By Lily Leung, San Diego Union Tribune

A promising solution to the quagga-mussel invasion that threatens water supplies in San Diego and other parts of the West could soon be tested in open waters for the first time in the U.S., a leading quagga expert said Monday.

That news and other developments in the fight against the invasive species will be shared this week at a San Diego conference about aquatic invaders.

Quagga mussels and their close relatives, zebra mussels, have been particularly challenging to researchers in recent years because they reproduce at alarming rates and clog water supply systems. The critters have been a costly nuisance for water suppliers and harmful to the ecosystem.

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The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is urging the public to use caution within the Angora Fire area and avoid areas with large concentrations of dead standing trees.

Forest Service staff working in the area report that trees are falling on a regular basis. Windy conditions increase the hazard.

Hikers, bikers, and other recreationists are advised standing dead trees and damaged live trees weakened by the fire may suddenly snap or fall without warning.

Portions of the fire area remain closed through Oct. 7 to allow for the completion of the Angora Hazard Tree Removal project.

For more information on the closure, click here and look for the closure order under Angora.

For additional information, visit the Forest Supervisor’s office at 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, or call (530) 543.2694. The office hours are Monday through Friday, 8am to 4:30pm.

Susan Marie Kaiser of South Lake Tahoe died Aug. 29 in a kayaking accident on the North Fork of the Feather River. She was 37.

Kaiser was the fire and fuels coordinator for Lake Valley Fire Protection District for the past two years. Prior to that she worked for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Kaiser was on the water with friends when her foot apparently got stuck under a rock. By the time she was pulled to shore, life-saving efforts were unsuccessful.

Susan Marie Kaiser

Being on the water was a big part of Kaiser’s life. Last December she and 13 others spent 25 days rafting the Colorado River.

The fire department is having full honors for Kaiser on Sept. 4 at 9am at Tahoe Paradise Park. This is the first time Lake Valley has lost an active member of its staff. She was considered the face of fuels reduction and was well known in the fire community.

Kaiser was also on the board of the Sugar Pine Foundation.

“Susie had worked for years on fire and forestry related issues in the Tahoe basin. She had contact with thousands of homeowners over the years and was widely known and loved,” said John Pickett of the Sugar Pine Foundation. “This is a real tragedy and she will be missed by many.”

By Kathryn Reed

By the last day of the month, three of South Tahoe High School’s tennis courts are expected to be playable. The other three will be ready for action by mid-October.

With the building at the school and limited space to put heavy equipment, the courts became a parking lot and staging area for construction crews. In turn, the courts were destroyed. But they weren’t in good condition to begin with – with dangerous gaps in the playing surface.

By October tennis will return to South Tahoe High School. Photo/Kathryn Reed

New will be all six having lights. In the past, only half had been lighted.

“Those will be open to the public, just like at the middle school,” Jim Tarwater, superintendent of Lake Tahoe Unified School District, told Lake Tahoe News.

Rumors were going around town that the courts would be limited to high school teams and people who rented the facility, with the public locked out. Tarwater promised that is not the case.

About $350,000 is being spent on the courts through the facilities bond.

In the not too distant future, Tarwater would like to form a partnership with the city and Lake Tahoe Community College to renovate the four courts at South Tahoe Middle School.

He would also like to create two more courts near the middle school and St. Theresa School.

“Tennis is big in South Lake Tahoe. I could see tournaments coming up here,” Tarwater said. “My dream would be to cover the six at the high school.”

This way tennis could be played year-round on the South Shore. The only indoor court is at Ridge Tahoe. Owning a time-share or staying as a guest are requirements of using that court.

By Bill O’Driscoll, Reno Gazette-Journal

Northern Nevada business leaders remain strongly pessimistic about the economy and the prospects for recovery, the Sierra Region Economic Outlook Mid-Year Business Survey shows.

After nearly 63 percent of respondents rating economic conditions as poor or very poor, experts this month said the findings serve notice that change, from infrastructure to education, is needed to pull Northern Nevada’s business sector out of the recession.

“It’s another wake-up call for diversification,” said Brian Bonnenfant, project manager at the Center for Regional Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. “We can’t have all our eggs in the construction and tourism basket. We’re not there yet. We’re struggling to find that next silver bullet.”

The center and the UNR College of Business sponsored the biannual online survey of more than 7,700 area business leaders, taken July 7-Aug. 2.

The survey drew 689 responses, the highest return in the seven years since it was first circulated.

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Volunteers from the Truckee Tahoe Chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association, EAA No. 1073, will fly kids for free at Lake Tahoe Airport on Sept. 4 starting at 8am.

Children between the ages of 8-17 are welcome, but must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

The mission of this event is to provide young aviators with a free flight experience. As a result of last week’s high winds, this event was postponed. Saturday is the rescheduled date.

Free airplane rides are subject to weather, in addition to pilot and aircraft availability. Children should arrive at the terminal building at Lake Tahoe Airport accompanied by their parents, proceed downstairs to the lower level entrance where registration will take place.

For additional information, email Charlie White eagles@eaa1073.org.

Dear Fallen Leaf community member and interested members of the public,

The Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District (CSD) and the Community Area Advisory Committee (CAAC) want and need your input.

The CSD is responsible for the operation of the Fallen Leaf community area. The CAAC’s role is to provide direction to the CSD regarding community opinion. The CAAC is constituted of volunteers from the community and public, representing all areas and all points of view on the lake.

The CSD Board asked for input from the community on issues relating to the operation of the Store, Marina, Grounds and Parking. As a direct result, the CAAC developed a survey to collect data on these topic areas. Your feedback is important to the success of the community area services including the store and the marina operations.

