By Spokesman-Review

A Oregon State University study suggests the repatriation of wolves in the West could help reverse the decline of Canada lynx.

Research published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin says a decline of snowshoe hares is a key factor in the Canada lynx being listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The loss of hares, the primary food of the lynx, may be caused by coyote populations that surged in the absence of wolves.

Scientists call this a “trophic cascade” of impacts.

Wolves are death to coyotes. Wolf packs hunt down and kill coyotes that enter their range.

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The 16th annual Truckee River Day is Oct.16.

Volunteers will have their choice of half or full day restoration projects with different levels of difficulty. There will be 13 projects including revegetation for further restoration at Perazzo Meadows, plantings to restore the former Town Corporation Yard, and surveying for fish habitat in the Little Truckee River.

A celebration at the River Fair will follow the projects. The River Fair 1-4pm at Granite Flat Campground and will include food, live entertainment, environmental activities for kids and adults, and the annual fish release at 3pm.

Everyone is invited to the fair even if you’re not participating in restoration projects.

To participate in this year’s festivities, go online or call (530) 550.8760. The deadline for registration is Oct. 7.

By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal

An estimated 90 percent of a bighorn sheep herd in the East Humboldt and Ruby Mountain ranges died during a catastrophic pneumonia event during the winter of 2009-10. The bighorns, introduced in 1992, numbered 180 animals in 2009.

About 110 bighorns were believed to have died from disease in the Hays Canyon Range in 2008. The herd was introduced to the mountain chain about 50 miles northwest of Gerlach in 1989.

About 100 bighorns, a third of the herd, died from pneumonia in the Santa Rosa Mountains in 2004. Bighorns were first introduced there in 1978 and numbered about 300 by 2003.

Disease might decimate a herd of bighorn sheep that Nevada biologists previously thought faced a promising future.

California bighorn sheep are dying of pneumonia in the Snowstorm Mountains about 30 miles northeast of Winnemucca. It’s unknown exactly how many have succumbed in what is a rare summertime die-off, but things don’t look good, said Ken Gray, an Elko-based supervisory game biologist with the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

“We could be down to 50 percent of the population already,” Gray said. “It’s a real serious situation. We think we’re going to lose 80 to 90 percent, maybe even 100 percent of that herd.”

The news is particularly bad, Gray said, because the herd’s future looked so encouraging.

“It was one of those herds that was really starting to take off,” Gray said. “We had huge confidence this herd was going to be one of our best.”

Before the arrival of European settlers and disease-carrying domestic sheep in the West, three species of bighorns — California, Rocky Mountain and Desert — thrived across the mountains of Nevada.

The animal’s population tanked and by the 1960s, they existed only in the southernmost part of the state.

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Join hundreds of Tahoe basin community members to improve forest health at the League to Save Lake Tahoe’s 14th annual Tahoe Forest Stewardship Day on Saturday from 9am-2pm in Incline Village.

This year’s Stewardship Day partners with the Incline Village General Improvement District, and will focus on fuels reduction, native vegetation rehabilitation, trail restoration, stream restoration, biomass clean-up, and educational outreach. The event will also include a volunteer appreciation lunch with a guest speaker.

For more than a decade, Stewardship Day has provided hundreds of Lake Tahoe volunteers the opportunity to restore public lands and discover how forest restoration can complement fire risk reduction.

Volunteers help at a previous Stewardship Day. Photo/League to Save Lake Tahoe

Previous Stewardship Day events have helped restore the Angora Fire area, the Heavenly Gondola area, Meek’s Creek Meadow, North Tahoe Regional Park, Skylandia Park, and Sugar Pine Point State Park.

All volunteers should wear sturdy shoes and long pants, and bring a water bottle and snack. Tools are provided, but volunteers who already have work gloves, hardhats, rakes, hand-saws, loppers, and shovels are encouraged to bring them (no axes or chain saws).

For more information or to sign-up, contact Flavia Sordelet at (530) 541.5388 or events@keeptahoeblue.org. Registration is required.

Volunteers will meet for orientation at 8:30am at the Village Green Park (960 Lakeshore Blvd., Incline Village).

By Emerson Marcus, Reno Gazette-Journal

Its views are serene.

Its neighborhoods are gorgeous.

But local cyclists are saying Truckee’s bike lanes on state roads are “lousy” and a “dilapidated mess.” California state officials are beginning to listen.

“It’s a joke,” said Paco Lindsay, who has lived and biked on roads in Truckee since 1978. “I’ve never seen it this bad.”

