Officials say Lake Tahoe imperiled by wildfires

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -- Lake Tahoe, a crown jewel of the western landscape, is being challenged by drought, invasive species, the threat of catastrophic wildfire and climate change, officials said Tuesday.

The warning came during an annual summit about protecting the iconic lake that straddles the California-Nevada border. The meeting brought unusual bipartisan consensus among federal lawmakers that more logging should play a role in reducing the fire danger.

Those in attendance said decades of suppressing wildfires, no matter how remote, has left many forests too thick with trees, leading to disease and stoking high-intensity wildfires.

"The policy of the last 30 years has failed and failed miserably," said Republican Rep. Tom McClintock of California. He told more than 300 participants that money from logging could help forest improvements.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who convened the 18th annual summit, agreed in a later interview that there are too many regulations preventing the removal of dead, dying and overcrowded trees before and after wildfires strike. She recalled that what were grassy alpine meadows when she first visited the lake more than 70 years ago are now dense forests.

Feinstein and other U.S. senators in both states are pushing legislation that would provide an additional $415 million in federal money to fight invasive species, wildfires and reduce erosion that clouds the lake.

Meanwhile, federal and state officials from both states and both political parties signed a proclamation at the summit backing timber reduction and wildfire prevention efforts near Lake Tahoe.

Governors Jerry Brown of California and Brian Sandoval of Nevada, U.S. Sens. Harry Reid and Dean Heller of Nevada, and Barbara Boxer of California signed the proclamation, as did U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada.

Several said the region learned lessons in fire prevention after a wind-driven wildfire destroyed more than 250 homes on the south shore of Lake Tahoe five years ago.

U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, a Democrat from California, was not among the proclamation signers. He said in an interview that logging can play a role, though it is not the panacea suggested by McClintock. He faulted Republican leaders in the U.S. House for blocking a proposal to keep spending federal money on forest improvement programs instead of diverting the funds to pay for suppressing the rampant wildfires that are sweeping much of the West after three years of drought.

The lake's water level is so low this year that a tour boat ran aground last week and others can't operate, Sandoval told participants. In addition, the drought puts stress on healthy trees, making them more susceptible to insects, disease and fires, he said.

Participants said conditions have improved around the lake since the summits began, largely because of what Feinstein said was $1.7 billion in federal, state, local and private spending.

When the summits began in 1997, researchers found they could peer 64 feet into the turquois lake, Feinstein said. Now, thanks to programs to control erosion and fire soot, researchers can see to a depth of about 75 feet.

Scientists and lake advocates once thought the key to keeping the lake healthy was to limit development around it, said Tahoe Environmental Research Center Director Geoff Schladow.

"We now know it's not that simple," he said.

Climate change and increases in wildfires and invasive species like quagga mussels and Asian clams are as big a challenge, he said.

Officials attended an annual summit aimed to protect Lake Tahoe on Monday afternoon. Some said that money from logging could help forest improvements.