More than $470,000 in Tahoe Plate funds awarded for 2023

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) -Even with water temperatures at 46 degrees, there was still a paddleboarder and a kayaker on Lake Tahoe today.

A recent snowstorm, or later on a bright sunny day, visitors can always find something to see or do and love about “The Jewel of the Sierra.”

“It is where their heart and passion is,” says Meredith Gosejohan, Tahoe Program Manager, for the Tahoe Resource Team Nevada Division of State Lands.

For some their affinity for the lake is such, they put their money where their mouth is and buy a Tahoe Plate.

The colorful license plate is 25 years old, and from the beginning money generated goes to restoration and preservation projects for Lake Tahoe.

Each year applicants apply for funds available.

This year programs dedicated to the eradication of an invasive plant, as well as algae and the Asian clam received money.

“The Asian clam reproduce at an extremely effective rate,” says Chris Lacasse, a water quality scientist with the Nevada Division of State Land. “And this money is key in establishing some methods of control before they become a problem similar to the zebra mussel and quagga mussel, we’ve seen in lakes further down south.”

Other recipients this year include research on the Whitebark Pine Tree which is a threatened species.

Spooner Meadow will also be monitored to determine which efforts have the biggest impact on the meadow as well as the Spooner Meadow Restoration Project as a whole.

AmeriCorps volunteers will also be up at Sand Harbor this summer. They too will be paid with the help of the Tahoe Plates, and available to answer questions from visitors to make their stay at Sand Harbor enjoyable.

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