Highway 89, along the western shore of Lake Tahoe, is the root of the problem, Truckee’s Gregg Betonte said.

“We started getting pretty vocal about the issue this spring,” Betonte said. “(The California Department of Transportation) has told us for years that they were going to replace the paths, but they haven’t. They pave the road, but not the shoulder.”

Betonte said the road is filled with potholes and cracks after years of neglect and is unridable.

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By Golf

What could hurtling down a mountain at 80 mph have in common with facing a downhill putt? Plenty, says Olympic gold medalist and recent golf convert Lindsey Vonn. “Mentally, it’s the same,” Vonn says. “In golf, you have to focus and be calm and have the proper technique without TRYING to have the proper technique. It’s like skiing.”

Vonn doesn’t play as much as she’d like, but she makes the most of her on-course time. Last year she made an ace at the Safeway Invitational charity event at Bayonet Golf Club in Monterey, Calif. “It was 160-something yards,” Vonn says. “I didn’t even see it go in. I hit a 5-iron. I thought ‘Oh, that will be close.’ Then my teammates started freaking out and saying, ‘You got a hole-in-one!’ They were happy for me and at the same time extremely angry because they had been playing their whole life.” They grew more jealous when they learned it was her first time playing 18 holes.

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By Jeremy Benson, Skiing

It seems like just yesterday I was finally putting away the skis for the season, now it’s almost fall and ski season is only a couple of months away. The change in seasons is becoming evident: the shadows are growing longer, nights are getting colder, and leaves are starting to turn. Fall is a great time of year, especially for mountain biking. For me, riding my bike is so much fun, it barely feels like training.

But it is. And here’s why: Endurance exercise like mountain biking is a workout not only for your legs, abs, and arms, but for your heart and lungs as well. Over time, repetition of hard efforts while riding will improve your cardiovascular function. A stronger heart will pump oxygenated blood more efficiently to your muscles, increasing muscular endurance and speeding muscle recovery. Training your heart, lungs, and legs for endurance will make those non-stop runs down the West Face at Squaw, High Rustler at Alta, or Goat at Stowe seem a lot easier.

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By James Raia, Sacramento Bee

Seeking a spot for the sixth time in the event’s seven-year history, Sacramento has applied to host a stage finish of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California.

But the capital’s involvement is far from assured. Race organizers are considering several route options, including a return to the Bay Area (not included this year) as well as different mountain passes and routes in the Sierra Nevada.

“We’ve submitted a bid with the hope of getting a stage finish,” John McCasey, executive director of the Sacramento Sports Commission, said Thursday. “And we’ll just have to wait and see what our chances are. There are no guarantees. We go into it with eyes wide open. What we are up against is a very creative planning organization such as Medalist (Sports).”

The eight-day race, the country’s largest professional cycling event, will begin May 13 in Santa Rosa, the home of three-time winner and 2011 runner-up Levi Leipheimer.

Davis, which hosted a stage start in 2009 and 2010 and was a pass-through city in 2007 and 2008, has bid for a 2012 stage start. Auburn, Nevada City, Modesto, San Jose and the South Lake Tahoe region also hope to be part of next year’s race.

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The North Tahoe Public Utility District is putting on a recreation and parks community meeting Sept. 20 from 5:30–7:30pm at the North Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach.

This Open House style meeting will provide residents with an opportunity to give input on priorities for the Recreation and Parks Department.

The Boys and Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe will also be in attendance as the district’s main recreation provider to give information on the programs they offer. Other recreation providers and partners are also being invited to attend.

In December 2010 the North Tahoe Public Utility District Recreation and Parks Commission was disbanded due to a lack of volunteers willing to serve on the commission. The commission was the link between the board and the community on matters of parks. In order to keep those connections with the community active, the board committed to providing an opportunity for residents to give input on projects, funding priorities and other items related to parks. This meeting will give residents an opportunity to comment on topics such as maintenance and capital priorities, launch ramp hours, to name just a few.

When the New York Jets open the regular season at home against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 11, South Tahoe High School grad Garrett McIntyre will be dressed ready to play.

This is the first season McIntyre has made an opening day roster. He is a backup outside linebacker.

In the preseason he had nine tackle and two sacks.

Garrett McIntyre

For the past two years he played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. He has also spent two seasons in the Arena Football League with the San Jose Saber Cats.

After graduating from Fresno State in 2006 he signed as an undrafted free agent the Seattle Seahawks. That preseason he bounced between the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report