Publisher’s note: This is the first of two stories about California’s tree mortality and how biomass is one solution to the problem. By Susan Wood As California experiences what may be its worst wildfire year on record, a multi-agency working group has sparked new ways for the state to see the forest through the trees […]
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By Associated Press Loss of water from rocks during drought caused California’s Sierra Nevada to rise nearly an inch in height from October 2011 to October 2015, according to a new NASA study made public Wednesday. The study also found that in the following two years of increased snow and rain, the rocks in the […]
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By Rebecca Worby, High Country News On Sept. 14, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue officially declared that the 2017 fire season was the Forest Service’s most expensive ever, with costs topping $2 billion. Perdue noted that fire suppression, which accounted for just 16 percent of the agency’s budget in 1995, now takes up over 55 […]
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By David Bunker, Tahoe Quarterly For someone who has lived his life in the snowboarding spotlight, Danny Davis seems utterly comfortable sipping coffee in a tucked away corner of downtown Truckee’s Dark Horse Coffee Roasters. It’s a crisp October day, a world away from screaming X Games fans and the international stage of the Winter […]
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By Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee When it comes to splashy real estate deals, Silicon Valley icon Larry Ellison usually gets what he wants. Frank Sinatra’s old Lake Tahoe casino, the Cal Neva, is no exception. After threatening to back out because of delays, Ellison is ready to move forward with his $35.8 million purchase of […]
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By Susan Wood The recreational hamlet west of South Lake Tahoe took another step toward flexing its individual muscle and identity Tuesday, when the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors approved the recreation-oriented concept of the new Meyers Area Plan. It was approved 4-0, with Tahoe Supervisor Sue Novasel recusing herself. She later told Lake […]
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By Kathryn Reed The overnight low in South Lake Tahoe last night was supposed to be 15 degrees. There were residents who were outside, in a vehicle or in other substandard housing. That is going to keep happening until the warm room is able to open. Now in its third year, the facility could open […]
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By Jim Robbins, New York Times Ponderosa pine and pinyon forests in the American West will die at an increasing rate as the world grows warmer, becoming less and less resilient when they are weakened by higher temperatures, according to new projections. Although these forests now withstand short droughts, warming temperatures increasingly stress the forests, […]
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By Matt Weiser, Water Deeply Winter is off to a dry start across the West, raising the specter of ongoing drought in many locations. The culprit could be La Niña – a periodic cooling of Pacific Ocean waters near the equator that often brings drought. And not just any La Niña, but a “double whammy” […]
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By Lake Tahoe News The next prescription you get might not be able to be filled at a pharmacy or come in the form of a pill. Instead, it might require athletic apparel. Nature as medicine is what it’s being called. While people who regularly recreate outdoors know the benefits, those who are recovering from […]
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