{"id":459,"date":"2021-06-28T22:02:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T02:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sierrasothebysrealty.blog\/2021\/06\/28\/stewards-of-change\/"},"modified":"2021-06-28T22:02:34","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T02:02:34","slug":"stewards-of-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/2021\/06\/28\/stewards-of-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Stewards of Change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Lake Tahoe and Truckee ask travelers to become stewards of the setting, no matter how long their time here.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Lake Tahoe\u2019s natural beauty needs our help. Most of us moved here for the awe-inspiring setting, yet the stewardship of its environmental health often falls on the shoulders of the U.S. Forest Service and local nonprofits. But even their collective efforts are coming up short as more people discover the splendor of the region. The newly instated Lake Tahoe-Truckee\u2019s Traveler Responsibility Pledge, a follow-up to South Lake Tahoe\u2019s Pledge for the Wild, helps fill in the gaps by asking every visitor and resident to chip in. Liz Bowling, a spokesperson for the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, said people don\u2019t necessarily want to do the wrong thing and just need guidance about eco-friendly practices.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9845 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/IMG_4938001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"579\" height=\"434\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst-time visitors might place their trash next to a bin if it\u2019s full. They think they\u2019re doing the right thing, but trash can harm wildlife,\u201d she said, regarding a consistent problem that\u2019s an easy fix with the new initiative.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSignage notifies people to text a number for a service to empty the bin.\u201d The six tenets of the pledge are simple:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Become a Steward of Tahoe-Truckee by leaving it better than you found it.<\/li>\n<li>Respect the Environment by packing out and bringing a reusable water bottle.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Stay Educated about alerts like weather and operations.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Keep Wildlife Wild by not feeding or disturbing animals.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Be Fire Safe.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Demonstrate Mindful Travel through polite behavior in public areas and visiting another area if your first choice is crowded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Businesses, homeowners, hotels and community organizations are all getting on board to spread the word and do their part. Just as Covid gave individuals pause about how they want to reposition their lives, communities are taking a deeper look at how they can protect and preserve natural surroundings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything we do now is through the lens of responsible travel and how it impacts nature and full-time residents,\u201d said Bowling.<\/p>\n<p>Jesse Patterson, Chief Strategy Officer for the League to Save Lake Tahoe, expects the pledge and greater environmental awareness in general will increase volunteer participation in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI see environmental stewardship exploding in a good way, and it will become part of visitors\u2019 Tahoe adventure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Voluntourism also lies at the core of Clean Up the Lake, a nonprofit founded by PADI rescue diver and film and tv director-producer Colin West. His large-scale undertakings depend on citizens for beach cleanups, as well as certified scuba divers, free divers, snorkelers and marine surface support from kayakers to jet skiers for submerged lake pollution cleanups. After removing nearly 5,200 pounds of trash from Donner Lake during the 2020 Scuba Clean Up, among many projects, the 72-Mile Scuba Clean Up for Lake Tahoe commenced in May. Volunteer crews will spend three days a week for six months to complete the job.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9846 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/clean-up-resize.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"441\" height=\"441\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore than removing trash, we\u2019re recording and tracking it to identify the root of the problem and fix it forever,\u201d said West.<\/p>\n<p>Not everyone sees below the surface like West. For the pledge to work, mass public education and community outreach are required of resources like UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center in Incline Village, Nev. Education and outreach director Heather Segale has watched in amazement as people buy bottled water filled down valley when Tahoe\u2019s tap water comes from the apex of the watershed. TERC aims to correct this wasteful behavior and other common oversights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a tough battle, because sometimes what\u2019s right and better for us and the earth isn\u2019t as convenient,\u201d said Segale, who urges locals and visitors to learn more about Tahoe\u2019s environment when TERC\u2019s director delivers the annual State of the Lake report on July 29.<\/p>\n<p>Sherry McConkey, founder of the Shane McConkey Foundation for positive change, said a lot of young people already abide the pledge\u2019s tenets. She sees their commitment firsthand during the annual Shane McConkey EcoChallenge, for which individual children and school classes submit projects to win $22,500 in prize money. Entries range from a budding entrepreneur who sells toy kits made from recycled materials online to sisters who collected litter around Donner Lake and raised $10,000 for trash signage. McConkey hopes there isn\u2019t a repeat of last summer\u2019s litter left by nature seekers who came in droves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe pledge is a good message. Let\u2019s hope people hear it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7980 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Sierra_HorzBW-scaled.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 311px) 100vw, 311px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Sierra_HorzBW-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Sierra_HorzBW-300x58.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Sierra_HorzBW-1024x198.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Sierra_HorzBW-768x149.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Sierra_HorzBW-1536x297.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Sierra_HorzBW-2048x396.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Sierra_HorzBW-150x29.jpg 150w\" alt=\"\" width=\"311\" height=\"60\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/eng\">sierrasothebysrealty.com<\/a><\/h4>\n<div class=\"addtoany_share_save_container addtoany_content addtoany_content_bottom\">\n<div class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/www.sierrasothebysrealty.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/culture-comeback\/\" data-a2a-title=\"Culture Comeback\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lake Tahoe and Truckee ask travelers to become stewards of the setting, no matter how long their time here. Lake Tahoe\u2019s natural beauty needs our help. Most of us moved here for the awe-inspiring setting, yet the stewardship of its environmental health often falls on the shoulders of the U.S. Forest Service and local nonprofits. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":248546753,"featured_media":3099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1369],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tahoe-real-estate-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfNAru-7p","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/change-cover.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/248546753"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/sierrasir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}