Opinion: Working together for Tahoe’s sake
By Casey Beyer
As the incoming chair of the 15-member Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board, this promises to be a hopeful and exciting year. 2015 will be full of opportunities, but also challenges, for the continued protection of Lake Tahoe.
The No. 1 priority among our challenges is funding shortfalls. Federal and state funding that has paid for environmental restoration and protection efforts at Lake Tahoe for years is drying up and new approaches need to be pursued.
Casey Beyer
We must work together to find creative resources from our federal, state, local, and private sector partners to continue completing environmental improvement program (EIP) projects. Over the last two decades, the EIP has built bike paths, improved the health of our forests, reduced stormwater pollution, and halted a decadeslong decline in Lake Tahoe’s mid-lake water clarity.
Our environmental efforts must include Tahoe’s near shore. That area of the lake is the focus of a new monitoring and research program because it continues to experience water quality problems even as mid-lake clarity has stabilized. Addressing threats from pollution, algae growth, and the spread of invasive species are top priorities for us.
We must find long-term funding sources to continue our mandatory boat inspection program to prevent the introduction of new aquatic invasive species into Lake Tahoe, and to control as best we can the impact of damaging invasive species that are already in the lake.
We are seeing many transportation improvements in the Tahoe basin, with major local projects such as the Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project, Harrison Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project, and Incline Village to Sand Harbor Bike Path all taking shape. But we must do more to improve our transportation corridors.
Transportation projects offer some of the best return for our dollar in terms of community revitalization and improved mobility, access, and recreation. They also offer tremendous environmental benefit by creating safer and more convenient ways for people to get around on foot or bike and by reducing the amount of fine sediment and other pollution that washes into Lake Tahoe with rainfall and snow melt.
Part of our transportation challenge is educating policy makers in Washington, D.C. Federal funding formulas allocate money for roadwork based on our small rural population, and fail to account for the millions of visitors who travel to Tahoe each year from nearby cities. Upgrading our transportation infrastructure and transit systems in the basin, so critical to the health of Lake Tahoe’s environment and communities, as well as the experience of visitors, requires changing those formulas.
As a native of Nevada and a California governor appointee, in my three decades of public service in California and Nevada, no assignment has been more important to me than when I was appointed to the TRPA Governing Board in September 2009. In the last five plus years I have worked to build a bi-partisan bridge of trust between two states and gained the respect of California Gov. Jerry Brown and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval. There is no question that California and Nevada share the responsibility to protect this national treasure.
Growing up in Reno, Lake Tahoe was my playground and backyard and I spent every spare moment I could enjoying it. Skiing and swimming in the lake’s crystal clear water and hiking the Rim Trail before it was recognized as a recreational wonder were all part of growing up. It’s these activities that turned me into a young environmental steward in the 1960s at the same time the TRPA was being created.
For years, unproductive interactions between the stakeholders at Lake Tahoe stalled progress and did little to improve the lake’s environment or our communities. Fortunately, times are different today.
In December 2012, we turned a page in Lake Tahoe’s history by approving a widely supported Regional Plan. Implementation of the plan will improve Tahoe’s natural environment and the health, sustainability, and economic vitality of our communities. A variety of groups with different opinions are setting aside their differences to focus on our challenges and seeking solutions for the mutual interest of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Winston Churchill once said, “If we open a quarrel between the past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future.” I want everyone to be a part of solving the challenges we have before us, because meeting them head on will benefit our lake and the opportunity will be our legacy to future generations. That does not mean we will agree on every issue, but when we stay engaged, bringing our different views and opinions to bear on problems, keeping the big picture in mind, we will find common solutions.
Casey Beyer will serve as chair of the TRPA Governing Board from January 2015 to December 2017.
“The No. 1 priority among our challenges is funding shortfalls.”
TYPICAL!! THIS is the problem with all the people in charge. They always want more money. Any problem can be solved with more money.
I nearly swore at the screen when I read that statement. It will NEVER be enough money for these political animals. They will always want us to give them more money.
No. No. No. We’ve given billions. You never fix the problems because then you’d be out of a job. We are done. No more.
Dogula, I agree with about the #1 prority of the TRPA.
Mr.Beyer then goes on to say more money raised will be going to more enviornmental projects that will be to improve lake clarity. I am glad to hear they will be working on stormwater pollution.
I think he could of worded that a bit differently in regards to their no. 1 priority.
Not too disimilar from LTCC voteing to give themselves a raise before any improvements have begun on site on campus property with taxpayer dollars.
It’s the same ol’ same ol’. “Lets roll up our sleeves and get to work!!! !But first, where’s the money? We need more!!!!” OLS
A lot of government and funding going to the eip. If Stormwater is the culprit I would think they have it pretty well figured out by now. Dig a hole and put water in it. Do we really need so many agencies involved when all that is needed are some distributed ponds. Don’t they have this all figured out by now?
OLS=fundamentally flawed logic underpinning zero grasp of most concepts…
Somebody-ff-always has to start insulting people without addressing the issues every time, don’t they? That makes it hard to take this forum seriously.
