The Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan was created as a direct result of the collaboration of regional organizations with the participation of over 3,000 residents, visitors, and businesses. The plan was released in June 2023 and was designed to improve the way people, communities, and the environment benefit from a thriving tourism and outdoor recreation economy. Since then, a tremendous amount of work and collaboration has been underway to put the plan into action.

The Destination Stewardship Council was created. A Managing Director was hired, and “action teams” aligned with the plan’s strategic pillars were formed. Progress is already being made to address the plan’s priorities. And, the plan was recognized by the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals in May for its outstanding contributions to outdoor recreation and honored with a 2024 Project Excellence Award.

As a collective region and community, we’ve found that some of the best ways to influence and reinforce desired behaviors and establish a culture of caring for Lake Tahoe, its communities, and the environment is by “showing” and “telling” people what appropriate behaviors are.

---

---

Ahead of the busy summer season and the upcoming July 4 holiday, specific actions taken by Destination Stewardship Plan collaborators include visitor-targeted educational communications – within and beyond the Tahoe region – to reinforce Take Care Tahoe messages, the installation of Take Care messages on billboards along highways entering the Tahoe region, and expanded funding support for Ambassador programs throughout the Tahoe Basin and Truckee.

Positioned at popular trailheads and beaches, Take Care Tahoe Ambassadors are there to offer information and promote stewardship practices to all who are there to recreate. And, in an effort to address litter and parking challenges, Tahoe residents and visitors will find additional infrastructure, services and enforcement in popular spots. This includes added enforcement and parking management programs, more port-a-potties, and extended hours at specific locations like Pope Beach to address traffic congestion caused by people trying to enter at the same time.

---

---

Beginning this month, trail users on popular multi-use paved trails throughout the Tahoe Basin and Truckee will also find new messages stenciled in chalk along the trails encouraging trail etiquette.

A number of other lake-wide efforts are already underway to activate the tenets of the Destination Stewardship Plan in meaningful ways. Communities around the region are beginning to adopt single-use plastic water bottle bans to reduce one of the top five types of litter found in the Tahoe Basin.

On Earth Day this year, South Lake Tahoe became the first to prohibit their commercial sale and distribution, and Truckee’s ordinance will go into effect on Earth Day in 2025. The Drink Tahoe Tap program that started in 2019 continues to expand, and over 80 permanent locations throughout the region now offer access to free reusable water bottle refill stations, with more signing on all the time.

Tahoe communities are also making it easier than ever to get around without a car. Residents and visitors can all make use of free, on-demand microtransit services like TART Connect in North Lake Tahoe and Truckee, and Lake Link in South Lake Tahoe, plus rideshare services, bike valet services at select regional events, and the over 300 miles of paved and dirt trails throughout the region.

Beyond the work we’re doing to take the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan from ideas to action, we’re constantly looking at what others are doing to improve the destinations they love for those who live, work and recreate there.

Some of the work that’s inspiring us right now is happening here! Efforts like the Lake Tahoe Water Trail’s new educational “Clean, Drain & Dry” video, created to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species in Lake Tahoe, Fallen Leaf Lake and other Tahoe Basin lakes and streams. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association’s new bilingual trailhead kiosks will be installed in Nevada in 2024 and California in 2025. The kiosks will present information about the trail and promote environmental stewardship in English and Spanish, and a QR code will also be used to link users to information accessible in several other languages.

In addition, donors to the Tahoe Fund recently met the fundraising goal needed to provide for the construction of a new accessibility ramp in the Tahoe Meadows off Mt. Rose Highway. When the ramp is completed this fall, the boardwalks that meander through the meadow will be accessible to everyone.

Although there will always be more to do, it’s exciting to see the progress that has been made, and how collaborative efforts are committed to driving positive results.

Carol Chaplin is president and CEO of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority; Daniel Cressy is Public Services Staff Officer of the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.