Letter: Cause and effect of dog waste in Tahoe
To the community,
Eutrophication – diminishing clarity due to excessive nutrient loading.
According to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the year-round or permanent resident population of the Lake Tahoe Basin is approximately 50,000.
There are approximately 50,000 year-round Lake Tahoe residents of which, in my opinion, 20 percent own and care for our canine guest, which suggest the number of canines to be in the range of 10,000 dogs living in the Tahoe basin.
It is expected that a 30-pound dog will eat approximately one-half pound of food per day, or 15 pounds of dog food per month. Assuming that 70 percent of the nutrients consumed is converted directly into energy the remaining 30 percent is left as waste.
Some math: 10,000 dogs x 15 pounds/month x 12 months x 0.30 = 540,000 pounds of waste deposited per year.
In addition to the 540,000 pounds of waste from our local dogs we can add to that number the number of pounds of waste per year from our visiting dogs, which is an unknown quantity. Then we can add to that number the number of pounds of waste from our local and visiting cats, an unknown quantity. All of which push up the number of pounds of waste deposited per year.
My theory as to the cause of the algae blooms and aggressive growth of the Eurasian milfoil weed found in the basin is directly correlated to the waste produced from our pets. This theory could be verified by studying the bloom locations and comparing them to the locations of our drainage outlets where the nutrient concentration would be greatest.
There are solutions to this problem and I encourage all of the residents of Lake Tahoe who own pets and also acknowledge this as a problem suggest a solution of their own.
Comments welcome.
Sincerely,
Mark Allione, dog owner
Mark Allione, I agree with you about animal waste adding to the diminishing clarity of the lake. I dispose of my dog and cat poop in a plastic bag which is taken to the landfill. Some folks don’t do that, but most pet owners are responsible folk who love their pets and the lake.
I wish our storm drains didn’t run into the lake! All the leaks from vehicles that spill onto the roads end up in our once pristine Lake Tahoe! Maybe filters on the drains? Reroute street run off to STPUD? Enforce people to clean up after their pets so the waste is remvoed and disposed of properly?
I wish I had a solution! OLS(dog and cat owner)
Unfortunately, many Tahoe dog owners think it is “natural” to leave their dog’s poop in our open spaces. You should see the service road from end of Lodi Ave down to the river in the winter…. It is dog-poop road. It would be great if some businesses sponsored a dog waste dispenser in some of these areas, with a garbage can at the gate for disposal. It is disgusting to take kids with sleds through this area. I think folks need to be educated about the negatives of leaving their dog poop behind, and maybe install bag dispensers and cans where most take their dogs for walks. I love dogs, and when my big pooch did her biz, I always picked it up and disposed of it — it is the responsible thing to do. Keep Tahoe clean (& pick up!).
The forest service really needs to put out a lot more trash cans. It’s absurd that there aren’t ANY trash cans at Kiva Beach by the water — for dog waste or any other kind of trash. And I really don’t understand the people who do bag their dog droppings –but then leave the blue plastic bag on the ground.
Correlation does not imply causation.
What about the bear population? Or the cougar population? Both have grown exponentially beyond historical numbers with the protections afforded them. These animals do not ‘bag’ their waste for the trash.
The simple fact is that population, of any kind, affects the lake. But even if you take away the population, geologic and hydrologic changes would still affect lake clarity. The silts and sands on the bottom all have been a part of water turbidity at some point, and through time the water clarifies.
The only constant is time.
OLS FOR PRESIDENT
Jeffery Spencer, Your comment gave me “paws” for thought, (bad pun intended). I agree that the lake will change, no matter what we do. All we can do currently is to try to stop it from becoming green.
Your friend in the forest, OLS
I think sometimes people pick up after their dogs and leave the bag beside the trail to pick up on their way back to the car.
Yes, bags should be made available along with cans to place them in.
Susan, Kiva Beach is owned by the forest service, however not patrolled by anyone. Technically the law is that dogs on Kiva Beach have to be on a 6′ or shorter leash, with no patrol, means no enforcement. They dont charge entry fees an if you want to keep it that way, it means no services. And Dont even think about taking your dog across the creek to Baldwin.
Hiker, I’ve never seen a dog poop bag dispenser without a waste can under it. Usually dogs don’t go near these cans an people are to lazy to bring them back.
How about geese feces? That’s often a direct deposit right into the lake and if it’s not direct it too makes its way to the Lake eventually. I had a direct airstrike to my car windshield when driving in town one day and the amount of excrement deposited required an immediate trip to the car wash because the windshield washer fluid and wipers just couldn’t handle the load. I was actually surprised that my windshield didn’t crack.
