An air charter service based in Truckee, California is giving back for every hour they're in the air. Mountain Lion Aviation has been flying charters there for the last six years.
"Just to provide mobility solutions for the area," said Chris Barbera, CEO and Director of Operations for Mountain Lion Aviation. "A lot of people moving back and forth between the Bay Area and transplants from up there, people having second homes, skiing, summer Tahoe events."
And now, for every hour the service flies, they're making a donation to the Tahoe Fund, a nonprofit that's worked on more than 80 environmental projects around the lake over the last 13 years.
"All of the money that we raise through this partnership is going to go back to helping restore our forests, to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire, it's going to help us restore some watersheds," said Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund. "Most important is the Upper Truckee River down in South Lake Tahoe. And then we help fund a program called TART Connect, which is a microtransit service."
It's partnerships like these that help the Tahoe Fund continue to make a real difference here.
"When you donate to the Tahoe Fund, you're giving back to a project that's really tangible and meaningful," Berry said. "You can see the hiking trail you helped build, you can see the path on the East Shore Trail that you helped make happen. You can see the watershed get restored and the aquatic invasive species be removed. It's very tangible and I think that's why we get such great support, because we're getting so much done."
And it's a way to help make sure the view from the air continues to inspire.
"Living in this area my whole life, I've always wanted to give back and see this area thrive," Barbera said. "With the fires, droughts, all the things that are happening up here, keeping Tahoe beautiful; it's such a picturesque place to fly and we want to keep it that way."
The Tahoe Fund: https://www.tahoefund.org/
Mountain Lion Aviation: https://www.mountainlion.aero/