Please go online to take the survey. The deadline for a reply is Sept. 20.

Thank you for your input. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me or contact any of the CAAC members.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Andersen, chairman of the CAAC, bandersen@fllcsd.com

and Carol Ann Barber, Franz MacMaster, Ruth D’Anneo Rich, James Kelly, Dick Lund, Lennie Roberts, Bruce E. Crocker, Patti Working, Jane Mitchell, Jonathan Howells, Irie Kinne, Dave Bunnett

By Kathryn Reed

Being connected to the land, walking it, seeing what her employees are working on – these are things Terri Marceron likes about being forest supervisor of Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

She might not have the same luxury when she takes over as forest supervisor of the Chugach Forest in Alaska in October.

Terri Marceron

After close to five years at the helm of the office based in South Lake Tahoe and managing about 153,000 acres, Marceron is headed to Anchorage to manage 5.4 million acres. It’s the second largest national forest behind Tsongas, which is also in Alaska.

“It’s similar in that what they try to do is maintain quality habitat and recreation experiences,” Marceron said of Chugach compared to Tahoe.

The Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 impacted islands she will be responsible for. Her experience dealing with Tahoe’s lake clarity issues should benefit her there.

She will also be taking over at a time when money for restoring the damage done by the spill is drying up, much like she and others here are contending with fewer dollars from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act.

Tahoe was always a draw for the 50-year-old. In her youth she spent time backpacking and hiking in the Sierra Nevada. This was one forest she always wanted to work in.

“The basin is such a unique forest. It’s political, has a lot of stakeholder interest, is a small area, has enormous recreation use, some conflicting values and activist people who want in on it,” Marceron said. “On the one hand I am really sad to leave, and on the other I am really excited to apply what I learned here in Alaska.”

As special as the Sierra is to Marceron, Alaska has that same draw for her husband. But she expects to one day again call Tahoe home – once she’s retired.

Her replacement has not been named.

In Alaska, Marceron will oversee the Copper River Delta, one of the largest wetlands in the United States. It provides critical habitat for the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds. The forest is home to all five species of Pacific salmon.

Marceron is proud of the work she has accomplished since arriving here in 2005.

“It’s the employees who deserve the credit. It’s a really special place for that. There are a lot of employees who are really good at what they do. I’m glad I could support them,” Marceron said.

For many locals, the nearly 3,100-acre Angora Fire of 2007, which burned mostly Forest Service land, is one of the more visible issues Marceron had to deal with during her tenure.

“Angora to me was probably the hardest thing I had to go through on this unit. The loss of homes. The whole magnitude of that event was distressing,” Marceron said.

Other significant accomplishments Marceron points to include: resolution to the Meyers Landfill lawsuit, acquiring Incline and Quail lakes for public access, creation of Generation Green Program, completion of Heavenly Mountain Resort’s master plan, improving recreation via things like the Van Sickle Bi-state Park and Daggett Summit decision.

One thing she won’t be able to complete before the end of October is the new Forest Plan.

“There will be things I wish I could have finished before I left, but I’m going to work my tail of the next two months,” Marceron said.

By Susan Ferriss and Jim Sanders, Sacramento Bee

A measure to ban plastic carryout bags in supermarkets, drug and convenience stores was defeated late Tuesday in the state Senate, where key lawmakers said it could prove too costly for consumers.

The proposal to make California the first state to institute such a ban was designed to go into effect in large stores in 2012 and smaller stores in 2013.

By July 2012, big stores would be allowed to charge customers, at cost only, for recycled paper bags.

Lawmakers debated the bill as they worked toward a midnight deadline. The measure received just 14 votes, with 20 opposed.

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Recreation opportunities Over Labor Day weekend in the Tahoe National Forest:

Nevada City: All recreation sites in the Tahoe National Forest will be available this Labor Day weekend. No fire restrictions are in effect, however anyone with a campfire outside a designated campground needs a fire permit. These are free and available at any Ranger Station.

Bullards Bar: The campgrounds at the reservoir are open. Recreation and reservation information can be found at the Emerald Cove Marina at www.bullardsbar.com or (530)692.3200. The Bullards Fire has been contained however fire equipment and PG&E trucks are still on the roadways. Recreationists are advised to drive slowly. Some smokes may be seen, however, the air is mostly clean.

North Yuba River: All sites are open. There are some first-come-first-serve sites but they fill up quickly. Those sites farther east on Highway 49 are often more available on a holiday weekend. The sites near Sierra Buttes fill up fast as well. For more information, contact the Yuba River Ranger Station (530) 288.3231.

East of Nevada City: Several campgrounds are expected to have sites available.

Truckee and Sierraville: Campgrounds and day use sites are expected to be full. The most popular sites are those connected with the eservoirs. ome sites are available on a first-come-first-serve basis. As campgrounds fill near Truckee, others farther to the north are often available. For additional information, contact the Truckee Ranger station (530) 587.3558.

East of Foresthill: Sugar Pine campgrounds are expected to be very busy. People without reservations are advised to arrive by Thursday or Friday at the latest. French Meadows Reservoir usually has more first-come-first-serve sites available. The OHV area is dusty and folks are advised to bring dust masks and lots of drinking water. A reminder that the Heritage Festival is celebrated on Saturday and Sunday in Foresthill. Traffic may be congested – please drive slowly through town. For additional information, contact the American River Ranger Station (530) 367.2224.

Fire Prevention/ Restrictions: Please be fire safe. The forest is becoming quite dry and fire danger is high. Be sure to fully put out your campfires.

Additional information can be found at www.fs.fed.us/r5/tahoe or contact the Forest Headquarters, (530) 265.4531.