Tenth-annual Truckee River Clean-up Day Sept. 29

Join volunteers in kayaks and on land to pick up trash and give back to river

August 23, 2007
From www.reno.com

The long hours of summer soon will begin to fade; sadly the days of fun and friends on the river are becoming few and far between. Although the Truckee River community has seen better seasons for kayaking, the paddlers in Reno have reached an all-time high.

While the water-flows in the Truckee were not quite ideal for kayaking this year, the low water does provide a great opportunity to give back to the river. At 8 a.m. Sept. 29, Nevada EcoNet, along with other organizers,will be hosting the annual Truckee River Clean-Up Day.This presents the perfect opportunity for one last hoorah on the hometown court before the season ends.

Although most of the volunteers in this event work on shore, the organizers are also looking for kayakers to man both inflatable kayaks and rafts to float the river and pick up trash. There might also be opportunity for some hard shell kayaks as well. The day will begin at 8 a.m. for on-water participants.

One if by land
On-shore volunteers, visit www.ktmb.org or call (775) 851-5185.

Bring work gloves. Day begins at 9 a.m. to noon for land volunteers.

After the Clean-up, meet at Rock Park for lunch and drinks. Rock Park is on Rock Boulevard between Rock and Greg streets.

Two if by sea
Those interested in volunteering for the on-water clean-up, please contact Kelsey at kelsey@nevadaeconet.org or call (775) 323-3433.

Two wells dry: Truckee utility holds hearing

Prosser residents blame irrigation

By Andrew Cristancho
Sierra Sun, acristancho@sierrasun.com
July 31, 2007

Their wells drying up or water levels dropping to worrisome depths, a handful of angry Truckee residents plan to seek answers tonight at a meeting of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District board of directors.

The wells of two residences on tree-lined Prosser Dam Road off Highway 89 North have dried up, and four others are rumored to have stopped producing drinking water, said longtime Truckee resident Maribess Johnson.

“Prosser Dam Road is running dry,” Johnson said.

Blaming the dry wells on drought or a dry climate is not a sufficient explanation to Johnson or a few of her neighbors.

In a phone interview, an upset Robert Davis attributed dropping well levels to the 1 million gallons of well water that the nearby Grey’s Crossing development pumps daily to use for irrigation.

“It’s obvious that the golf course is taking my water,” Davis said. “I had the strongest well on the block. I’m so mad I don’t know what to do.”

Davis’ well was at least the second well to dry up in the Prosser area; the first belonged to his neighbor, 23-year Prosser resident Bob Yoder.

Yoder’s first well was 125 feet deep and went dry five weeks ago. He re-drilled a new well to 275 feet, which now produces plenty of water. The Truckee real estate agent said he thinks the golf course watering takes away from other area wells.

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Homewood plans GREEN RESORT

Homewood hires Sierra Business Council to guide sustainable plan

By Joanna Hartman
Sierra Sun
May 7, 2007

The West Shore ski resort most known for its family-friendly slopes is working with local agencies to ensure environmental and community issues remain at the forefront of its business plan.

Homewood Mountain Resort has hired the Sierra Business Council — a nonprofit working to secure the social, environmental and financial health of the Sierra Nevada — to develop a program to make the resort a leader in sustainable development.

“Our bigger task that we’ve been assigned is really to organize and put together their sustainability program,” said Program Director Nikki Riley of the Sierra Business Council. “... We’ve been asked by JMA to make Homewood the greenest ski resort in the Western states.”

Homewood to stay home-y
JMA Ventures purchased Homewood Mountain Resort last June and, while plans for the development are still vague, the resort will initially build a modest development at the foot of the hill, said Rick Brown, the company’s vice president.

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Northstar is Killing it on the Sustainability Front

Region gets support for green building initiatives

By David Bunker
Sierra Sun, dbunker@sierrasun.com
July 13, 2006

The Truckee, Tahoe and Northern Nevada area was one of eight regions nationwide to be awarded expert assistance in promoting and encouraging sustainable building.
On Wednesday, experts in green building and sustainable development met in Kings Beach to gauge the issues that effect the community. In September a national panel will return and help local and regional officials craft policies to increase environmentally-sensitive building.
Recently, the Nevada Legislature passed a bill that will give tax breaks to certified green building projects. Sustainable and green building includes techniques such as using solar energy, water-conserving appliances and renewable materials.
“We’re looking at plans and policies that are in place, but we’re also looking at making recommendations for new plans and policies with a sustainable approach,” said Ric Licata, president of the Northern Nevada chapter of the American Institute of Architects, which won the grant.
The grant will aid local green building advocates develop a strategy for increasing the use of environmental design in a region, irrespective of governmental boundaries, said Licata.
“I think that was the beauty of the grant, that we could span state lines and county lines and look at the area as a region,” Licata said.

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Skiers not picking resorts for enviro-friendliness

By Kara Fox
Sierra Sun
December 1, 2006

Environmental groups and other organizations push to make sure ski resorts are doing their part for the environment, but skiers and snowboarders say other concerns top their lists when looking to buy season passes.

“I don’t pick my ski area based on whether it is environmentally friendly,” said Tahoe Pines resident Nancy Spina. “I live near Homewood and Homewood is family-friendly. We have two 11-year-olds who love Homewood and I go to Homewood because it is not commercialized.”

Carnelian Bay resident Julie Bernyk, who skis at Squaw Valley USA, said it is all about the terrain when she is looking for a place to ski, but adds that she does her part for the environment in other areas of her life, like recycling, buying energy-saving light bulbs and buying organic food.

Visitors who call the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce visitor’s center ask which ski resorts are open, what the terrain is like, how much lift tickets are and what is the best resort, said Kym Fabel, program manager for the chamber. She said callers never ask which resorts are stewards of the environment.

“I still think it’s all about the terrain,” Fabel said. “But I believe they feel better about going to ski resorts that are environmentally friendly.”

Ski resorts also say they don’t hear from their customers that the environment is the number one concern for them when it comes to their mountain.

“We don’t get anything about the environment. We hear about why isn’t Broken Arrow [lift] running,” said Savannah Cowley, spokesperson for Squaw Valley Ski Corp. “People would rather have redundant lifts running than hike. They don’t like the green excuse or that we are conserving energy. It is the opposite, if anything.”

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My Turn: Go big green

By Katy Zirbel
Sierra Sun
December 4, 2006

I have attended both recent TDPUD board meetings and think the dilemma of providing power to the Truckee area, both now and in the future, can be solved with some serious, creative, original thought.
All of us, consumers, PUD staff and board members, need to stop focusing on what we can’t do, how restricted our options are, how green we think we already are — and start to embrace possibilities.
I would hope that if there is anything we agree on, it’s this: How do we provide energy to this community — now and in the future — and NOT pollute the planet?
I think we can find a way to provide our base power source with a whole lot more green than anyone is talking about. I actually think that if we worked on the solution creatively, compassionately and blew out all of our preconceived notions of what it might “look” like, Truckee could be 100 percent green.
The only thing stopping us is that we just don’t know how. And that’s where the creative thinking comes in. Form a Creative Energy Committee. Get people involved. Think outside the proverbial box. We have enough talented, knowledgeable, dedicated people living right here to start to make a good, solid green plan for Truckee.

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