I agree with Mr. Spencer that population of any kind affects the Lake’s clarity, and I would speculate that the population of nearly every species in the Tahoe basin has increased.
Spouse – 4-mer-usmc
Bury it along with compostable material away from the lake, worms love this stuff and recycle.
4-mer : I think your observation and question about the geese was investigated and found that each goose creates an unbelievable poundage of excrement every day. Way more than any dog or cat and their habitat is on or close to the lake where most dogs and cats don’t defecate near the lake.
How about an effort to return the Canada Geese population to their source or at least make them return to being migratory.
When we take care of the dogs then we can start on the bear. Next will be he thousands of small rodents that live in the basin. Then we can start on all the water foul on the lake. Not to mention all the thousands of fish who use the lake as there personal potty.
Kiva and the rest of the lake is well-funded — over $1 BILLION
($576 million in federal funding, $655 million in CA funding, $113 million in NV funding, $74 million in local funding, and $323 million in private sector funding) — so it’s far from free. People leave trash behind when there isn’t any place to put it. Having a dumpster only in the parking lot isn’t working.
If your goal is to protect the lake, then let’s start with the obvious and do something to help with the TRASH?
We demand the author of this letter attempt to catch a bear in the act of doing his business and put a plastic bag in use and report back as this waste left unattended is a huge problem with animals in the woods having no manners. This should be regulated and bear bags required and then deer bags and then squirrel and beavers and for fish. This waste issue is the real cause of something somewhere this is real and really bizarre and laughable.
It’s soooo gross and out-of-control in my neighborhood that it makes me want to move. Every unbuilt lot, every forest service lot, every CTC lot and every yard that’s not fenced is deep in feces. People are opening their door and letting their dogs do their business, wherever they end-up, a couple times a day, everyday. They rarely even step out of the house as this happens and it’s going on for years. Punishment in the form of tickets with huge fines need to be handed out or it’ll never change. And YES! I’ve cleaned it up. No one notices and it continues, day after day……poop after poop…
You are on your own there Justice.
I agree with gigguy, about the out of control dog feces in the neighborhoods in this town. Interesting timing for this article as this morning while taking out my garbage before work, I noticed yet another large pile of dog feces at the end of my driveway where there is a storm drain which will go right into the lake — after the garbage men step into the poop. Yes, I should have gone back inside, gotten a bag and cleaned up after my neighbor’s dog and been late to work. I didn’t. Unfortunately, I believe the people who let their dogs poop anywhere and everywhere do not read this online paper.
Justice cracked a funny…first time I have noticed that. Humor helps everything….too bad so few people recognize it when they see or hear it.
I didn’t count, but it seems like the preponderance of commenters are looking for somebody else to do something about poop.
If we all just did our part, instead of complaining about others we’d be halfway home.
We should all notice however, that a lot of money is spent keeping evolution from happening.
Change is inevitable from purely natural causes, and mans only control is on himself.
It would be good if man learned to live WITH the world, not just On it.
Duh-yup yup …whut abowt the bear poop? Whut abowt the goose poop? Whut abowt the cougar poop? Whut about the coyote poop? Whut abowt the bug poop?
What about it? What do they eat? How does it break down into nutrients that enhance the environment? What’s in your dog and cat food? Do you know? Do you care?
Posters such as inJustice and Dan don’t even want to try and connect the dots.
Well went for a walk into the campground and guess what I saw,A human going poop right in front of me, Hope he cleans it up,Thats poop for ya .
When I find my neighbors dog crap on my lawn it ends up back in their yard.
One question: How long can those nutrients in feces last in an open environment?
I ask this because many toxins break down very quickly in an open environment exposed to the elements.
Judging from the number of “comments” I’m not alone anymore. I have been preaching this concept for 30 years or more. To make it visual a years’s pile of dog doo would reach the 2nd floor. There is no %100 solution to the problem but education of this kind is a good start. If your neighbor doesn’t agree, embarrass them!
Jim Hildinger
This is silly, Look at the Dog Beach in incline It’s only opened to dogs half the year, the other half the year it’s over run by Duck Geese and boats, I bet now that all the dogs keep the birds scared off the water is cleaner. This article is not based in science and is per speculation.
NO this is wrong and silly. Look at the Dog Beach in incline It’s only opened to dogs half the year, the other half the year it’s over run by Duck Geese and boats, I bet now that all the dogs keep the birds scared off the water is cleaner. This article is not based in science and is per speculation.