Public Input Sought on $200,000 Investment in Truckee Community Arts Center
TRUCKEE
The Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District will hold a meeting on Tuesday, July 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Arts Center (the old rec center on Church Street) in downtown Truckee to receive public input on the $200,000 renovation of the building, an expense previously approved by the district board to convert it into a performing arts center. The meeting will gather public comment on plans for the renovation.
Truckee Trails Work Ramps Up
TRUCKEE
The Truckee Trails Foundation is stepping up trail maintenance efforts to preserve safe, rider-friendly trails. Three full-time trail crew workers have been hired through the U.S. Forest Service and the Truckee Donner Land Trust in partnership with the trails foundation’s Good Dirty Fun trail program.
Fallen logs have already been cleared from many trails across the region, and a 30-person crew of Tahoe Mountain Guides and CyclePaths have stripped back brush and worked on the Sawtooth Trail. Stockrest Springs Trail is the newest trail crews will be building with support from Northstar’s Specialty Sports Venture team and the Truckee River Watershed Council. This trail is planned to run past the U.S. Forest Service office, and then intersect with Donner Pass Road just uphill from Glenshire Drive.
Work will continue throughout the summer on the Donner Lake Rim Trail, the Emigrant Trail, the Donner Camp Interpretative Trail, Hole in the Ground, and at Mount Lola and Granite Chief Wilderness. For more information on the Truckee Trail’s Foundation Good Dirty Fun trail program or to inquire about volunteer opportunities to work on trails, please call (530) 587-8214 or visit truckeetrails.org.
New Truckee High School Principal Comes from Reno
TRUCKEE
John E. Carlson has been selected as Truckee High School’s new principal.
Carlson previously served as principal of Robert McQueen High School in Northwest Reno for the last 12 years. Before working at McQueen, he was the assistant principal at Reed and Douglas high schools.
Carlson began his teaching career in 1980 as a high school science teacher and athletic director for the Lander County school district. He then moved on to Douglas County School District in 1984, becoming assistant principal of the high school from 1993-2000. This California native received a B.S. in biological science from Utah State University and a Masters of Education Administration from the University of Nevada Reno.
The search began in May when Truckee High Principal Greg Dettinger announced his departure. More than 35 people, including staff, students, parents and administrators, participated in the principal screening process.
Carlson created a model program at McQueen High School geared toward giving students worldly perspective and improving student engagement in different areas of study. Carlson also restructured school scheduling blocks to accommodate intervention time for students.
His first order of business is to initiate the search for an assistant principal.
Big Brother Big Sisters Launches ‘Man Up’ Campaign
REGIONAL
The Big Brothers Big Sisters Association of California is launching a statewide campaign to recruit male volunteers to become Big Brothers. The local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, based in Nevada County, is one of the 17 chapters across the state encouraging male mentors to volunteer in the program.
Across the state, Big Brothers Big Sisters is experiencing a critical need for men to volunteer. On average, nearly 70 percent of kids on the wait list for mentors are boys, and only 37 percent of new volunteers are men. Boys in the program wait an average of 275 days before receiving a Big Brother.
Boys served by the program are primarily children of single parent, low-income homes, sometimes with an incarcerated parent, or active duty military homes with a deployable parent.
Volunteers must be over 18 years of age, be able to provide a valid Social Security number with no criminal background, and commit one year to volunteer. Men and Spanish-speaking volunteers are in high demand.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is also accepting donations to help sponsor a boy awaiting his future mentor. To learn more about how to get involved, call (530) 587-7717, or visit bigsofnc.org.
Public Input Sought For Incline Lake Dam Removal
INCLINE VILLAGE
The U.S. Forest Service released a proposal June 14 to remove the Incline Lake Dam and spillway, which did not meet standards required for that type of dam upon recent inspection. After removing the dam, the Forest Service plans to re-contour the area to match adjacent contours and grades; the minor dam would be converted to a low-water crossing.
The Forest Service purchased the 777-acre Incline Lake parcel in 2008, and the agency decided that restoring the area impacted by the dam and reservoir would better protect water quality and the surrounding aquatic habitat.
