Whether you are a longtime resident or new to the area, a business owner or part of the local workforce, you are invited to participate in one of four community workshops on Oct. 25-26 that will contribute to the creation of a Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan that is intended to work for the entire region. 

At the workshops, in addition to contributing your own views, you’ll hear from members of an unprecedented collaboration of organizations gathering input on the plan. A team of experts from the Center for Responsible Travel and The Travel Foundation are guiding this process and will present what has been learned to date from research and previous workshops with community members, visitors, and business owners, as well as from economic modeling tools and stats on the current state of tourism in Tahoe today.

Key takeaways from initial public workshops held in the spring uncovered three major themes that our communities are interested in seeing the Destination Stewardship Plan address: Tahoe’s economic engine, creating a culture that cares, and experience and access.

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Across the three themes, it was clear that Tahoe-Truckee communities are feeling the impacts of the region’s need for infrastructure improvements, as well as the desire for all who live at or visit Lake Tahoe to demonstrate a greater sense of stewardship for the region.

For perhaps the first time ever, county jurisdictions, recreation land managers, destination management organizations, the Washoe Tribe, and nonprofits are seeking alignment. As the process to develop a robust plan with actionable outcomes continues, an overarching goal will be for all entities involved (the project team) to work together to shape recreation and tourism in the Lake Tahoe region in ways that protect natural resources and local ways of life. The plan will also proactively educate visitors about how they can help take care of Tahoe when they’re here, and how they can actively contribute to our economy in ways that are meaningful to our businesses and our residents.

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After these sessions, the feedback attendees provide will be incorporated as the project team outlines the strategic goal areas and key actions of the plan. The team is also currently conducting a Lake Tahoe area resident survey, the results of which will inform the Destination Stewardship Plan. Responses are anonymous and confidential and can be submitted through the survey at StewardshipTahoe.org over the next two weeks.

Workshops will be held at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 25, in Incline Village, at 5:30 p.m. at Kings Beach and at 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in South Lake Tahoe. To attend, register online at https://stewardshiptahoe.org/.

Recreation and tourism touch the lives of all who work, live, and play here. As the region comes together to create a shared destination stewardship plan, we encourage you to get involved.

Carol Chaplin, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority; Tony Karwowski, North Lake Tahoe Resort Association; Andy Chapman, Travel North Tahoe Nevada; and Colleen Dalton, Visit Truckee-Tahoe are members of the Destination Stewardship Plan project team