Washoe Tribe Chairman to speak in support of Lake Tahoe Restoration Act

Washoe Tribe Chairman Serrell Smokey is scheduled to speak in Washington D.C. on Wednesday in support of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2016, which expires on Sept. 30.

Smokey is part of Team Tahoe, a coalition of Nevada and California local elected officials, tribal leaders, and representatives from public and private entities.

The team is gathering in Washington, D.C. for meetings with members of Congress and the Biden Administration to urge the extension of the Act.

It has been a year since the renewal of the program was re-introduced by Rep. Mark Amodei and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

Local, state, and federal government agencies, private entities, scientists, and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California have collaborated for more than 27 years to restore the environmental health of Lake Tahoe.

 “This critical, bipartisan legislation provides funding for projects that support forest health, water for fire infrastructure, watershed restoration, water quality, aquatic invasives species control, Lahontan cutthroat trout recovery, and accountability,” officials said. “Since the Act’s passage in 2016, Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program partners have implemented hundreds of projects, leveraged the federal investment 5-to-1 with state, local, and private funding, and supported 1,700 jobs per year.”

Nearly two-dozen officials from Team Tahoe are in D.C. on the eve of the Act’s expiration to submit the final congressionally mandated report to Congress on activities for fiscal year 2023, and to illustrate that extension of the Act is crucial to safeguarding Tahoe for future generations.

With nearly 80 percent of the Lake Tahoe watershed under federal ownership the Act provides the federal investment for environmental restoration projects in the Basin, in partnership with California, Nevada, local governments, tribal, nonprofit, and private partners.

In addition to Smokey, Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-CA, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Chairwoman Cindy Gustafson, League to Save Lake Tahoe Chairman Steve Spurlock are scheduled to speak at a press conference 7 a.m. Pacific time Wednesday.

What:  Team Tahoe coalition press conference with Nevada and California Members of Congress

Who:   Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), speaker

Cindy Gustafson (Chair, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency), speaker

Steve Spurlock (Chair, League to Save Lake Tahoe), speaker

Serrell Smokey (Chair, Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California), speaker

When: 7 AM March 13, 2024

Where: House Triangle, east side of U.S. Capitol