By Kathryn Reed

Poles may have been exchanged for paddles with snow on the ground, but that isn’t stopping the non-motorized boat community from gathering information from people.

A blog has been developed to seek input from paddlers about what they want Lake Tahoe to be like when it comes to having access and information. The blog will be taken down Dec. 15.

The comments will be incorporated into the Lake Tahoe Non-Motorized Boat Framework that is being developed by a working group of mostly public agencies that own lakefront property. However, homeowners are represented, as is the Lake Tahoe Water Trail Committee. (The business rep has never attended the meeting and the Washoe Tribe designee stopped going.)

Group trying to make paddling on Lake Tahoe a better experience. Photo/Kathryn Reed

“In addition to the framework that is on the blog, there is a study report that will be published that documents all the data collected,” said Sue Rae Irelan, the California Tahoe Conservancy representative on the task force.

That will come out the first quarter of 2011.

It’s intended to be a resource for agencies, but not something that any group would adopt. Part of the document is the user survey of paddlers what was done in 2008.

The information will be given to applicable agencies early in 2011 so anything that could be addressed would be before the summer season begins.

“A lot of what is in the framework is geared toward managing the beaches for beach access, looking at if parking is acceptable, looking at how people get in in the winter,” Irelan said.

Part of the education component for paddlers involves letting them know the differences between California and Nevada in regards to what is public v. private. The other component is knowing when private property can be accessed and responsibilities of being on that property.

One thing Irelan said that was discovered early on is how kayakers, canoeists and paddlboarders don’t usually use traditional boat launches. They are getting on the lake from a beach. This means needing info about aquatic invasive species and other information being distributed at non-traditional locations.

Comments about paddling on Lake Tahoe may be posted on the blog until Dec. 15 or sent to Sue Rae Irelan at sirelan@tahoe.ca.gov.