On Wednesday, Oct. 8, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) and California Tahoe Conservancy (Tahoe Conservancy) co-sponsored a tour through South Lake Tahoe and Markleeville to share how the conservancies are advancing Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) through post-fire reforestation, wildfire-risk-reduction, and wetland restoration projects, with state and federal funds. The SNC and the Tahoe Conservancy offered this tour to policymakers and government officials to provide an on-the-ground experience with NBS projects.
Nature-Based Solutions are a suite of land-management activities that channel natural processes to remove and store carbon, prevent future emissions, and help communities adapt to climate impacts. From forest thinning to wetland restoration, the tour featured projects that demonstrate how working with nature can address pressing environmental challenges, and the important role state conservancies play in advancing NBS.
California’s 2022 Scoping Plan found that the state’s lands are currently a net source of carbon emissions due to the accelerating impacts of climate change, a legacy of fire exclusion, and disconnection from traditional land-management practices. To put California on a path to return our lands to a carbon sink, California’s Nature-Based Solutions Climate Targets were released in 2024.
“Projects like these provide so many benefits—for water quality and habitat, for storing carbon and cooling Tahoe, for people enjoying the outdoors, and for safeguarding tribal resources,” said Jason Vasques, Tahoe Conservancy Executive Director. “From a nature-based solutions perspective, this natural infrastructure is incredibly important.”
Tour attendees included Senator Blakespear from District 38 and Assemblymember Hadwick from District 1, as well as legislative staff representing districts across the state including from the offices of Senators Laird, Dahle, and McNerney and Assemblymembers Ahrens, Hadwick, Harabedian, and Rogers. Department of Finance Director Joe Stephenshaw, leadership and staff from the California Natural Resources Agency and Legislative Analyst’s Office also attended.
“We need to be proactive as we continue to work to keep California communities safe from wildfire and limit the threats created by climate change,” said Senator Catherine Blakespear. “I thank the California Tahoe Conservancy and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy for showing me nature-based solutions that reduce fuels for wildfires and restore wetlands to help California better manage its environment and protect its residents.”
Tour stops included:
Markleevillage Fuels Reduction Project where SNC provided funds to Alpine County for 234 acres of hazardous fuels removal, which contributed to a network of strategic fuels-reduction projects around Markleevillage, a community that sits at the southwestern edge of Markleeville and the base of steep forested canyons. This project reduced fuels in the wildland-urban interface and helped protect the community of Markleevillage from the 2021 Tamarack Fire, while also advancing multiple NBS, including forest restoration and future wildfire risk reduction.Upper Truckee Marsh and River Restoration Project, where attendees viewed a Tahoe Conservancy wetland restoration site in South Lake Tahoe. Prior property owners dredged and filled the area, and channelized the Upper Truckee River. From 2020-2022, the Tahoe Conservancy restored 250 acres of wetland by constructing new pilot channels to rewet the meadow. The Tahoe Conservancy also created another 13 acres by recontouring filled and dredged areas and rewetting the meadow. This project advanced multiple NBS including enriching native wildlife habitat, restoring natural pollution filters, improving water quality, and enhancing climate resilience.North Upper Truckee Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Project, a collaborative effort among the Tahoe Conservancy, USDA Forest Service-Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, and other partners. The project focuses on reducing dense and hazardous fuels across 536 state and federal open space lots throughout the North Upper Truckee Road neighborhood in El Dorado County. This project helps protect communities and restore forest resilience, advancing the wildfire risk reduction NBS.
“It was an honor to join the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and their partners to see firsthand how nature-based solutions are strengthening wildfire resilience and protecting communities across our region. I’m incredibly proud to represent these areas and the people working every day to steward our forests and watersheds,” said Assemblymember Heather Hadwick. “This tour highlighted education and collaboration, which is exactly what we need more of—bridging the gap between urban and rural California. At the end of the day, we all love where we live and want to make sure it’s here, healthy and thriving, for generations to come and SNC’s tour beautifully embodied this sentiment.”