Although the TRPA advertised the RPU as a means to ‘reduce vehicle use/reliance on our cars,’ and ‘restore sensitive lands,’ what’s going on now is anything but. A project near Tahoe City to expand highway capacity (“Fanny Bridge”) and reroute the highway through a forested lot ON sensitive lands (funded by our tax dollars). Then we have the Loop Road (more car capacity). Add the Ferry project that would not only devastate the nearshore (think recent Tahoe Queen mishaps…drought, dredging…), but use 2,000 gallons of gas per DAY, at a price tag of $50 million from our tax dollars to build, and millions each year to operate. And not likely save much commuting time, if at all. We have the 3rd ‘Resort Recreation’ use – a proposal to build 112 luxury homes on undeveloped forested ridgeline in North Shore. All of this not only allowed, but essentially ENCOURAGED by the same RPU that was sold to the public to do the exact opposite.
Just goes to show what having a good PR firm and PR staff can do for you. Welcome to the new Tahoe, a result of all of that wonderful ‘collaboration.’ And if you don’t drink the Kool-aid and stand behind it, then you are just getting in the way of all of these great projects that will “help” (developers profit from) our environment and “benefit” (the corporations that will ruin) our local economy.
J&B you forgot Edgewood with no environmental protection with all the digging in the stream zone. But if you put in a driveway in town you need BMPs that have no scientific proof of benefit, it’s policy. No its jobs?
[Quote]amount of fine sediment and other pollution that washes into Lake Tahoe with rainfall and snow melt.[End Quote]
My understanding is that Lahaton did a well researched proposal about fine sediments which are the leading ingredient of human caused lake pollutants. I also understand that they concluded that we need to be street sweeping all of our roads a lot more then we do.
Seems like a simple solution to a big problem. Why aren’t we hearing more about street sweeping? SLT? ED CO.? Placer Co? Douglas Co? Carson CO?
I agree with Lahaton’s study, keep the roads clean, clean, and cleaner and the sediments won’t even make it to the lake.
One person, one machine get em out there I say.
Every drop of water in lake Tahoe was or is runoff from a storm
Hey Casey,
If your agency was really all about protection of the Lake then you wouldn’t be in bed with all the Corporate Developers doing huge projects in the basin.(one right on the lake).
This is just more propaganda dribble from a phony so-called environmental agency. I would be happy to see a complete turnover and reduction of TRPA’s administration and board, with a dramatic reduction of federal funding.
Maybe we could get some people in place to have consideration of the local’s right to live here and thrive, and in harmony with protecting the lake.
Dog & OLS. Yeah, let’s bring in people to work for free to clean up The Lake. I think Dillingham Construction (Tahoe Keys) is still around a.k.a. Watkins Engineers. We can bring them back to plan and clean up Lake Tahoe. Or, how about the Chamber of Commerce, they can get together with all the other businesses and clean up Lake Tahoe; since they have all done such a great job. I am sure Watkins and the Chamber members would do it all for free. LOL!
rock4tahoe, I’m not at all in Dogulas side of things. I’m an old “leftist” liberal. I do defend Dogula as she is picked upon for her views.I don’t agree with Dogula on many, if not all of her take on things. I just don’t like people being ridiculed for having a different belief other than mine, just as people don’t agree with me and my “liberal, lefty” view of things.
So back to the top story… The TRPA’S number 1 priority is to raise more money for themselves.. Think they’ll get it?? Oh yeah, they will get more taxpayer money and it will go right into their pockets. Who would NOT vote giving themselves a raise? LTCC did it and nobody raised an eyebrow.
Oh Yeah!!!! OLS
OLS. Ok, insert Dillingham Construction instead of TRPA and see if the logic still works. I think the answer is historically accurate.
Rock we get it, there isn’t a government job you don’t like. I would like the TRPA more if they raised money for environmental issues and went back to things that affect the lake clarity instead of things like signs and color people paint their homes, that was complete over reach and took time and money away from what they should have been working on. that should be county or city issues, thank goodness they are turning those things back to the cities and counties. Not to say some of the things they did in the past like limiting growth were not good, but it seems in this time of budget cuts they are more concerned about getting money than anything else.
“I just don’t like people being ridiculed for having a different belief other than mine…..”
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!!
Spouse – 4-mer-usmc
Relo. Blah, signs, blah, paint, blah, height limits. Again, who EXACTLY was/is going to protect The Lake? You? Commercial Interests? Local Government? Volunteers? Don’t think so. If that had worked in the ’50’s, ’60’s and ’70’s, we wouldn’t be in this shape. That leftist Ron Reagan helped create the TRPA because even he was shocked at what was happening to The Lake.
Yes, Government has a roll in large projects that sometimes include multiple States or even foreign Countries; think Apollo Project, Interstate Highways or the Panama Canal.
Ok, let “private enterprise” do it like Virgin Galactic sending humans to the Moon… Oops. Well, that crashed and burned…
Ok, let’s just put an ad in the paper (or online) asking private companies to come in and clean up Lake Tahoe: Bring your own equipment, engineers, Scientists, infrastructure, etc and oh… by the way… we don’t want to pay your people more then minimum wage or preferably for free. That might do it or not.
For good, bad, better or worse the TRPA was created to try to save Lake Tahoe from a green then brown fate. However, unlike private enterprise like Dillingham Construction, the public does have input and voices in the TRPA process. “Get it.”