tahoe means setting our aspirations at the right scale. That’s what the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and many partners are working to do through strategic initiatives to ensure the health of our basin’s forests, streams, and lake, and to improve our communities and transportation infrastructure.

Lake Tahoe, Stateline, NV – The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency will conduct travel surveys with visitors and residents at several recreational and commercial locations throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin starting today, Friday, Feb. 19, 2016.

At Lake Tahoe, we know our natural resources are one of our most valuable assets, and that’s why we have worked for decades to conserve and restore them. The natural wonders of the Jewel of the Sierra and the opportunities they afford are why we live here, and why millions of visitors travel here to enjoy the Tahoe Basin each year.

Improving transportation options for bicyclists and pedestrians is one of the most effective strategies to conserve and restore Lake Tahoe’s environment, revitalize the economy, enhance recreation opportunities, and improve public health, according to Tahoe Regional Planning Agency officials.

People at Lake Tahoe are working together like never before to restore our environment, revitalize our economy, and improve our communities. We saw significant progress all around the lake this year. And our progress is sustainable with continued partnership and collaboration, so critical to tackle the many challenges and important decisions on our horizon.

The five-year, $305 billion federal transportation bill passed by Congress and signed into law Friday, Dec. 4 by President Obama includes a provision that will steer additional money to Lake Tahoe communities for roadway improvements and enhanced public transit service.

This past summer was Lake Tahoe’s busiest tourist season in recent memory. With the economy rebounding and major population growth projected for nearby metropolitan areas, this summer is also a harbinger of change. We must be prepared to meet the challenges of increased visitation in the future.

The California Transportation Commission announced this week that it will award nearly $9 million in Active Transportation Program grant funding to help complete three major bike and pedestrian projects in the City of South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe City.

Members of the Lake Tahoe Bikeway Partnership applied for the grants. The partnership formed several years ago to secure funding for critical trail segments to improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety and complete the Lake Tahoe Bikeway, a comprehensive multi-use trail network for the Lake Tahoe Region.

Lake Tahoe has been recognized for another important conservation success. Our region’s proactive, collaborative strategy to protect Tahoe yellow cress, begun almost 15 years ago, is working so well that the plant does not need additional protections under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, El Dorado County, and members of Tahoe Backcountry Alliance announced Monday they've partnered to create a coalition of stakeholders to maintain and enhance public access for winter backcountry skiing and snowboarding around Lake Tahoe.

“We’re optimistic about this opportunity to work together to get back some of the access that we have lost in the past, and work to enhance access in the future. Let’s together reclaim and preserve backcountry access in the Tahoe Basin,” said Mike Schwartz and Todd Offenbacher, of Tahoe Backcountry Alliance.

Lake Tahoe’s fire departments are reminding people that it’s dangerous to dispose of fireplace, wood stove or barbecue ashes in improper containers and locations. Embers, often concealed in what appears to be cold ashes, can remain hot enough to kindle a fire for several days. It is recommended to wait at least 96 hours and/or 4 days before disposing ashes.
To safely dispose of ashes:

• Put discarded ashes in a heavy metal container, douse with water, and cover with fitted metal lid.

A Nevada Department of Transportation project to repave and enhance Kingsbury Grade last year has received a Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Best in the Basin Award.

The project substantially completed ahead of schedule in 2014, and was recognized as a water quality and erosion control improvement that helped enhance the Lake Tahoe environment.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency this week announced and recognized award recipients for its 25th annual Best in the Basin program. The agency created the recognition program to showcase projects that demonstrate exceptional planning, design, and compatibility with Lake Tahoe’s environment and communities.

Aquatic invasive species are one of the most serious challenges facing Lake Tahoe. They continuously threaten to damage its unique environment and famed water clarity and degrade the world-class recreational experiences residents and millions of visitors enjoy each year.

Top experts in aquatic invasive species from throughout the West will be at Lake Tahoe this week attending the the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species conference.

