Laserfiche WebLink
<br />LAKE TAHOE <br /> <br /> <br />Once the sapphire-blue crown jewel of the Sierra <br />Nevada, Lake Tahoe has seen its legendary clarity <br />diminished in recent decades, Studies indicate <br />that urbanization, increased tourism and rising <br />sediment loads have contributed to degrading the <br />lake's water quality to the point where major res- <br />toration projects are underway or being planned, <br /> <br />At one time, visitors to Lake Tahoe could see 100 <br />feet down into the crystalline waters, but between <br />1970 and 2000, scientists estimate the lake has <br />lost 1 foot per year of that clarity, At that rate, <br />experts believe the clarity loss could be irrevers- <br />ible as soon as 2010, <br /> <br />State and federal agencies, along with local stake- <br />holders, are working to reverse the decline of <br />Lake Tahoe, and put in place policies that will <br />accommodate human activities wifhout further <br /> <br />degrading the area's environment. California <br />established a Lake Tahoe Conservancy in 1984 <br />to acquire land and make local improvements to <br />enhance water quality in the lake, In early 2000, <br />a 1,200-page assessment of the Lake Tahoe <br />watershed was released that summarizes the <br />condition of the lake and catalogs the various <br />environmental improvement programs already <br />underway, The assessment is expected to be the <br />basis for developing projects and policies to <br />restore the lake's ecosystem, <br /> <br />Meanwhile, Congressional representatives trom <br />both California and Nevada have joined hands to <br />seek partial federal funding for environmental <br />restoration projects at Lake Tahoe, The Tahoe <br />Regional Planning Agency estimates the overall <br />cost to restore Lake Tahoe's clarity at about <br />$900 million, <br /> <br />ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT <br /> <br />The broadest of environment restoration strategies <br />might be called "environmental enhancement," or <br />projects whose goals include restoring the functions <br />of entire ecosystems that have been affected by <br />multiple challenges such as changed water flows, <br />depletion or extinction of native species, manmade <br />development and introduction of exotic species. This <br />approach is exemplified in a statement by Interior <br />Secretary Babbitt, who said every watershed "should <br />work toward a baseline necessary to maintain a <br />healthy, natural system, below which water <br />depletions should not take place," <br /> <br />The leading example of the environmental enhance- <br />ment approach is the Ecosystem Restoration Plan <br />(ERP) developed under CALFED, Released in June <br />2000 as part of the Davis- Babbitt Framework Agree- <br />ment for a Delta solution, the ERP has been called <br />"the largest comprehensive ecosystem restoration <br />plan in the world." Its scope is unprecedented: to <br />develop a long-term, comprehensive plan that will <br />restore ecological health and improve water <br />management for beneficial uses at the Bay-Delta <br />system <br /> <br />The ERP identifies more than 600 programmatic <br />restoration actions planned over a 3D-year period <br />that would affect more than 200 aquatic and terres- <br />trial species, CALFED describes its plan as a fund a- <br /> <br />mental change in Bay-Delta water management that <br />wiil use "a more integrated, systems approach that <br />attempts to recover and protect multiple species by <br />restoring or mimicking the natural physical processes <br />that help create and maintain diverse and healthy <br />habitats," CALFED planners recognize that because <br />of extinctions, irreversible manmade changes, <br />introduction of nonnative species and political <br />realities, the Delta watershed cannot be restored to <br />its pre-Gold Rush state, Instead, their goal is to <br />rebalance Delta ecosystem structure and function <br />to meet the needs of plant, animal and human <br />communities while also maintaining or stimulating <br />the region's economy. <br /> <br />Most of CALFED's proposed restorations will occur <br />within 14 "ecological management zones" stretch- <br />ing from Shasta Dam in the north to the San Joaquin <br />River below its confluence with the Merced River. <br />The ERP sets recovery targets and priorities for <br />52 plant and animal species based on factors such <br />as assessment of current populations, status as <br />endangered or threatened, and programmatic <br />actions required. <br /> <br />The ERP acknowledges that manmade structures <br />such as dams, diversion facilities, and pumps <br />operated by the CVP and SWP have altered the <br />hydrology of the Bay-Delta system by reducing <br /> <br />9 <br />