The goal of the project is to restore the land and surrounding environment disturbed by the dam. In 15 to 20 years, following the dam removal, it would become a system of small-to-medium sized ponds and marsh.
Restoration might also require additional work outside of the boundary of the Incline Dam project to support ecosystems that depend on the groundwater from the restored aquatic system in project area.
The Forest Service would start the project in summer 2015. Comments should be received by July 19. To review the project documents and find out how to submit comments, visit fs.usda.gov/goto/Itbmu/InclineDam. Info: Matt Dickinson, (530) 543-2769, Anjanette Hoefer, (530) 543-2822
Judge Dismisses Claims Against TRPA’s Improper Delegation Of Permitting
TAHOE BASIN
A federal judge dismissed some initial claims made by the Sierra Club and Friends of the West Shore, who challenged the Lake Tahoe Regional Plan Update that was recently approved by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
In his order delivered June 17, Judge John A. Mendez upheld TRPA’s rules requiring the plaintiffs to fund the litigation preparation cost of collecting years of documentation of the Regional Plan Update.
“We are disappointed on having to pay for these costs…[but] this is not going to stop us from moving forward on the case,” said Wendy Park of Earthjustice, which represented the plaintiffs.
Judge Mendez also dismissed their claims that the Regional Plan Update improperly delegated permitting to local jurisdictions.
The Sierra Club and Friends of the West Shore filed a suit to stop the plan in February. Two of their complaints against TRPA’s update are its plans to open 300 acres of underdeveloped land to “resort recreation” and to allow 3,200 new residences. ~ Alexis Garduno/Moonshine Ink
Incentives In Regional Plan Take Effect
TAHOE BASIN
New land coverage ordinances at Lake Tahoe will give incentives to Tahoe home and business owners that remodel or renovate their properties in accordance with new water quality guidelines and best management practices.
The land coverage changes were tied to a recent update of the Clean Water Act by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
According to the TRPA, more than 90 percent of existing homes and businesses pre-date newer environmental guidelines and approximately 22,000 residential properties do not have certified water quality Best Management Practices (BMPs) to control erosion and filter stormwater.
All properties are required to complete BMPs, but most property owners install them only when they carry out a renovation or expansion project, according to the TRPA. The action completes the amendment process and brings land coverage exemptions and credits for certain properties into full effect. Info: Jeff Cowen, jcowen@trpa.org, (775) 589-5278
Lahontan Water Board Approves Tahoe Pollutant Reduction Plans
TAHOE BASIN
The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board accepted Pollutant Load Reduction Plans submitted by El Dorado County, Placer County, and the city of South Lake Tahoe. The aim is to reduce fine sediment discharges into Lake Tahoe.
Stormwater runoff from urban areas contributes the majority of the fine sediment particles that cloud Lake Tahoe’s clarity. The Lake Tahoe Municipal Storm Water Permit requires the three local government agencies to reduce the fine sediment from urban stormwater flows by roughly 30 percent over the next 15 years, setting targets of a 10 percent reduction for each five-year permit term. The plans describe how each municipality will reduce fine sediment discharges by the required 10 percent by 2016. Info: waterboards.ca.gov/lahontan
Public Input Sought on Stewardship Messages for Protecting Lake Tahoe
TAHOE BASIN
The Lake Tahoe Outreach Collaborative is launching a survey to find out what the public thinks are the most important things people can do to help protect Lake Tahoe. The survey results will be used to inform the creation of a new Environmental Stewardship Messaging campaign for the Tahoe region. The survey takes five minutes to complete and can be found online at surveymonkey.com/s/TahoeTruckeeStewardship.
Members of the Outreach Collaborative (comprised of the League to Save Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Fund, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Tahoe Resource Conservation District, UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, and the Truckee River Watershed Council) are concerned that the large number of stewardship messages coming out of the Tahoe Basin may be undermining overall public participation. To address this problem, they developed the Lake Tahoe Environmental Stewardship Messaging Project. After the survey results are compiled, Outreach Collaborative members will host a meeting to set common stewardship messages. Organizations interested in sending a representative to this meeting, which will likely take place in the fall, are encouraged to contact Kristi Boosman at kboosman@trpa.org, (775) 589-5230.
