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Tahoe Summit meets for the 29th time

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Katelyn Welsh

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Valhalla Tahoe’s lawn surrounded by pines and overlooking Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada lawmakers, organizations, agencies, tribe members, residents and visitors gathered together to renew their commitment to Lake Tahoe at the 29th annual Tahoe Summit on Wednesday, Aug. 6. This year’s theme in protecting Lake Tahoe was “Balancing Sustainable Recreation and Conservation.”

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U.S. Senators Adam Schiff, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Jacky Rosen, as well as California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, all honored the summit’s creator in their remarks, the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. Senator Masto recalled Feinstein riding her bike around Lake Tahoe as a young girl. “Everybody has a story,” she said, “and that’s why this is so important for all of us.”

Sen. Feinstein, along with Sen. Harry Reid, were instrumental in bringing leaders together for the first Lake Tahoe Summit 1997 on her path of bolstering federal government support in preserving Lake Tahoe. Feinstein also helped direct significant funding to the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program, a key program in restoring and preserving the lake. The Tahoe advocate coined the term “Team Tahoe,” which was said and embraced throughout the summit.

Actor and keynote speaker, Jeremy Renner, embodied the summit’s recreation theme, having come from the middle of his camp for at-risk youth. He discussed two causes that he’s invested in and he says, are inseparable—protecting the environment and supporting the youth who will inherit it.

In discussing the fragile balance of all the factors within Lake Tahoe, he emphasized the unity in partnerships it takes to maintain that balance. He noted responsibility does not end at Lake Tahoe’s shoreline, but continues to the people, especially the often overlooked disadvantaged youth.

In calling summit participants to join him in protecting the lake and empowering youth, he said, “Conservation and advocacy are not separate missions here. They are deeply connected. A healthy environment supports healthy communities. A community that invests in children creates a future worth preserving.”

The summit honored two members of Renner’s Camp RennerVation, Gene Marr and Parker Hubbard, as future stewards of Lake Tahoe. With their excitement and energy bursting from the stage, the two youths received their Lake Tahoe Stewardship Certificates.

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The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California offered an invocation and blessing for the summit. Washoe Tribe Chariman, Serrell Smokey covered the Washoe’s history, presence, and government’s intervention on tribal lands in his remarks.

“It’s actually quoted that there’s no point in giving land to Washoe people because they’re all going to die anyway,” he said. “But we’re still here and we’re still here now.”

He honored the partnerships working to reestablish the Washoe presence and stewardship, highlighting conservation corps teachings, the start of the Meeks Meadow Restoration Project, and bringing back cultural burning.

Washoe Tribune Chairman Serrell Smokey
Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune

Sen. Schiff of California, who hosted the event, experienced the lake by kayak the day before. “Just being out there on the water, seeing the magnificent blue, the breathtaking mountains,”he expressed, “the biggest problems in the world can seem very small.”

The Senator discussed the ongoing threat of wildfire and the Tahoe Basin’s partnerships, such as the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, working to mitigate that threat. He assured his dedication to fighting for public lands and the agencies that manage them.

U.S. Senator Adam Schiff
Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune

Sen. Cortez Masto of Nevada pointed to the partnerships in Lake Tahoe—California and Nevada, state and federal, private and public—as a model for the country. “There’s a reason why Dianne Feinstein coined us Team Tahoe, because it takes that collaboration. It requires all of us to come together.”

She also emphasized the fight for public lands and how she and Rep. Kevin Kiley of California pushed the reauthorization of the Lake Tahoe Act through both houses, allocating $300 million to Lake Tahoe over the next ten years. She called everyone to action in that fight for Lake Tahoe and highlighted the importance of their voice and action.

U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto
Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune

Sen. Rosen of Nevada argued that Lake Tahoe is a contender for the most beautiful place in the country, yet it faces multiple threats. Those include worsening wildfires, extreme weather, invasive species, and aging infrastructure, but she recognized the continued collaboration across both political party lines that has preserved Tahoe.

“It’s a reminder that when we have a common goal,” she said, “we can achieve great things.” Sen. Rosen highlighted Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program accomplishments over nearly three decades and joined the other senators in encouraging people to use their voice, work and passion to protect Lake Tahoe.

U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen
Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune

Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo said the state remains steadfast in its commitment to Tahoe’s success, noting the recent legislature’s approval of funding for forest, lake health and recreation projects. He recognized some of those legislators in the audience who made that happen. Other legislative actions he highlighted included the 600 foot no-wake zone, and new safety corridors to manage unsafe and illegal parking. The Governor emphasized the influence the public had in these decisions by speaking up about their concerns at public meetings.

“Your voice matters,” he said, “I don’t want anybody leaving today thinking it doesn’t.”

Before turning the event back over to Sen. Schiff, Gov. Lombardo recognized the many first responders in the crowd and thanked them, encouraging everyone to do the same.

Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo
Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune

California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis attended the summit in place of Governor Gavin Newsom. She reminisced about skiing as a youth at Homewood.

In her role as chair for the California State Lands Commission, she has worked on many polices to support Tahoe, including an invasive species program. Lake Tahoe is a shining example, she said, of the Governor’s 30×30 goal since about 90% of the basin is public land. It marks the importance of the Upper Truckee Marsh South restoration project, which will transform a former motel site into a healthy wetland habitat and recreation.

She also touched on the state’s outdoor programs expanding access with adaptive programs as well as the passage of California’s $10 billion Climate Bond.

California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis
Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune

Local Tahoe partners, Placer County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Executive Director Julie Regan and the League to Save Lake Tahoe CEO Darcy Collins presented this year’s Dianne Feinstein Lake Tahoe Award, which honors individuals who have demonstrated a longstanding commitment to preserving and improving Lake Tahoe’s environment.

This year’s award went to E. Clement “Clem” Shute, Jr., who, in his career as a California attorney, helped establish the bi-state Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) in 1969, the first interstate compact agency of its kind in the nation. He had a role in many pivotal occurrences that followed, including the 2012 update to the Lake Tahoe Regional Plan.

E. Clement Shute, Jr. received this year’s Dianne Feinstein Lake Tahoe Award.
Katelyn Welsh / Tahoe Daily Tribune

“Some of the past battles that we were able to win,” Shute said, accepting the award and recounting the history getting there, “is what allows us all to be here today continuing this work.”

He expressed confidence in the current leadership of Team Tahoe in carrying on the vital work.

A video of the Tahoe Summit is available to watch on tahoesummit.org.

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