“Destination Stewardship” — the plan to save Tahoe from itself has arrived

Photo: Tahoe community leaders are determined to dampen the negative impacts of the estimated 15 million people who visit the lake each year. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

The long-awaited plan to save Lake Tahoe has arrived.

On Tuesday, community leaders unveiled a 126-page document, two years in the making, that seeks to course-correct Tahoe from an economy increasingly dependent on tourism and to address concerns about environmental degradation in the basin and a widely held belief among locals that Tahoe “is on the wrong track.”

Discussions around “overtourism,” workforce housing affordability and environmental woes have been percolating in Tahoe the past three years, since the pandemic effectively supercharged the socioeconomic pressures on the region’s renters and working-class residents.

Unlike well-meaning initiatives of the past, this one is affirmed by an agreement — signed by 17 key entities, including local governments, land management agencies, nonprofits and tourism bureaus — to create a special “destination stewardship” council tasked with conjuring ways to “better manage outdoor recreation and tourism and ensure the sustainability and preservation of an iconic natural treasure and its local community.”

“At its heart, this plan is about taking care of Tahoe for generations to come,” said Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund. “With the entire region putting this strategy into action, we will be able to build a sustainable future for the Lake Tahoe environment that everyone can enjoy.”

About 15 million people visit Tahoe each year, and an unceasing flow of tourists and new home buyers has flocked to the basin since the pandemic. Many residents say it has transformed life for the worse.

“Traffic congestion, parking transgressions, environmental impacts and litter on beaches and trails, in addition to long lines for restaurants and disrespectful behaviors, pushed local unhappiness to a tipping point,” the new document reads. “Demands arose for urgent action.”

The plan operates from the perspective that Tahoe’s economy has become overly reliant on tourism. The industry represented 40% of Tahoe’s economic output in 2010; by 2020, tourism rose to 62%, according to the Tahoe Prosperity Center. But the industry has flagged unpredictably in the past few years due to wildfires, smoky air and pandemic shutdowns.

Tourism “must be nurtured and shaped to support the wellbeing of its communities, visitors, businesses, natural environment and culture,” according to the planning document. 

To that end, the coalition has crafted 32 action items.

The focus, at first, is to […]

Full article: www.sfchronicle.com