Dear Friends:

The planning processes for several West Shore projects are picking up again this summer! We are pleased to see several positives, including:

• The US Forest Service and partners have identified the Meeks Bay Project Alternative that aligns best with public support and environmental protection as their Preferred Alternative in the draft environmental document; and

• Agencies studying potential routes for the Meeks Bay to Cascade Lake Paved Pedestrian/Bike Path have added routes in response to public feedback and continue to gather public input in addition to performing technical review.

As always, we will keep you updated on these and other projects in our bi-monthly newsletters. We look forward to your continued feedback and support, and encourage you to contact us with any additional ideas or questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Meeks Bay Resort Restoration Project

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Report (DEIS/R) for the Meeks Bay Restoration Project has been released, with a 60-day public comment period through August 9th.The Notice of Availability provides additional details and information.

Three public meetings were held in June to share the results and obtain public feedback. During the second meeting in front of the TRPA Governing Board (GB), several GB members expressed concern about the Preferred Alternative’s primary focus on non-motorized recreation and the loss of the (intermittent) motorized boat slips and access, contrary to overwhelming public support for enhanced non-motorized focus and restoration of the lagoon. Some GB members also expressed support for the construction of either a 100’ pedestrian-only pier or a 300’ motorized boat pier, although public opinion and the DEIS/R favor protecting the unique scenic beauty of the Bay. Therefore, FOWS strongly encourages members to submit comment letters to both the USFS official comment portal (click here for submittal instructions) AND to the TRPA Advisory Planning Commission and Governing Board (view email addresses). The DEIS/R document can be viewed here and FOWS comments can be viewed here.

More information is available at: www.meeksbayproject.org.

Meeks Bay to Cascade Lake Paved Pedestrian/Bike Trail

In early June, after TRPA and partners released the quantitative analysis for the Cascade to Meeks segment of the West Shore Tahoe Trail, a series of three virtual informational meetings were held to provide more detail about the ranked alignments and next steps. This was followed by an online survey between June 16-July 1 to seek public feedback on the alternative routes. Detailed information about the evaluation criteria, quantitative analysis, scores and ranked alignments, along with interactive and pdf maps of each segment, can be found on the website.

Partners aim to finalize the study recommendations this summer based on the technical analysis and public feedback from the survey.

Homewood Mountain Resort

There have been no new updates with regards to the new Conceptual Plan we first reported on in our March/April newsletter. In the meantime, the permitting for the first part of Phase 1 (aka “Phase 1C”) that was approved by Placer County last summer is working its way through TRPA’s approval process, as indicated by new materials posted in TRPA’s online database. There are several items we hope to see soon that HMR must submit to TRPA to finalize the conditional permit for Phase 1C, including:

A. The permittee shall submit an updated mitigation monitoring report consistent with the requirements of the FEIS for the Homewood Mountain Ski Area Master Plan and previous permit requirements.

D. The permittee shall submit an updated banked commodity [i.e. development right such as residential or tourist unit] inventory that includes existing, proposed and commodities utilized for this phase, for the entire Homewood Mountain Ski Area Master Plan.

E. The permittee shall submit a final SEZ restoration plan that includes temporary irrigation and success criteria that will be used by the TRPA Compliance Inspector to determine, quantitatively, when the SEZ restoration is complete. The plan shall also include permanent exclusion barriers that will keep pedestrians and residents of the site from accessing the SEZ restoration area in perpetuity. The restoration plan shall include a 5-year monitoring component to evaluate efficacy of water quality treatment (see Condition 5 below). The permittee shall provide evidence that they worked with settlement agreement plaintiffs on the final design to ensure the SEZ is protected from foot traffic.

As of this newsletter, FOWS and Sierra Club - plaintiffs in the Settlement Agreement that increased the extent of SEZ protection among other benefits - have not been contacted by HMR regarding the TRPA permit conditions or the final design for the SEZ protection.

Hazardous Algae Bloom Study - Sampling Underway, Additional Funding Needed!

We recently sent an Alert seeking volunteers and donations to assist with an important water quality and human health study related to Hazardous Algae Blooms (HABs) and the potential link to neurological illnesses. We are thankful to those who responded. As of this newsletter, almost 2/3 of the $12,500 needed for the project has been raised. This is great news, but unfortunately there is still a gap of almost $5,000, meaning additional donations are still needed. The collection of water quality samples will begin soon, with researchers heading to Tahoe later this month to perform more intensive testing. See updates and donate to this important project on the proponents’ GoFundMe page).

More information is available through the following two Facebook pages:

Tahoe Hazardous Algae Blooms

Tahoe Area ALS/MND Research Library

Olympic Valley (formerly Squaw Valley)

At a recent Town Hall meeting in Olympic Valley, the Alterra Mountain Company, owners of the Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley) resort, stated they intend to seek a new round of approvals for their massive development project in 2023 after conservationists won a lawsuit last summer (read our September/October 2021 newsletter for background). The original project “‘had sought to remake the region with a series of high-rise condo hotels, a 90,000 square-foot indoor waterpark—as wide as a Walmart and nearly three times as tall, and a rollercoaster.’”

FOWS will continue to support the efforts of Sierra Watch and others to seek environmentally-responsible development, ensure the safety of locals and visitors, and protect Lake Tahoe from the impacts of additional traffic and over-tourism.