More than 200 scientists, agency staff and managers, and stakeholders will meet over two days to present results aimed at measuring the success of ecosystem restoration in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The 5th Biennial Tahoe Basin Science Conference “Measuring the Success of Ecosystem Restoration in the Lake Tahoe Basin,” is March 16-17 at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, Incline Village.

Results from more than two-thirds of the 45 science projects that have been supported by the $11.25 million allocated for the Tahoe Science Program over the past three years will be unveiled.

The conference program features more than 100 oral and poster presentations on topics such as:

* aquatic environments (invasive species, native fish species, and the lake’s water quality and ecology);

* forest vegetation, soils and fire effects (soil disturbance and erosion, effects of the Angora wildfire on land and water resources, and prescribed burning and forest fuels treatments); and

* watershed restoration and air quality (stream and habitat restoration, burning and road dust impacts on air quality, and estimating the impacts of climate change in the Tahoe Basin).

This biennial science conference provides a forum where individuals involved in the science and management of the Lake Tahoe Basin can learn about and discuss the latest scientific findings and their significance. This conference also provides the opportunity for networking, education, and the exchange of new ideas and information.

The conference will begin with a session for all participants focusing on ecological change in complex systems and the impacts of invasive species.

Invited speakers include Daniel Schindler, University of Washington; Carla D’Antonio, UC Santa Barbara; Jonathan Brossenbroek, University of Toledo; Michael Marchetti, CSU Chico; and Chris Dionigi, acting executive director of the National Invasive Species Council.

The conference is hosted by the Tahoe Science Consortium. The Consortium’s member organizations are UNR; Desert Research Institute; UC Davis; the U.S. Geological Survey; and the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station.

The Research Station administers the Tahoe Science Program with funds from the Bureau of Land Management as authorized in the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act to support environmental restoration of the Tahoe Basin under the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act.

For more information about the conference, click here.