There's a lot of work that goes into keeping Lake Tahoe the clear and beautiful lake that attracts millions of people every year.
Combatting aquatic invasive species is one of the top priorities for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
"Aquatic invasive species have pretty devastating impacts especially on a place like Lake Tahoe where its famed water clarity and water quality, and a five billion recreation based economy," said Dennis Zabaglo, Aquatic Invasive Species Program Manager, TRPA.
That program is putting in a lot of effort to prevent or control those species once they're in the water.
It has many projects in place going to help.
The New Zealand Mudsnail was detected in the South Shore are last year. It was the first new species detected since before 2008.
They are continuing to monitor the species to make sure it doesn't spread.
"We are repeating that monitor effort this year to see what may have changed so we don't know yet about any changes, but we will know by the end of the season," Zabaglo said.
Another big project is the 17-acre Taylor Tallac Marsh Restoration.
"It is a Forest Service location and we are partnering them on doing an invasive aquatic weed removal project using bottom barriers," Zabaglo said. "They're just mats that go over the surface."
The project is the largest invasive weed removal project conducted in Lake Tahoe and the first the TRPA has done in a creek and marsh area.
The U.S. Forest Service will also do their own work in the wetlands.
If everything goes according to plan, they will be able to have natural habitats for every species in the Tahoe Basin.
The highest priority for the AIS program is the Tahoe Keys Lagoons. There are 172 acres completely infested.
Three-year Control Methods tests began in 2022.
The past two years have seen successful progress made on the species. For this final year of testing, it will help them long term on how to address these issues moving forward.
For prevention efforts, they are asking for the public, to clean, drain and dry before and after getting into any bodies of water.
They also say becoming a Tahoe Keeper is very simple and informative for learning ways to keep the AIS out of the lake.
You can find more information on that at this link.
