Senate Appropriations Committee Approves
$20.4 Million for Lake Tahoe Restoration Projects
Bill also includes $26 million for Quincy Library Group project, $1 million for the Headwaters Forest Reserve, $1.75 million for the California Condor Recovery Project
June 28, 2001

Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee today approved more than $20.4 million for restoration and preservation efforts in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The funding was included in the FY 2002 spending bill for the Department of Interior. Senator Feinstein is a member of the Interior Subcommittee on the Appropriations panel.

“These funds demonstrate the ongoing commitment of Congress to protect the natural treasure that is Lake Tahoe," Senator Feinstein said. “This $20.4 million is part of an ongoing federal-state-local partnership that is the 10-year Lake Tahoe Restoration Act enacted last year.”

As part of the same bill, the subcommittee also approved $26 million for continued implementation of the Quincy Library Group project, $1 million for the Headwaters Forest Reserve, $1.75 million for the California Condor recovery project.

The legislation also calls for $9.6 million in funding for land acquisition projects including:

• $3.5 million for the Otay Mesa Habitat Conservation Plan;
• $4.6 million for the San Diego National Wildlife Reserve;
• $1.5 million for the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monuments.

Specifically, for Lake Tahoe, the subcommittee approved:

• $6.6 million for environmentally sensitive land acquisition in the Lake Tahoe basin, an increase in $2.6 million from last year's bill.
• $5 million for erosion control initiatives.
• $3 million for road improvement and decommissioning efforts to improve safety and further reducing damaging erosion caused by runoff from old roads.
• $5.85 million for vegetation and watershed management activities.

Included in this funding are:

• $600,000 for reducing the risk of wildfires in the basin.
• $250,000 for wetlands restoration and riparian zones which act as a filtering system for the Lake Tahoe ecosystem.
• $500,000 for adaptive management activities techniques.
• $600,000 for urban lots management.

Below are a list of selected California projects funded under the legislation as requested by Senator Feinstein:

Project -- Funded in Bill
Lake Tahoe -- $20.45 million
Quincy Library Group -- $26 million
Central Valley and Southern California Habitat Conservation Plan -- $500,000
Otay Mesa Habitat Conservation Plan -- $3.5 million
San Diego National Wildlife Reserve -- $4.6 million
Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monuments -- $1.5 million
California Condor Recovery Project -- $1.75 million
Historic Route 66 Preservation Project -- $475,000
Presidio Funding -- $23.13 million