NEVADA CITY, CALIF. (March 29, 2024) — Tahoe National Forest’s Alpine Meadows and Olympic Valley Fire Protection Project will reduce fuel loading, improve forest health and provide adequate long-term community protection from future wildfires on 1,080 acres of National Forest lands approximately 5 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe. Insect infestation and disease to vegetation coupled with historical fire suppression has resulted in elevated and undesirable fuel loads in the area that are at an increased risk of catastrophic wildfire. The project is planned to begin in 2025 and aims to reduce fuels through hand and mechanical thinning and piling, mastication, chipping and prescribed fire.
The project area has been identified as a priority by the recently formed Middle Truckee River Watershed Forest Partnership (MTRWFP). The partnership aims to improve and protect the resilience of the Middle Truckee River Watershed through forest health initiatives. The MTRWFP is comprised of Truckee River Watershed Council, Truckee Meadows Water Authority, The Nature Conservancy, National Forest Foundation and Tahoe National Forest.
“The Middle Truckee River Watershed is a main water source for the communities of Truckee and Sierraville, and supplies the Reno region with about 90% of its drinking water,” said Tahoe National Forest Truckee District Ranger Jonathan Cook-Fisher. “The Middle Truckee River Watershed Forest Partnership is prioritizing forest resilience work in this watershed to protect water security for the hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors that depend on it every day.”
The project aims to not only protect water supply from wildfire, but also several endangered and threatened species, thousands of homes surrounding the project area and other private, state and local infrastructure.
Environmental analysis for the project was completed by the National Forest Foundation with funders including the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, several businesses and HOAs, and over 100 community members within the Alpine Meadows and Olympic Valley communities. The project was made possible with significant in-kind support from the USDA Forest Service.
Tahoe National Forest signed a decision memo earlier this month, clearing the project for implementation. To view project documents or learn more, visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/tahoe/?project=65079.