Tahoe’s winter trash woes
One of the unexpected side effects of the COVID pandemic has been the onslaught of seemingly never-ending visitors to the Tahoe Sierra. Don’t get me wrong – I am grateful every day for our tourists that visit the region and support our tourism-centric economy that we all rely on including this magazine (diversifying our economy is a topic for another day).
But our small mountain communities have been pushed to the breaking point by being over loved. We don’t have the infrastructure to handle so many visitors, particularly in the winter where a lack of public lands access for snowplay, public parking, public trash service and public restrooms have wrought an epidemic of garbage.
Broken plastic sleds and tire chains, food wrappers, dog poop bags and all matter of debris litter our community. The smallest snow-covered hill along dangerous highways have attracted thousands of visitors to abandon reason and any sense of their own safety to illegally park on shoulders and in roadways, head up hills often filled with road debris, engine oil, road salt and other toxins for a few hours of snowplay. They leave behind broken sleds, trash and animal waste with no regard to how the litter will infect local waterways including Lake Tahoe and harm wildlife.
As the largest publication in the region that is specifically geared toward our vacation homeowners and visitors, we have tried to use the pages of Tahoe Weekly to help educate our readers about the impacts they have on the area they love so dearly and how they can help. Priya Hutner has led that effort with her ongoing coverage of Tahoe’s trash and over tourism problems (available at TheTahoeWeekly.com). Her latest story in this edition – “Tahoe trampled by trash” – looks at the worsening situation at user-created snowplay areas in the region.
The good news is that the Tahoe Fund continues to make this issue a priority and is kicking off an effort to create a regional sustainable tourism plan this month. We look forward to these efforts and hope that they effect real change.
In the meantime, being informed is an important tool for us all and I urge you to read this story and help anyway you can – by volunteering to pick up trash or just being mindful of your impacts and visiting a designated snowplay area.
Cheer on our Olympians
The Winter Games have started and there’s plenty of action to watch as 12 local Olympians compete in China. In addition to the athletes we profiled in our last edition, two more were named to Team USA after that edition went to press and are profiled in this edition – AJ Hurt, Maureen “Mo” Lebel and Alix Wilkinson.
Good luck to Hurt, Lebel, Wilkinson and our other Olympians: Jamie Anderson, Travis Ganong, David Wise, Bryce Bennett, Keely Cashman, Hannah Halvorsen, Nina O’Brien, JC Schoonmaker and Luke Winters.
If you’re planning a viewing party, check out Priya Hutner’s Game Day snacks in this edition with her easy Pigs in a Blanket recipe and Soft Pretzels with Cheesy Beer Dip.
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A skier enjoys the powder and breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe from Norm’s Nose on Quail Face at Homewood Mountain Resort on the West Shore. The resort celebrates its 60th anniversary this season. Read more in this edition or at TheTahoeWeekly.com | Courtesy Homewood Mountain Resort, skihomewood.com
