The League is closely watching the U.S. Supreme Court Clean Water Act case Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency because of its potential to impact the League’s conservation, preservation and restoration work in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Protecting Lake Tahoe’s water quality relies on ecosystem services from wetlands, which include natural carbon storage and water filtration that bolster Tahoe’s resilience in the face of climate change. Not only does this case consider narrowing protections for wetlands, but it brings into question the scope of the Federal Clean Water Act that has long protected the renowned clarity of Tahoe.

If protections are diminished then it may become more difficult to defend sensitive and important wetlands from development – the very areas crucial to protecting Tahoe from climate change. Regardless of the Supreme Court case’s outcome, the League will continue to protect Lake Tahoe with our agency partners and supporters like you.

Read more about the case here and here.