Projects improving South Lake Tahoe
October 23, 2023: Published By Tahoe Daily Tribune
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.—Partners of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program provided a webinar update on multiple projects improving South Lake’s environment on Wednesday night, Oct. 18.
The environmental webinar was open to anyone who wanted to attend and learn how the EIP is working to prepare the region for climate resilience and restore the environment from previous threats.
“Tahoe has faced many environmental threats over the years,” said Victoria Ortiz, Community Engagement Manager for Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, “We have contended with historical logging, development, and grazing, which all caused Tahoe’s famous clarity to plummet over the years.”
Tackling Invasive Species
The most recent looming threat comes in a small package. The Tahoe Resource Conservation District says they’re working to get a jump on the rice sized New Zealand mudsnails discovered last month. Their initial response involved sizing up the invasion with diver surveys on transects of the lake.
The results show the extent of the infestation is in a three mile stretch between the Tahoe Keys and Ski Run Boulevard, at least for now.
“Survey efforts are still ongoing to further delineate that,” said Sara Matthews, Aquatic Invasive Species Control Coordinator for TRCD.
Matthews says they are still in the information gathering phase and determining if these snails will have the negative impact seen in other infested waters around the west. These include outcompeting native species and impacting the food chain, something their hardiness and rapid reproduction allows. They also don’t have many natural predators here, which allows them to gain the advantage quickly.
As far as keeping them from spreading, the public will play a huge role. The TRCD as well as the League to Save Lake Tahoe have three words for the public— “clean, drain, dry.” This is the best way to keep the snails from spreading by any type of water equipment, from fishing gear to paddle boards. Even beach toys can pose a risk.
The league has implemented a machine on Tahoe beaches to help with this effort. The CD3 is a mobile unit that cleans, drains, and dries non-motorized watercraft like kayaks and paddle boards. They’re working on putting these machines at popular paddle board and kayak recreation spots.
The CD3 isn’t the only machine fighting invasive species in Tahoe.
“The PixieDrone is like an aquatic Roomba, essentially” said Senior Science Policy Analyst Laura Patten for the league, “and it can eat up to ten gallons of weeds at a time.”
This is beneficial for areas like the Tahoe Keys where aquatic weeds infest more than 90% of the lagoon, according to Patten.
Another area where invasive weeds run rampant is the area of Tallac and Taylor Creek. Forestry biologist Sarah Muskopf says the restoration project there spans 2,600 acres. Their focus recently has been on Kiva Beach.
They’ve laid the equivalent of blackout curtains on the water floor to deprive the Eurasian watermilfoil of sunlight. These benthic barriers will do their job until 2027. You may have noticed the signs they’ve put up notifying the public of the under water tarp-like floor.
Muskopf says these will help keep the weeds from affecting the water clarity, but for their efforts to be affective, “public support and outreach is crucial.”
Any resident can join the multi-agency fight against invasive species with their “Citizen Science” initiative. The league calls it “Eyes on the Lake.” Their app allows anyone enjoying the region to report invasive species and litter.
It’s paying off. The league says this has already prevented almost 10 infestations so far.
Plastic Invasion
Lake invaders aren’t just biological, some make a crinkly sound with a bottle cap.
The League to Save Lake Tahoe says of the majority of the over 74,000 pounds of trash that they’ve cleaned off beaches were plastic. According the league, plastic doesn’t break down. It disintegrates into tinier and tinier pieces called microplastics that can negatively impact the environment and our health in the long run.
Also known as “Keep Tahoe Blue,” the league has multiple trash clean up events throughout the year, including the “Keep Tahoe Red, White, and Blue” event after each Fourth of July. Community members can also join a Tahoe Blue Crew and pledge to clean up an adopted spot three times a year.
These volunteer efforts tackle trash above ground, but litter doesn’t stop there. Pounds of litter are below the sand on Tahoe beaches, the league says. They leave this job to Bebot, a beach sifting robot that goes four inches below the sand. According to the league, it’s “the last line of defense in the battle against our microplastics problem in Lake Tahoe.”
Chevallier and Harris walking behind the robot “BEBOT” as it moves down the beach. Laney Griffo/ Tahoe Daily Tribune
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