SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The California Tahoe Conservancy held a board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 18, at Lake Tahoe Community College, but not before a tour around two project sites.

Starting at the Elks Club, the board toured the Upper Truckee River Watershed Restoration area, a project they’d later receive an update on in their meeting. The board also toured the recently started Tahoe Keys Large Acreage Project (you can learn more in an article titled, ‘Game changer’ forestry project begins in Tahoe Keys a year early).

The purpose of the tour was to highlight how conservancy lands support regional priorities for environmental restorations, community protection and wildfire resilience.

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Upper Truckee River Restoration project to use new CEQA process

The board’s first stop at the Upper Truckee River Restoration demonstrated prior efforts, which removed fill from wetlands, constructed a storm water basin to improve water quality, and built new trails to the river at the Elks Club site.

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“There used to be a building on this site… and this project demonstrates that we can fix the things we did back then,” board member and El Dorado County Supervisor, Brooke Laine, said.

Currently, the conservancy is completing a project to reconstruct the parking lot to improve water quality, reduce 14,000 square feet of asphalt from the floodplain and raise the surface so it is out of the floodplain. The project also improves accessibility.

The Upper Truckee River Restoration site also includes the conservancy’s Upper Truckee River Sunset Stables, Reach 6 Project. The project, which is in its early stages, seeks to restore the river corridor there, its watershed and the adjacent floodplain, which has seen heaving conifer encroachment. Restoration will remove fill, lower the floodplain and remove the encroaching conifers.

Restoring the Upper Truckee River Watershed is a significant focus for the conservancy due to its significance as the largest and most environmentally consequential watershed draining to Lake Tahoe.

During the board meeting, conservancy staff explained how the Reach 6 Project is utilizing a new streamlined California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pathway for approval. The process is a legislature-approved option, specifically for projects that conserve, restore, protect or enhance habitat for California native species. It allows agencies to implement these projects without an environmental impact report and instead through a California Department of Fish and Wildlife consultation process.

The conservancy has met with the department to begin the consultation. Next steps are confirming it meets the exemption and submittal of an official request. The project is undergoing continued public engagement and will return to the board after the exemption process for funding and implementation authorization. It is projected to start in 2027 or 2028.

Public feedback on the Upper Truckee Marsh South project (former Motel 6 site)

The board discussed public feedback the conservancy has received regarding the Upper Truckee Marsh South project, the site of the former Motel 6. The conservancy acquired the property last year and has since sought ideas from the community regarding wetland restoration, public access improvements, and vegetation management there.

The main themes of the feedback reveal a strong consensus for restoring the site to its natural state and continued protection of sensitive areas while maintaining and improving accessible infrastructure for recreation. The conservancy also heard a desire to incorporate tribal cultures and a request for transparency throughout the planning and implementation process.

The public raised concerns over safety and illegal camping, with recommendations to promote stewardship, add lighting, and install educational exhibits. The public expressed a desire to maintain and improve connectivity of a South Tahoe bikeway through the property to reduce car dependency, as well as a long-term vision for climate resilience planning.

Outreach efforts included extensions to the Washoe Tribe, engaging with partners, community events, public walks onsite, staff workshops and online bilingual surveys.

The conservancy is currently tearing down the Motel 6 building. Staff are synthesizing the public feedback into a report and expect to release it in the coming weeks. The conservancy will thereafter present different ideas to the community with an opportunity for further feedback. It’s then on to planning. Around this time next year, the project could potentially be undergoing environmental review.

Funding for trail improvements

The board approved two $115,000 grants for Tahoe area trail improvements to mitigate impacts of increased trail use. The Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) and the Tahoe Rim Trail Association (TRTA), the receiving organizations, will use the funds to improve popular trails on the California side of Tahoe.

Improvements include adding durability to reduce the need for annual maintenance, building erosion control features and improving trail width, tread and way-finding to reduce user-created trails. Both organizations have recorded increased use on certain trails. Between 2016 and 2022, for example, the TRTA has recorded an increase from 400,000 to 700,000 users on certain portions of the Tahoe Rim Trail. The funded work is expected to take place from 2026 through fall of 2027.

Tahoe XC trailhead relocation grant

The board approved the allocation of a $125,000 grant to the Tahoe Cross-Country Ski Education Association to fill the funding gap for its cross-country trailhead relocation project.

The project aims to relocate the widely used trail network’s trailhead (and eventually the lodge) west, closer to North Tahoe High School. The relocation significantly increases parking, makes the trails more accessible, wider and flatter. This will, in turn, accommodate a wider variety of users and offer a direct connection to the high school. The new trailhead is under construction and expected to be completed in 2026.

New grant program guidelines

The board reviewed and discussed a draft of new grant program guidelines. The new draft brings the guidelines up to date with the conservancy’s recent Strategic Plan (2024-2029), aligns it with new state priorities as well as the conservancy’s recently finalized Racial Equity Action Plan. The updates also incorporate new funding sources and programs. The last guidelines were approved in 2019 and are a key tool in advancing the agency’s mission in providing grants to partners for environmental improvement projects.

Staff will continue to revise the guidelines based on board and public comments and plan to return to the board in December with a final draft for adoption.

To review the full agenda, visit tahoe.ca.gov/california-tahoe-conservancy-board-meeting-september-18-2025/.

Editor’s Note: Eli Ramos contributed to this article.