Lake Tahoe Basin Partners

Tahoe Science Projects supported by the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act

The Tahoe Science Program was created through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA) to conduct science to inform efforts to restore Lake Tahoe and its watershed, as authorized in the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act. Beginning in 2006, the Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) assumed responsibility for sponsoring science projects.

PSW established a competitive grant award program with a rigorous peer review process coordinated by the Tahoe Science Consortium, a collection of universities and agencies with active research programs at Lake Tahoe. Specific research areas varied from year to year within the eight science themes listed below. These eight priority research issues spanned the research needs identified and prioritized by management agencies in the Tahoe Basin.

In 2016, the Tahoe Science Consortium Science Synthesis Report was presented to SNPLMA sponsors (U.S. Congress and federal agency partners), the science community, and the general public. The report offers an overview of the key findings from the research projects supported by the SNPLMA Science Program and illustrates their relevance to management actions in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The Science Synthesis Report distills hundreds of research projects, publications and reports from this program into succinct findings that provide relevant knowledge for resource managers in the basin.