Vail Resorts has announced the appointment of Deirdra Walsh, formerly senior director of mountain dining at Park City Mountain in Utah, to vice president and general manager of Northstar California Resort, effective April 25.

The appointment follows the announcement earlier this summer that Nadia Guerriero would be transitioning from the role at Northstar to serve as the new vice president and chief operating officer of Beaver Creek Resort.

Walsh brings a 17-year career in the travel and tourism industry with a decade of resort operational experience to her new role in Tahoe. She joined the resort team at Park City Mountain in 2007 as banquets sales manager and was later promoted to director of mountain dining in 2010 followed by senior director of mountain dining in 2016.

“Deirdra has played an instrumental role in transforming both the culture and the mountain experience at Park City Mountain; from the integration of Canyons and Park City Mountain Resort to successfully overseeing multiple large scale transformational projects at the resort,” said Mike Goar, chief operating officer, Tahoe region. “Her passion for exceptional guest service and team collaboration will shape the future of Northstar and I’m thrilled to welcome her to Tahoe.”

North Tahoe seniors to walk runway for Project Grad

As graduation day nears, North Tahoe High School’s Project Grad committee is planning fun and safe events for the Class of 2019. Project Grad is practiced across the country as a parent-driven fundraising effort that promotes organized, safe and sober activities for graduating seniors.

These efforts are made possible through Project Grad’s primary fundraiser, The Senior Fashion Show at 6 p.m., Sunday, May 5, in the high school auditorium. Students model clothing from local stores, and it is a chance for them to bond and tell stories of their best high school memories and announce their future plans.

This year’s theme, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!”, celebrates all students, whether they choose to attend college or trade school, travel, work, or take a year to explore their options. It encourages the students to be their very best and to make good choices.

Advance tickets at a discounted rate of $15 for adults and $10 for students are now available online: ttsd.org/nths. Tickets will also be available at the door on the night of the show, $17 for adults and $12 for students.

Seasonal dog closure at Upper Truckee Marsh begins

The California Tahoe Conservancy (Conservancy) announces its annual seasonal dog closure at the Upper Truckee Marsh from May 1 through July 31. The purpose of the closure is to keep dogs out of critical breeding habitat for special, threatened and endangered species such as the Willow Flycatcher.

Beginning Aug. 1, dogs will again be permitted access to the Upper Truckee Marsh, provided they are on leash. The Conservancy-owned Cove East property, west of the river, remains open for year-round leashed dog access. Conservancy staff and California Highway Patrol officers monitor these areas for compliance.

The Conservancy owns and manages the 600-acre marsh, one of the largest remaining in the Sierra Nevada, for the protection and enhancement of wildlife habitat and water quality.

For more information, visit tahoe.ca.gov or call Nick Meyer at (530) 543-6073.

Placer County Parks and Trails Master Plan workshops set

Placer County is seeking community input at two upcoming public workshops to help develop the first-ever countywide Parks and Trails Master Plan draft.

Community members are invited to provide feedback on a draft of the plan as focus group participants at upcoming meetings set for May 7 in Kings Beach and May 15 in North Auburn.

Additional opportunities to provide feedback on the plan will be available at upcoming municipal advisory council meetings or online at placerparksplan.com. A schedule of plan presentations at MAC and public meetings is available at the Parks and Trails Master Plan website: placerparksplan.com/get-involved/.

“This is a unique opportunity to get involved and help guide the future of recreation in Placer County for generations to come,” said Placer County Parks Administrator Andy Fisher. “We are excited to get public input and go forward with confidence that we are investing in the highest recreational priorities that will create the best experiences and memories for our citizens and visitors. That can only happen if our communities make their voice heard.”

Those interested in participating in the workshop are encouraged to RSVP to gmontecallo@designworkshop.com or call 775-588-5929.

U.S. Human Spaceflight: Past, Present, and Future, with Dr. Stephen Robinson

In 1961, NASA put the first American in space. Since then, U.S. astronauts have walked on the moon, piloted the Space Shuttle, and lived aboard the International Space Station.

Join UC Davis professor and former NASA Astronaut Dr. Stephen Robinson as he explores the history of manned spaceflight, the challenges facing space exploration today, and what’s on the horizon for the future.

Admission is $5 in advance and $10 at the door. Refreshments and a no-host bar will be available from 5:30-6 p.m. The lecture will begin at 6 p.m. at 291 Country Club Drive in Incline Village (between Tahoe Boulevard/SR 28 and Lakeshore Blvd.) on the campus of Sierra Nevada College.

For more information call 775-881-7566, or visit http://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/events/.

Tahoe Forest Health System wins 2019 Greater Reno-Tahoe Best Places to Work Award

Tahoe Forest Health System has been recognized as the 2019 winner of the Greater Reno-Tahoe Best Places to Work award in the Extra-Large Business category.

The recognition took place at the 12th Annual Greater Reno-Tahoe Best Places to Work Celebration, presented by the Northern Nevada Human Resources Association, held on Thursday, April 25 at the Silver Legacy Resort in Reno.

“We are so honored to have won this award and were up against some very respected companies including Carson Tahoe Health, Patagonia and Charles River Laboratories,” says Alex MacLennan, chief human resources officer of Tahoe Forest Health System. “Simply being a finalist was honorable, but we are so proud that our organization won this great award.”

Tahoe Forest Health System was one of four finalists in the Extra-Large Business Category.

Winners are determined entirely on the basis of employees’ responses to the Employee Engagement Survey that measures key areas that make up an organization’s culture. These range from compensation and benefits to trust in leadership and employee engagement.

California Tahoe Conservancy accepts $1.95M grant

A nearly $2-million grant was recently awarded to the California Tahoe Conservancy for an innovative effort to restore forest and watershed resilience.

The $1.95 million grant was awarded to CTC from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. The money is intended to help the CTC co-manage that restoration effort, named the the Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative. The landscape-level initiative aims to restore 2.4 million acres.

“If we have learned nothing else from the recent wildfires in California, increasing our pace and scale of forest management is essential to protecting Tahoe and Central Sierra communities,” Jeff Marsolais, forest supervisor for the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and ex officio member of the CTC board, said in a press release. “Efforts funded by this grant will advance critical landscape-scale restoration.”

This Proposition 68 grant will enable the CTC to provide strategic direction to forest health and watershed restoration across the entire TCSI landscape, which extends from the North Yuba River to the American River watershed, and encompasses the Lake Tahoe Basin, according to the press release. CTC staff also will plan restoration projects, coordinate restoration crews and conduct research to speed up large-scale restoration.

Vacation rental task force starts work

STATELINE, Nev. — The first meeting of the Douglas County Vacation Home Rental Task Force is officially in the books.

The group met for the first time April 15 to review the history of vacation home rentals and establish the framework for the activities of the Task Force moving forward, according to a press release.

The purpose of the VHR Task Force was defined by the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners during their board meeting on Jan. 24: “To assist the County Manager with drafting recommendations regarding the administration and regulation of Vacation Home Rentals in Douglas County in a way which would balance the rights of the property owner with the rights of the neighbors.”

A webpage with taskforce meeting materials, background information, timeline and important documents pertaining to the VHRTF has been created and can be found at http://www.douglascountynv.gov