Wilderness

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. — Spooner Lake is one of Nevada’s most popular places to hike, mountain bike, ride horses or simply enjoy nature, and welcomes more than 150,000 visitors every year. On Thursday, the Nevada Division of State Parks is pleased to launch the bidding process for the park’s much-anticipated Spooner Lake Improvement Project, which involves a complete redesign and update of the facilities, including construction of a visitor center and amphitheater.

Ward 4 Carson City Supervisor John Barrette, who declined to run for re-election and will leave office in January, will be the featured speaker at Monday's Democratic tele-luncheon.

While Christmas tree cutting permits sold out in the Tahoe Basin almost as soon as they were available, with 2,000 permits being snatched up by Nov. 17, not all is lost if you've decided to brave the wilderness to cut down your very own festive tree.

The Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department is looking for adults interested in volunteering to assist leading snowshoe trips.

The department is hoping to offer at least a couple trips each month while there is snow on the ground.

The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is initiating a public comment period on the proposed Forest-Wide Prescribed Fire Restoration Project. The purpose of this project is to increase the pace and scale of prescribed burning on lands within 6.2 million acres of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada and a small portion of eastern California.

The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has begun closing recreational facilities for the winter season. Seasonal closures apply to many National Forest recreation sites in the Tahoe Basin including beaches, campgrounds, picnic areas and forest roads.

Christmas tree permits for National Forest System lands on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest’s Bridgeport and Carson Ranger Districts will be available for purchase online through Recreation.gov, as well as in-person at multiple locations, beginning Monday, Nov. 2.

A 60-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for suspicion of obtaining money under false pretenses and larceny, both misdemeanor offenses, a Carson City sheriff's booking report states.

National Forest trails, trailheads, beaches and other day-use areas in the Lake Tahoe Basin have now reopened for day-use only as of Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. Camping and overnight stays will not be permitted, and campgrounds will remain closed. Resorts will reopen for day-use only. Emergency Fire Restrictions will remain in effect through Nov. 30. I’ve attached the Forest Orders for your awareness.

With the Slink Fire burning south of Topaz Lake continuing to grow westward, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest expanded the fire closure area as of Saturday evening. The closure now includes all areas, campgrounds trails and roads at the following areas:

The Slink Fire burning south of Topaz Lake and two miles west of Coleville, Calif., reached 14,200 acres early Thursday and was 10 percent contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

UPDATE: A wildfilre that started Saturday night continues to burn southwest of Topaz Lake in Mono County on the Bridgeport Ranger District, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – As a reminder, backcountry visitors should practice proper food and garbage storage and behave appropriately when hiking and backpacking in Bear Country.

This summer, wilderness rangers report bears are successfully taking down food-hangs in Desolation Wilderness. Once bears become habituated to human food and garbage they will return and seek it out. Agencies highly recommend using bear resistant canisters when visiting the backcountry.

Since COVID-19 entered Carson City and Northern Nevada communities, there have been many questions about how to stay safe, where to get information and how the community is affected.

According to Storey County Commissioner Jay Carmona the fireworks show in Virginia City has been canceled today as of 1 p.m. The Cruise will be continuing as planned.

According to Carmona, there was an issue with releasing the cancellation announcement but the fireworks are indeed cancelled this year.

Nevada’s public land management agencies remain committed to protecting all residents and visitors through fostering wildfire-resilient landscapes and communities. As the weather warms up and Nevadans spend more time outdoors, land managers are encouraging residents to recreate safely and responsibly to help prevent wildfires, protect lives and property, and preserve our precious natural wonders that we all love.

Combining her passion for the Sierra Nevada wilderness and her love of painting, art instructor and professional watercolorist, Dana Childs is hosting a series of Plein Aire Painting Outings & Hikes.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. — Construction is set to begin in late May on the renovation and re-imagination of facilities at Spooner Lake State Park west of Carson City. A collaboration between Nevada State Parks, Nevada State Lands and the Tahoe Fund has been successful in securing funding and donations to complete plans for the 35-year-old park.

First Descents invites local young adults impacted by cancer or multiple sclerosis on a low-impact snowshoeing hike. The experience will empower participants to adventure outdoors beyond their diagnosis, reclaim their lives, connect with others doing the same and improve their long-term survivorship.

Editor’s Note: The following is from Chief Dan Ingram, who is is head of the Naval Science Department at Carson High School.

The CHS, NJROTC Orienteers competed in a weekend long orienteering festival in Anza Borrego State Park, Calif., Jan. 17-18. During the festival, team members competed in three different races over the two days.

Writer, humorist and environmentalist Michael Branch will discuss his works this Tuesday, Jan. 14 at the Nevada State Library and Archives in Carson City as part of its Brown Bag luncheon series. Branch is the author of several published books, one of which is the Pulitzer-Prize nominated John Muir’s Last Journey: South to the Amazon and East to Africa.

Designed for outdoor enthusiasts, scouts and scout leaders, and anyone who works or spends time in remote environments, this course teaches advanced skills to be used in emergencies when help from professional first responders may be far away. Seniors get a 15% discount! Any questions? Call us at 775-445-4210 or e-mail us at conted@wnc.edu.

Register here: https://www.campusce.net/wnc/Course/Course.aspx?c=115

William "Bill" Clarence Thornton, father, attorney, pilot, part-time cowboy, corny joke-teller, and mentor to many, had his final flight on Tuesday, November 5th, 2019 after gracefully charting his course with Parkinson's Disease for over twenty years. Bill died peacefully at home in hospice care surrounded by loved ones.

Thanks to a partnership between the Nevada Department of Corrections, Bureau of Land Management, and Institute for Applied Ecology, more than 200,000 sagebrush will be planted in Nevada wilderness scarred by wildfire.

Permits to cut Christmas trees on the Carson and Bridgeport Ranger Districts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will be available for purchase beginning Friday, Nov. 1. The U.S. Forest Service Christmas Tree Program is designed for families, businesses, and institutions wishing to cut their own trees for decorating.

California’s native Paiute cutthroat trout, the rarest trout in North America, swims once again in its high Sierra home waters for the first time in more than 100 years.

The Tahoe Basin is bear country and natural resource and law enforcement agencies are working diligently to remind residents and visitors to practice proper food storage and trash disposal when living in or visiting bear country. To help spread our message, we’ve launched a new website, TahoeBears.org, where residents and visitors can go to learn everything they need to know about living, visiting and playing responsibly in bear country.

Their shared ancestry to the rich equestrian tradition found in the United Kingdom offers natural synergy to the horsemanship tradition they have in common, but that’s where the trail and spoils split for Kailey Fitzpatrick and Riley McHenry.

Heading to Lake Tahoe for Labor Day weekend to celebrate the unofficial end of summer? Please keep the following in mind for a safe and fun-filled holiday weekend.

CARSON CITY — The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest welcomes Matthew Zumstein as the new District Ranger for the Carson Ranger District. In his new position, Zumstein will provide oversight of the staff and resources needed to manage over 400,000 acres of National Forest System lands in the eastern Sierra region of northeastern Nevada and eastern California.