Hydroacoustic scans show the amount of plants (by biovolume) in the Tahoe Keys. Blue means no biovolume and red means high biovolume. Courtesy of TKPOA.

You’ve heard it before: aquatic invasive species are the greatest ecological threat to Lake Tahoe. The threat is most visible in the warm, shallow lagoons of the Tahoe Keys, where invasive plants clog the water. As the weeds break apart and float away, they can infect other areas of the Lake.

To Keep Tahoe Blue, the League is working to put the Keys infestation in check.

After a decade of planning and study led by our team, the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association, and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the Tahoe Keys Control Methods Test was launched in 2022. The goal of the test is to identify the best approach for controlling aquatic weeds and preventing them from spreading further into the Lake.

This fall, year two of the three-year test was completed. The project team compiled a special report to share what happened between May and September of 2023. We encourage you to check it out and do your part to tackle invasive species in the Lake.

Image: Tahoe Douglas Visitors Authority.

Stateline’s Tahoe Blue Event Center is the new buzz in town, with a lineup ranging from professional wrestling and Adam Sandler, to Pitbull and Paw Patrol. But there’s more to this venue than just entertainment.

Did you know the League has worked closely with the event center to bring the venue's transportation impacts down to net zero? We’re also leading the way in delivering Lake-friendly transportation options to the South Shore. It's all part of our effort to prevent pollution from damaging the Tahoe environment and all the ways you enjoy this special place.

The League's Laura Patten, second from right, presented on microplastics during the Tahoe Science Conference. Image: Alison Toy, UC Davis.

For more than 50 years, the partnership between Tahoe's scientific community and its natural resource managers has shaped the Basin's strong environmental protections.

In October, that connection was the focus of the first Tahoe Science Conference, hosted by the Tahoe Science Advisory Council. Over three days, participants shared lessons from Tahoe's past, and applied new knowledge to help tackle today's threats, like climate change and pollution.

From the League's earliest days, science has guided our work. At the conference, Dr. Darcie Goodman Collins, Jesse Patterson, and Laura Patten from the League led discussions on challenges including microplastics, stewardship and recreation, and algae and invasive species.

In October, the League took part in Wonders of Water and Environmental Education, or WOWEE, a multi-day program that reached hundreds of local elementary and middle schoolers. The program is put on by the South Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition, the League’s partner in environmental education for more than ten years.

Tahoe’s next generation is key to keeping Tahoe blue. So, the League provides hands-on, environmental lessons to students as part of our Keep Tahoe Blue Schools program. 

During the field trips, first graders learned why clean water is important for local amphibians; second graders became water droplets moving through the water cycle; fourth graders demonstrated the effects of stormwater on the environment; and sixth graders conducted water quality tests on four different samples taken from the Basin.

Warm up with our engraved glass mugs

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League to Save Lake Tahoe | 530.541.5388 | keeptahoeblue.org