USFS creating a recreation plan for Tahoe

5/09 tahoe mt. news

By Kathryn Reed

“What we want to communicate is there are going to be tough decisions to be able to maintain these facilities with decreased budgets and increased demand. We have some challenges ahead of us.”
Daniel Cressy, landscape architect and recreation planner with the U.S. Forest Service, voices these sentiments when it comes to providing locals and tourists with functioning, modern, non-dilapidated recreation sites throughout the basin.
With about 2.5 million people a year visiting the national forest in the basin, the land and infrastructure is for the most part being used to capacity. What worries the Forest Service is that projections are for that number to increase by 50,000 every year for the next 20 years – so by 2029 3.5 million visitors will be tallied in a single year.
A five-year recreation plan was signed into action in July 2008. One of the main goals is to have 20 percent of the deferred maintenance needs met within five years. Ninety percent of the needs are supposed to be met in 15 to 20 years.
“The recreation facility analysis was a guiding document looking at the recreation demand in the Lake Tahoe Basin,” Cressy explained. “We also are looking at where our facilities are in relation to meeting the demands and deferred maintenance associated with those. We have a big backlog of maintenance that we have not been able to get to over the years. Some are in dire need of maintenance.”
He said restrooms at day use sites and beaches are a good example of structures that have outlived their original lifespan. Many don’t meet the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. Tiles are broken, plumbing is so-so.
It’s expected to cost at least $23 million in today’s dollars to fix the mess at the recreation sites. This does include roads or administrative facilities.
Any project that relates to water quality improvements could tap into money from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act. Where the rest of the cash will come from is unknown. The Forest Service is open to a public-private partnership where appropriate.
Increasing fees has been talked about, but is not imminent. Before that happens the public would have a chance to weigh-in.
Several projects will get under way this summer or at least the analysis will be performed. Already the Logan Shoals vista has been upgraded.
Signage throughout the basin is an issue, as is the replacement of picnic tables.
The plan this summer is to replace two restrooms at Pope Beach and one at Baldwin Beach.
After Labor Day, work at Fallen Leaf Lake campground will begin. It’s in the environmental analysis stage now.
“We plan to remove some of the roadways and campsites in the stream environmental zones. We will relocate those campsites on higher capability land in the campground,” Cressy said. The number of campsites will not decrease.
The Valhalla Pier – the one by the boathouse theater – will be extended so people with disabilities may use it.
“There will also be some work to provide some accessible paths to the pier so people don’t have to go down a steep slope to get down to the pier,” Cressy said.
Part of the five-year plan includes replacing some electrical work at Zephyr Cove Resort and improve other infrastructure there. Improvements to the Tallac Historic Site are also on the agenda.
Camp Richardson improvements, which are in the environmental analysis phase, are partly included in the five-year plan. Restrooms will be improved, utilities put underground. The water system is being replaced and upgraded.
Some of the 40-plus-year-old cabins have leaking roofs and walls.
“The buildings don’t meet current standards. That is an example of maintenance that is overdue,” Cressy said.
As time goes forward, Cressy knows that prioritizing what gets fixed first based on the dollars available will continue to be an agonizing process for his agency.