Environmental

Editor’s Note: Patt Quinn-Davis is adviser for the Carneta yearbook. She also teaches Honors American Literature and English IV. Before jumping into teaching, Quinn-Davis worked many years at The Nevada Appeal as city government reporter, columnist, and city editor. She was also editor of The Nevada Appeal and previously was editor of The Daily Democrat newspaper in Woodland, Calif.

STATELINE — Watercraft inspections to prevent the introduction of aquatic invasive species in Lake Tahoe have halted until at least April 16 in response to Nevada and California Executive Orders on COVID-19, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Tahoe Resource Conservation District.

The Lyon County Utilities Department (LCUD) understands this is a stressful time for our community and the households we serve. Please know that we are taking all steps necessary to maintain safe, reliable water and sewer service.

University of Nevada, Reno has implemented plans, having closed for the next 30 days due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Nevada governor's procedures for all schools, state colleges and non-essential employees and school operations.

The Carson City School District, on behalf of the Carson City Schools Foundation, is pleased to announce winners of mini-grants from Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. The competitive process garners dozens of applications from district educators each semester. In addition to the mini-grants, the foundation has also awarded $2,000 to $3,000 grants for a Department, School or Grade-level projects.

UPDATE MONDAY: The Washoe County Health District (WCHD) conducted COVID-19 testing Friday and all tests came back negative including all students at Huffaker Elementary School who were tested. The negative result includes the family member (a Huffaker student) of the resident who tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

NV Energy today made a rate filing with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) that if approved, will result in an overall $24.1 million rate decrease for northern Nevada electric customers effective October 1, 2020. This is the second rate reduction filed by NV Energy this month.

Time flies as the sun shines going into the last Monday in February. Expect daytime highs around 60. Activities include are a political luncheon with Clint Koble, a primary candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, plus yoga, fitness events, West Coast swing dance lessons at Carson Lanes and more.

After a gangbuster start to the winter season, a lot of us in Tahoe are wondering where all the snow has gone. Sitting here at the end of February with snowpack numbers dwindling, snow lovers are chomping at the bit, waiting to see the storm track shift back our way.

Clint Koble, a Democratic primary candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, will be the featured speaker at the next Democratic luncheon. Koble was also the CD2 Democratic candidate in 2018.

CARSON CITY — Did you know you live in a watershed? Everyone does. The "I Am Carson River Watershed" campaign aims to connect our community to the watershed they live in and provide a few easy-to-do actions that can help keep our water healthy.

Healthy people make healthy communities. What are the biggest barriers to overall health and quality healthcare here in northern Nevada? Learn about innovative approaches happening here in our community and what is being done to ensure all Nevadans can lead healthy, happy lives.

The Lyon County Board of Commissioners will participate in a workshop Feb. 20, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. to discuss and address growth in Lyon County.

As part of Tesla’s K-12 Investment Fund, the Carson City School District is pleased to announce it is the most recent recipient of nearly a million dollars in grant funding. The money will help fund a district-wide sustainability initiative for the next three years.

The Carson River Coalition in conjunction with the Carson Water Subconservancy District invites you to the 2020 Carson River Watershed Management Forum. This year’s forum will be a 2-day event at Marlette Hall, Cedar Building, Western Nevada College, Carson City.

• Tuesday, March 10, 2020: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Day 1 events will focus on water quality and watershed health from our science and land management partners.

• Wednesday, March 11, 2020, 9 am – 4:30 pm

Solar panels at the Lake Tahoe Airport have finally been installed and are set to go live next month. That will make this building the City’s first to run entirely off solar power.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit invites you to Ski with a Ranger at Heavenly Mountain Resort beginning Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. Tours begin at Tamarack Lodge, at the top of the Heavenly Gondola every Friday at 1 p.m. The tours last approximately one-hour and continue through March 27, 2020, weather permitting.

During the annual “State of the City” address Friday at Gold Dust West, Carson City’s Mayor Bob Crowell gave his last speech of its kind, as he is retiring at the end of this year.

The State of the City address is a way community members can be kept up to date on everything going on in our capital city, including achievements, challenges, and everything in between.

Updates included achievements such as the completion of the water pipeline from Douglas County to Carson City, the Complete Streets Project, Tesla’s grant for the Carson City School District, the first new park opening in 12 years, the opening of the Disc Golf course, and more.

SACRAMENTO – State fish advisories issued Thursday for Bridgeport Reservoir and Topaz Lake in Mono County provides safe eating advice for multiple species of fish. The advisory for Bridgeport Reservoir provides safe eating advice for Brown Trout, Golden Shiner, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, and Sacramento Perch. The advisory for Topaz Lake provides safe eating advice for black bass species, Mountain Sucker, Rainbow Trout, and Sacramento Sucker.

The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced Thursday the appointment of Colin Robertson as its first Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation administrator.

Learn about the theories of how life formed on Earth and the possibility of life on other planets during aquatic ecologist Marianne Denton’s presentation “Astrobiology: We’re Still Figuring Out How Life Started on Earth” this Saturday, Jan. 25 at Western Nevada College's Jack. C. Davis Observatory.

At the first school board meeting of the year Tuesday, Jan. 14, Mike Walker was named the newest president of the Carson City School District Board of Trustees. He replaced former President Stacie Wilke-McCulloch, as the school board’s leader.

greenUP!, a nonprofit organization that provides environmental education to businesses, announced it has received a $12,898 grant from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Bureau of Sustainable Materials Management 2020 Recycling Grant Program.

Weather permitting, the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team will continue prescribed fire operations over the next several weeks in the Tahoe Basin.

The second week of January has blown in quite fiercely, with a High Wind Warning to last through 1 p.m. Tuesday. Activities around the capital city include the 2020 Winter Reading Challenge at the library, a brown bag luncheon featuring famed environmental writer Michael Branch at the Nevada State Library and Archives, the weekly gathering of the Carson City Toastmasters at Max Casino, a meeting of the Carson City School Board, live cool jazz at Living the Good Life and more.

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.

The Carson City Rifle and Pistol Range will be closed from January 3-17, 2020, for lead reclamation operations. For safety reasons, all shooting activities, including reservations and public use, are canceled during construction.

Lead reclamation is an important environmental best practice for outdoor shooting ranges and is recommended by the National Rifle Association and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

CARSON CITY — Did you know that wood-burning stoves are a significant source of harmful air pollution? The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, working with the University of Nevada, Reno’s Business Environmental Program, are excited to offer instant rebates to Carson City and Douglas County residents who replace their old wood-burning stoves through Nevada’s wintertime clean-heating rebate program.

RENO — January is National Radon Action Month, and University of Nevada, Reno Extension’s Radon Education Program is offering free short-term radon test kits to Nevadans from Jan. 1 through Feb. 29. Radon test kits are available at Extension offices and partnering locations, as well as at free presentations, statewide.

The Nature Conservancy in Nevada, in partnership with the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage and the Desert Research Institute, recently completed the Nevada Wetland Rapid Assessment Method, a draft assessment protocal developed as a product of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant awarded to NDNH.