Lake Tahoe Transportation and Water Quality
Coalition Annual Conference
October 27, 2002

Acknowledgments

On your panel

Not on your panel, but need to be recognized are the directors and under-secretaries of departments from California and Nevada.

I am truly delighted to be back in Lake Tahoe today. It's wonderful to see so many friends and familiar faces. It is especially to be here at Heavenly's Top of the Tram.

Blaise Carrig (who will be introducing you), I thank you for the warm hospitality and know that you are going to great things here as the new Chief Operating Officer.

I look forward to bringing you up to date on where we stand in terms of federal funding for Tahoe and on other challenges we face, such as forest fires.

But first, it's no exaggeration to say that without all your help, the restoration of Lake Tahoe would not be possible. I have nothing but the greatest respect for your dedication to this marvelous national treasure.

A special thanks to the Co-chairs of the Lake Tahoe Transportation and Water Quality Coalition--Rochelle Nason, Andrew Strain and Steve Teshara for inviting me and for all the work they have done with me and my staff over the last few years on moving the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act forward.

One of the reasons I have enjoyed working to restore Lake Tahoe is because of people like Rochelle Andrew and Steve.

Tahoe is that rare issue - particularly rare these days - able to generate support from across the political spectrum.

In the 106th Congress, Senator Harry Reid and I sponsored the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act in the Senate and Representatives Doolittle and Gibbons introduced the bill in the House.

Senator Reid and I were prompted to act following the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum in 1997, where scientists told us that unless action was taken within the next decade, we would not be able to save Lake Tahoe. They said it would be too late to reverse the eutrophication that was taking place and that someday the Lake's water would no longer be blue.

When I was here two years ago, Congress had not yet passed the Tahoe Restoration Act.

But a few months later we did pass the Act, authorizing $300 million in federal funding to match the contributions of California, Nevada and the local communities.

And now, another two years later - and three years into the appropriations process - I believe we have made substantial progress, which I will get to in just a minute.

This is an issue very close to my heart. My love for Lake Tahoe goes back to childhood, when I would ride horseback through these beautiful forests.

Back then the forests were much less dense: dead, dying and downed trees could not be seen in every direction, and there was no insect infestation problem.

Run-off and erosion were not big problems, particularly because the trees were healthy and their roots could hold together the soil, to help protect water quality and clarity.

Yet as you all know, the Lake has since become afflicted by tailpipe emissions, fertilizer runoff, silt and other urban debris.

Together, they have stimulated algae growth, which reduces available oxygen and causes a decline in visibility.

And of course back then we did not have an MTBE problem.

Lake Tahoe will never again be the remote pristine place it was when I was a girl, but the problems we are facing are solvable, as long as all of us remain committed to the Lake=s restoration.

Above all, we must make sure the necessary funds are available from the federal government, the States and local communities to address these problems - and so far, the news here is good.

Funding Update

Coming out of the 1997 Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum, it was estimated that $908 million over 10 years was needed to restore Lake Tahoe. I am glad to say that we are almost half way there, with about $435 million already appropriated from the federal government, the States, and local communities and businesses.

Here's where we stand, about five years into the effort :

And while the Forest Service has borrowed $21 million from last year's Tahoe funds to fight these terrible fires, I strongly support the efforts of Senator Byrd, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, to replenish the Forest Service accounts as soon as possible.

And I see absolutely no reason why important earmarks like Lake Tahoe should be jeopardized because this year's fire season has surpassed the Administration's expected budget needs.

Furthermore, in fiscal year 2003, the Senate appropriation bills include $27 million for Lake Tahoe. Senator Reid and I will continue to make this issue a very high priority on the Appropriations Committee.

Status of Lake Tahoe

So with all this funding, another question arises: What have we accomplished?

Just last month, the Tahoe Research Group announced that the Lake was the clearest it's been in five years, from an average 67.3 feet in 2000 to 73.6 feet in 2001. Additionally, the rate of decline appears to have slowed over the past few years.

Some will argue that the improvement in 2001 was caused by the drought, but I believe these figures are encouraging and evidence that resources are being spent effectively and prudently.

And yet, when we recall that the clarity was 102.4 feet in 1968, it is clear we still have a long way to go.

I for one am very concerned that if we don't stay the course here, Lake Tahoe will continue to lose its world-renowned clarity.

Forestry issues

But Tahoe is about more than water. The majestic Sierra Nevada Forests, which include the Lake Tahoe area, represent some of the highest fire-risk areas in the country. A serious fire in Tahoe could prove devastating to the environment and to life and property as well.

And the likelihood of a severe fire conflagration grows each year. Such a fire could permanently destroy the habitat and also increase sedimentation into the Lake, severely affecting water quality.

The roots of old growth trees serve as the best mechanism to prevent this.

And this remains one of the reasons I have chosen to become more familiar with, and actively engaged in, forest management issues. When you consider that 77% of these forests are federally owned, any national forest management policy will greatly impact this region.

And the forests affect watersheds, they affect all the businesses and homes built on new urban lands that, until very recently, were forest and wild lands.

2002 marks another devastating fire season, one of the worst on record. 6.6 million acres have burned across the U.S., almost double the average for the past ten years, and almost half a million acres have burned in California alone.

Along with several of my Senate colleagues familiar with the state of our national forests B Senators from both parties B I have seen this coming for some time now.

Few issues facing our country are as grave, or require such immediate and concerted action as the fire risks facing today=s forests. And I remain confident that the Congress will be able to reach a nationwide consensus to this national crisis.

Just consider the following facts:

All of this means that today's fires are burning hotter, faster and longer, due to the unprecedented build up of fuels, small brush, and non-native trees in our forests.

Once composed of open stands of fire-intolerant Jeffrey and Sugar Pines, today's Tahoe is packed with white fir and other trees that previously were not able to grow in the basin.

The newer firs - not yet fire resistant and not full-grown - have created fuel ladders that, for the first time, permit a fire to reach the tops, or crowns, of old growths.

Old growth pine used to be impervious to fire, since the fire rarely reached all the way up to its crown. But with this new fuel ladder, fire threats to old growth pine have become very real indeed.

At the same time, drought periods have further stressed the forest, making it more vulnerable to insect infestations, disease and, of course, to severe wildfire.

One striking example is the bark beetle, which has spread through the Tahoe forests, leaving a truly catastrophic -forest-fire like devastation in its path.

Several animal species in Tahoe, including the red fox, willow flycatcher, Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, and yellow-legged frog, are already beginning to vanish.

The situation is clearly troublesome, and the challenges before us are significant. We must work to:

Luckily, we have the resources and the leadership to meet these challenges. For instance, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the Tahoe Water Quality and Transportation Coalition and the Federal Advisory Committee have developed a great partnerships among the states of California and Nevada, local governments and communities, businesses and environmentalists.

These partnerships have also developed strong ties with the federal government, which are crucial to the Lake=s future, when you consider that 77% of the land in the Lake Tahoe Basin is federally owned.

You should know that, over the next few years, funding will only become tighter and harder to come by. But you can count on me to do my best to see that the Federal government continues to fulfill its commitment to Tahoe.

At the same time, I am counting on you to ensure that Tahoe continues to receive needed funding, from the States, the locals communities and businesses.

And we need to continue to publicize these success stories, like improved water clarity, which reassure everyone that the money is being used wisely and responsibly.

This is what we are trying to save - an irreplaceable natural wonder and a remarkable national treasure.

Thank you again for inviting me.