Volunteers have stepped up to adopt and maintain the decorative gateway signs that were installed along the three Nevada highways that lead motorists into the Lake Tahoe Basin.

An updated Lake Tahoe Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan will be presented to the public during the Lake Tahoe Environmental Summit on Monday, August 24.

This new Community Wildfire Protection Plan was collaboratively developed by the 18 member organizations of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team and is the culmination of a three-year planning effort.

The Governing Board of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency today unanimously approved the Tahoe Valley Area Plan the City of South Lake Tahoe created to guide community revitalization and environmental restoration in a district centered around the “Y” intersection of Highways 89 and 50.

History shows time and time again our greatest accomplishments at Lake Tahoe are achieved when people work together. In the past, Tahoe was known as a place where unproductive interactions between stakeholders led to a stunning decay in our environment and our economic vitality, creating a region that seemed frozen in time.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency on Thursday voiced its strong support for legislation to reauthorize the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act that has been introduced in Congress by Tahoe’s Senate delegation.

Sponsored by U.S. Senator Dean Heller, R-Nevada, along with Harry Reid, D-Nevada, Dianne Feinstein D-California, and Barbara Boxer, D-California, the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act would authorize up to $415 million in federal funding over 10 years to help continue critical environmental restoration work at Lake Tahoe.

We face some big, daunting environmental restoration challenges here at Lake Tahoe. But helping our environment every day can be as simple as riding a bike, walking, or taking transit. And the hundreds of people who participated in the Tahoe Bike Challenge this June, including many of our employees at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, are showing how big of an impact our individual actions can have.

Join us as we celebrate the Tahoe Bike Challenge with a community BIKE PATH CLEANUP event on Saturday, June 13th from 10am-noon.

Volunteers can meet at one of four locations throughout South Tahoe to pick up litter from the areas around our bike paths. Then we’ll meet up at the League to Save Lake Tahoe office (2608 Lake Tahoe Blvd.) for a free lunch, raffle and celebration after 12pm. All ages are welcome and all supplies will be provided!

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board on Wednesday unanimously approved Tahoe Transportation District’s plans to realign State Route 89 access at Fanny Bridge through Tahoe City as part of a community revitalization project.

It’s Wildfire Awareness Month at Tahoe, and with the summer tourist season around the corner, we must all remember that drought has left our Region with severely dry forest conditions and an extreme risk of wildfire. This summer we need to think about “when” not “if” another fire will happen. All of us have important roles to play in preventing the next wildfire, and in making sure our homes, families, and communities are prepared for it.

What are homeowners in the Tahoe Keys doing to fight aquatic invasive species? How successful was the pilot research project to reduce the Asian clam population in Emerald Bay, and what does it mean for future control projects? What does the latest research say about whether quagga mussels could survive in Lake Tahoe?

The final hurdle in a process that began in 2013 was cleared Thursday for Heavenly Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe with final approval by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board for the Epic Discovery Project, a year-round outdoor recreation plan to straddle the resort's Nevada and California border.

Heavenly Mountain Resort has sought approval for expansions to its on-mountain summer activities, as part of Vail Resorts’ Epic Discovery program. The Epic Discovery plan was submitted in July 2013 and has undergone a comprehensive environmental and public review.

The University of California, Davis and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency recently released their yearly water clarity readings for Lake Tahoe. The good news: Mid-lake water clarity improved significantly in 2014, with an average reading of 77.8 feet. That’s 7.5 feet greater than the average reading for 2013, and almost 14 feet greater than the 64.1 feet measured in 1997, Lake Tahoe’s lowest recorded clarity.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Lake Tahoe Sustainability Action Plan is being recognized this month with a National Planning Achievement Award for Environmental Planning from the American Planning Association. The Sustainability Action Plan is one of 12 nationwide that will be recognized with excellence awards during the association's April 20 conference.

The money committees on Wednesday voted to join California in making up the loss of federal funds for the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species boat inspection program.That will cost each state $375,000 a year. TRPA off...