Lake Tahoe is revered as a national treasure and is afforded legal environmental protections to match that status. As Tahoe’s environmental watchdog, the League to Save Lake Tahoe takes seriously our role to make sure the entire Basin, from Freel Peak to Brockway Summit, is preserved for future generations, just as we’ve done since the 1950s.

That is why we, along with Sierra Watch, recently took legal action to challenge Placer County’s approval of ski conglomerate Alterra Mountain Company’s massive development plan for Palisades Tahoe. Alterra’s plan would have significant impacts on the Lake Tahoe Basin, worsening traffic congestion, increasing air pollution, eroding roadways, and degrading water quality.

We see litigation as an imperfect, inefficient, and expensive tool of last resort. But all our other options have been exhausted. And someone must act for the lake.

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We are not opposed to modernization and expansion of Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley – in particular, something that addresses the serious need for more workforce housing. For a decade, we have engaged in discussions with Alterra and Placer County officials to find a collaborative solution that would improve Olympic Valley without negatively impacting Tahoe.

We proposed alternatives for a smaller project or a phased construction plan so adjustments can be made along the way that ensure minimal impacts to Tahoe. But Alterra would not entertain any alternative to their colossal proposal – a project that includes nearly 300,000 square feet of commercial space, almost 1,500 bedrooms in up to 850 units, and more than 2,000 additional parking spaces.

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All that development would result in one certainty – more car travel in a region that is already overburdened. Over the recent holidays, Palisades ski traffic stacked up for miles, as it tends to do. And it doesn’t take a scientist to understand this simple equation: more cars = more environmental problems for Tahoe. For decades, the League’s staff and volunteers have worked to keep North Tahoe healthy and beautiful. It’s part of our mission and commitment to our thousands of supporters there. More cars don’t help the cause.

According to Alterra’s own studies, their project would generate 3,300 new daily car trips on the already busiest days, with almost 1,400 of those new trips flowing into the Basin. They would damage roads and increase runoff and sediment loading to the Lake, which is already the leading cause of Tahoe’s water clarity degradation.

And common sense says that Tahoe’s already congested roads, which currently back up for hours, can’t handle thousands more car trips per day. Imagine the impacts on your trips to the grocery store, after school practices, or doctor visits. It paints a grim picture.

We are not alone in our opposition. The League joins conservation group Sierra Watch in the lawsuit. Sierra Watch launched the grassroots effort to oppose Alterra’s project and secure a better future for Olympic Valley more than 10 years ago. And there are more than environmental groups. The Placer County Board of Supervisors received more than 3,000 public comments opposing the project. Business leaders, employees of Palisades Tahoe, elected officials, homeowners’ associations, the Olympic Valley Municipal Advisory Council, North Tahoe Regional Advisory Council, and other local organizations have also publicly opposed the development project.

We all care about the issues inherent to the region: congestion, lengthy commutes, soaring housing prices, and cost of living conditions that are increasingly untenable. Alterra’s project does nothing to mitigate those concerns.

Alterra has committed some minimal local funding to address traffic problems, but many of those are one-time funding allocations that would make little difference when parsed out over the 25-year buildout of the project. They won’t do nearly enough to offset the environmental issues that would arise with increased traffic, and there are no accountability measures in place to ensure those funds are actually effective in protecting Tahoe.

We are committed to an open dialogue with Alterra and Placer officials to find a project that works; one that builds affordable housing and benefits the Tahoe community without jeopardizing the precious natural resources that are the reason people want to live, work, and play here.

All we ask is that Alterra take responsibility for the impacts of their project. When no one else speaks for Lake Tahoe, we must.

Steve Spurlock is Board Chair of the League to Save Lake Tahoe and Dr. Darcie Goodman Collins is the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Founded in 1957, the League to Save Lake Tahoe is the donor-funded, science-based organization of environmental experts and Tahoe-lovers behind Keep Tahoe Blue. Learn more at keeptahoeblue.org.