Lake Tahoe Watershed

Called the jewel of the sierra, Lake Tahoe is renowned for its astonishing clarity and striking blue color. People from all over the world visit Lake Tahoe to marvel at the beauty of its waters. Over past decades however, changes to  deep water and nearshore water quality conditions have become evident to visitors, residents and management agencies. Diminished clarity, increased algal growth, declines in native species’ populations and habitat and proliferation of aquatic invasive species (AIS), threaten Lake Tahoe’s ecologic status and functions as one of the few exceptionally clean and clear (ultra-oligotrophic) lakes in the world, as well as its values as a drinking water source, a recreational destination, and a local and regional economic asset. NDEP is one of the many federal, state, local and private partners collaborating to restore, protect and preserve the Lake Tahoe watershed for current and future human appreciation and use.