As the Tahoe Foundation ended its fiscal year at the end of March, the past year provided unwavering evidence that the desire to improve Lake Tahoe’s environment for all to enjoy is a deeply shared commitment.
Thanks to the unwavering generosity and continued partnership of Tahoe Foundation Stewardship Circle members, more than 1,500 donors, and more than 30 partners, we are improving forest health, lake clarity, sustainable recreation, management, and transportation. Significant progress has been made in five focus areas: In total, the Tahoe Foundation has awarded nearly $1.4 million to his more than 50 projects and helped secure $40 million in public funding.
One of our proudest moments happened in March. That’s when the California Tahoe Conservancy teamed up with several other organizations in Tahoe to provide critical funding to acquire the Motel 6 site and 31 surrounding acres in the upper Truckee River watershed. This paved the way for what would become one of the most important restoration projects in Lake Tahoe’s history. Next month, we will launch a campaign to raise the funds needed to demolish the motel and begin the restoration process.
We also leveraged numerous grants from the Smartest Forest Fund to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration aimed at preventing catastrophic wildfires. We continued to support the future workforce with Lake Tahoe Community College’s Forestry and Firefighting Academy. We also celebrated the opening of a new sawmill in Carson City with our partners at Tahoe Forest Products and the Washoe Tribes of Nevada and California. We also funded new technologies such as BurnBot, a remotely operated machine that reduces the cost and time it takes to remove excess fuel from forests.
We continue to focus on trails and transportation and have begun working with our partners to plan the next phase of the popular Tahoe East Shore Trail. Eventually, the trail will be extended another eight miles to connect Sand Harbor and Spooner Summit. Construction has already begun on a new car park to safely park hundreds of cars that were parked unsafely on the side of the road between these popular areas.
Finally, we are committed to helping underserved community members enjoy the outdoors by providing access to free or low-cost recreational experiences such as hiking, biking, and paddling. He has contributed to many programs. These moments in nature help foster love and stewardship of Lake Tahoe’s environment.
As we have said many times, the generosity and passion of our donors and partners makes this incredible work possible. Thank you for continuing to demonstrate the power of philanthropy to make Tahoe a place that everyone can enjoy now and for generations to come.
To learn more about these and other impactful projects supported by Tahoe Fund and how you can give back to Tahoe’s environment, visit http://www.tahoefund.org/projectportfolio..
Amy Berry is the CEO of Tahoe Funds. Corey Ritchie is a former Tahoe Foundation Chairman.
