KINGS BEACH, Calif. – The Placer County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation on the development of a Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan and formation of a Destination Stewardship Council at its meeting in Kings Beach on Tuesday.

“This is an amazing document,” said Supervisor Jim Holmes. “It was very thorough.”

Tahoe’s tourism economy generates $4.5 billion in direct spending and $11 billion in overall economic impact, according to the report.

“It’s crucial to the dialogue we’re having throughout our community,” said Supervisor Cindy Gustafson, citing the new statistics from the report.

The plan balances Lake Tahoe’s aesthetic, cultural, and environmental significance while advancing the needs of the residents, visitors and recreation-based economy.

It took into account that interest in outdoor recreation here grew during COVID-19. There were more nearby visitors heading here by car. There was an unmet need for affordable and workforce housing.

The response was a collaboration of organizations that developed a new approach to recreation and tourism management.

The participants include California Tahoe Conservancy, City of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation, North Tahoe Community Alliance, Placer County, Tahoe Chamber, Tahoe City Marina, Tahoe Fund, Tahoe Prosperity Center, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Travel North Tahoe Nevada, USDA Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Visit Reno Tahoe, Visit Truckee-Tahoe, Washoe County and Washoe Development Corporation.

New members are welcome.

The project consulting team includes Managing Partner: Center for Responsible Travel; Co-Managing Partner: The Travel Foundation; Lead Strategist: Better Destinations; Economic Strategists: SMG Consulting and Triple Point Consulting; and Strategic Funding Consultant & Counsel: Civitas.

In 2022, the planning process for the Destination Stewardship Plan began. In June 2023, the first ever Destination Stewardship Plan for the Tahoe Region was launched.

Eighteen organizations collaboratively developed the plan’s vision and actions with the help of more than 3,000 residents, visitors and businesses through surveys, interviews and workshops.

The engagement summary encompassed:

• 1,100 resident survey respondents
• 300+ participants in 9 workshops
• 200+ participants in 15 discussion groups
• 15 meetings with Destination Stewardship Partnership members
• 31 1-on-1 in-depth interviews
• 2,300 visitor survey respondents
• 5 research and analysis components

Tahoe’s shared vision is “a cherished place, welcoming to all, where people, communities, and nature benefit from a thriving tourism and outdoor recreation economy.”

It’s four pillars are:

• Foster a tourism economy that gives back
  • Goal: Foster a thriving tourism and recreation-based economy that visibly improves quality of life, addresses community priorities, and supports environmental stewardship.
• Turn a shared vision into shared action
  • GOAL Establish a formal structure to steer the region’s destination stewardship agenda with a shared commitment to action, transparency, communication, and inclusion.
• Advance a culture of caring for Lake Tahoe Region
  • GOAL Safeguard and improve Lake Tahoe and the region’s natural environment by enlisting all in taking responsibility to care for it.
• Improve the Tahoe experience for all
  • GOAL Reduce peak demand impacts through resource management, improved infrastructure and enforcement, while continuing to create ways for all to enjoy and connect with the region.

A Destination Stewardship Council was formed to manage implementation of the plan, and Nettie Pardue was hired as its managing director.

“The goal for me is to get this plan implemented,” Pardue said.

According to the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan, Taking Care of Tahoe, implementation is essential.

Tourism Impact Model statistics include:

• In 2022, there were 2 million plus unique annual visitors spending an average of nearly 15 million days in the region, generating more than $4.5 billion in direct spending
• The basin population is about 54,000 plus 17,000 in Truckee

“Protecting the quality of the Tahoe experience while advancing the needs of the region’s communities and its visitor and recreation-based economy is a gargantuan challenge,” according to the plan. “It will take an all hands-on-deck approach and epic collaboration to achieve a harmonious balance of interests.”

Potential funding strategies include using an existing organization or establishing a new legal organization. Administration funding that would allow a fiscal agent to manage the council’s funds or explore establishing a nonprofit. Long-term funding solutions would allow using sales taxes, grants and property taxes. A tourism improvement district could be funded via levy of assessments. Property and Business Improvement Districts assessments, which are levied on real property not businesses. Voluntary districts and Sales Tax Increment Funding were also mentioned.

“These organizations that make up the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Council have committed to each and every one of the objectives and actions outlined within this plan and took the time to discuss together and think through carefully what they want to achieve, and how they can achieve it,” the plan states. “They got started on turning the shared vision into shared action before this plan went to print.”

Current focus:

• Building the capacity of the destination stewardship council
• Securing funding and staffing
• Establishing action teams to tackle priorities
• Managing peak demand issues such as litter and waste
• Having unified stewardship messaging