The Conservancy's acquisition of Lake Tahoe properties carries with it the equally important obligation to manage and care for these lands in a sustainable manner.

Many factors make the task challenging and complex:

The Conservancy's stewardship of its acquired lands has three primary objectives:

To realize these objectives, various types of management activities are undertaken:

Preserving Existing Resources
To maintain Conservancy properties once they have been acquired, each parcel is regularly inspected and cleaned up as necessary. Fences and other traffic barriers may be installed to eliminate unauthorized roads and parking areas that are causing erosion or other resource problems. Dilapidated buildings are demolished, desirable trees and other vegetation are protected, and steps are taken to remove unsightly stored items and eliminate encroachments.

With so many Conservancy properties scattered through residential areas, inspection and clean-up are a continuous job. People toss trash, from tires to old mattresses, on Conservancy properties. They park cars, even abandon them. They store personal property, dump snow, and encroach with structures and landscaping.

On larger holdings, off-road vehicle use, unauthorized timber cutting, illegal campfires, and other inappropriate activities contribute to resource degradation, soil erosion, and water quality problems.

Since the Conservancy's first properties were acquired in 1985, tens of thousands of site inspections have been performed by Conservancy staff and various contractors, and clean-up and corrective action have been taken as much as possible.

The Conservancy has also been working with private landowners and other groups interested in providing land management services on Conservancy-owned properties. Possible services under a voluntary stewardship agreement include such activities as vegetation management, site restoration, seed collection, litter control, and reporting of adverse resource conditions such as trespass and encroachment on Conservancy lands.

In the South Lake Tahoe area, the Conservancy's inspection and clean-up efforts are also being assisted by the private sector through the "Clean Tahoe Program." A community-based non-profit organization established to reduce littering through trash clean-up and public education, "Clean Tahoe" is providing a wide range of management services through a contract with the Conservancy.

Restoration and Enhancement
Maintaining properties in the condition in which they were acquired comes far from realizing their full potential. Former wetlands usually need to be restored before they can have a significant effect on water quality. Eroded areas require revegetation and other corrective action. Areas acquired for recreational use need access and appropriate facilities provided. Degraded wildlife habitat must be restored.

Watershed Condition Surveys are conducted to provide information necessary for planning and scheduling projects, and are completed prior to site restoration and site protection activities. Since the Conservancy program started, more than 870 of these surveys have been completed by Conservancy staff or by private contractors, specialists from the University of California at Davis, or the Tahoe Resource Conservation District.

Wherever possible, the Conservancy tries to restore disturbed areas through revegetation with native grasses, shrubs, and trees to reduce erosion and improve the lands capacity to absorb and filter runoff.

To increase forest diversity, improve wildlife habitat, lower the risk of fire, improve scenic value, preserve meadows and water quality, the Conservancy undertakes actions such as the thinning of overstocked tree stands, and the removal of trees that are invading meadow areas.

Currently, an urgent need is to remove the many dead and dying trees that failed to survive the long drought of the past decade, and now pose a serious fire hazard throughout the basin. Using private contractors, the Conservancy has already removed thousands of potentially hazardous trees from its properties, with particular attention to trees that could be a danger to adjoining property or to public safety.

On the long term, there is also a need to thin out overstocked forest lands, both as a fire prevention measure, and to improve forest health and wildlife habitat by encouraging forest diversity.

On currently unimproved public access and wildlife habitat project areas, site rehabilitation efforts and open space protection are being undertaken as an interim management step until permanent site improvement projects can be planned and implemented.

On improved public access properties, new recreational access improvements have been built and existing structures have been restored and opened to the public. Once completed, such projects are managed by public agencies or non-profit organizations. Two major projects of this kind are North Tahoe Beach Center in Kings Beach and Tallac Vista in the City of South Lake Tahoe.

