SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The California Tahoe Conservancy is implementing a project to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk on 33 acres of Conservancy land in El Dorado County near Lake Tahoe Airport. By thinning the overcrowded forest and removing hazardous fuels, the project will help protect the airport and nearby El Dorado County neighborhoods along Pioneer Trail from wildfire.

The Washoe Tribal Conservation Crew, a resource crew of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, will hand-thin the 33 forested acres, creating piles to be burned later.

The benefits of the project will be forest conditions that are more resilient to drought, disease, and insect outbreaks. The project will also result in reduced wildfire risk for El Dorado County’s Golden Bear and other neighborhoods along Pioneer Trail.

The Conservancy is also preparing an additional 99 acres of adjacent Conservancy land to thin in 2026 using mechanical equipment.

The Conservancy plans forestry projects like these in coordination with the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, and in support of the goals of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program. The lands included in this project are in the wildland-urban interface, where neighborhoods meet the forest. Lake Tahoe Basin partners identified these properties as priority treatment areas in the recently released Tahoe Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

The Conservancy received approval for this project under Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency proclamation on wildfires. Governor Newsom issued an Emergency Proclamation on March 1, 2025, to confront the severe ongoing risk of catastrophic wildfires that threaten public safety across California. The Conservancy received authorization to implement this forestry project from the secretaries of the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency under streamlined permitting processes.

Funding for the 33-acre project comes from State General Funds approved for wildfire resilience projects.

The hashmarked area labeled Hand-Thin Unit is area the Washoe Tribe will be working on. The solid color is where mechanical thinning will occur.

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