Since 1985, the Conservancy has authorized the expenditure of more than $4.2 million for management projects on its properties. It has prepared plans for more than 870 parcels. More than 210 resource management projects have been completed, for such purposes as property restoration, soil erosion control, and site protection. In recent years, the Conservancy has placed increased emphasis on vegetation management projects involving more than 350 parcels and including larger scale projects in Carnelian Canyon and in the Upper Truckee Watershed.

Licenses, Leases and Agreements
To enlist aid in meeting its overall management responsibilities, the Conservancy has also issued licenses, entered into leases, or signed operating, service, and other management agreements with more than 30 public and private entities for the management of more than 90 Conservancy properties.

CRMP Processes
One of the principal ways in which the Conservancy coordinates its resource management activities with other public agencies is through active participation in formal Coordinated Resource Management and Planning (CRMP) processes.

The CRMP process is a key approach in managing complex resource issues that involve multiple ownerships and interests and in providing a forum for public input. The Conservancy is involved in CRMP efforts on the Upper Truckee River, Angora Creek, and the Mt. Watson area on the north shore.

Tahoe Re-Green
Since September 1995, the Conservancy has also been an active participant in the "Tahoe Re-Green" project, a multi-agency cooperative approach to fire hazard and fuels reduction in the Tahoe Basin.

"Re-Green" targets the removal of dead and dying trees within and adjoining residential or commercial subdivisions. The project is a partnership of about 20 government and private agencies and individuals, including the U.S. Forest Service; the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Department of Parks and Recreation; TRPA; the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board; the State of Nevada; all of the Lake Tahoe fire protection districts; the AmeriCorps Program; and the League to Save Lake Tahoe.

Other Assistance
The Conservancy is also involved in coordinating its restoration and fencing efforts with agencies such as the USFS, Department of Parks and Recreation, the City of South Lake Tahoe, and the North Tahoe Fire Protection District.

The Conservancy also receives many other kinds of assistance from the above agencies, as well as student assistance from California State University, security services from the City of South Lake Tahoe, environmental review from the Office of Project Development and Management of the California Department of General Services, and site management services from the North Tahoe Public Utility District.

With the aid of Conservancy funding, the City of South Lake Tahoe, the California Conservation Corps, and the California State University system are providing site inspection and site restoration services. The Tahoe Resource Conservation District and the U.S. Forest Service have been preparing site restoration plans.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation and the Office of Project Development and Management of the State Department of General Services are helping with resource assessments of various project areas. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is coordinating the Conservancy's forest resource management activities. The State University and the University of California systems are assisting in project planning.

The Conservancy is also coordinating its management activities with the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation along a 2-1/2 mile stretch of the Upper Truckee River. It is helping the City of South Lake Tahoe and Placer and El Dorado counties to implement portions of soil erosion control projects by granting easements, where needed, on Conservancy property.

The private sector is also being utilized in the Conservancy's management program. Private contractors remove hazardous trees and do site restoration work. Private individuals are entering into voluntary management services agreements with the Conservancy to help provide services such as trimming trees and cleaning up litter on Conservancy-owned parcels near their homes.

Cost Effectiveness
In maximizing use of available funds, the Conservancy has developed partnerships under which other public agencies and private parties manage a number of sites. Through operating agreements, leases, and licenses, they agree to manage properties and to do so in a manner consistent with the purposes for which the Conservancy made the acquisitions.

In some cases, the leases or licenses also generate revenues which can be used for management purposes. By statute, 25% of private lease revenues received by the Conservancy are transferred to the county in which the lands are located for erosion control programs and other purposes.

Voluntary management service agreements, in addition to accomplishing needed work, may also result in cost savings to the State.

The Conservancy's own land coverage program is also a growing source of funding for restoration activities.

There is even some return from the removal of dead and dying trees, since this activity not only provides logs and other materials for Conservancy projects but also may generate revenue from the sale of surplus logs and other forest products. These funds then can be used for ongoing resource management activities.

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