Restoration and planning initiatives must take into account impacts these initiatives might have on housing, jobs, and local commerce. The quality of the Lake Tahoe environment and the viability of a sustainable recreation economy in the Basin are interrelated. The center of the Lake Tahoe economy is tourism. Tourists are attracted to Lake Tahoe because of its environmental beauty as well as the recreation offered by the environment. Because of the inter-relationship between the environment and the economy, it is important to track population trends, visitor movement, and other demographic and economic information to ensure the presence and transportation of people will not adversely affect Lake Tahoe Basin environmental quality. Likewise, it is also important to ensure the means for protecting environmental quality do not place an undue burden on people living and working in the Basin. Demographic and economic information help provide vital statistics relevant for decision-making to ensure this delicate balance is maintained.
 

Demographic and economic information are used in other ways and provide important information about the community. Some of the information provided includes:

This information can be used to effectively design public participation, outreach and education strategies for community environmental goal setting and planning that reflect the different age, educational and economic backgrounds present in the community.
 

Demographic information also describes characteristics of the existing population as well as the ways in which the community's demographics are expected to change in the future (e.g., population growth or decline, ethnic or age make-up). Seasonal residential patterns may highlight sewer and water quality/quantity issues for the community. Demographic information is also useful for assessing the existing community's need for public services and natural resources (e.g., clean water, land), estimating how population changes may increase pressures on natural resources, and developing strategies that address the environmental concerns associated with growth in the community.
 

Information on economic conditions and trends in a community help determine how to develop environmental protection strategies that account for local economic needs as well as environmental values.
 

Economic information can determine the employment conditions in the community, determine causes of past job dislocations (e.g., restrictions on logging or mining activity), anticipate important changes in the employment base, and identify potential sources of local environmental change that result from employment activities. This information is also important for targeting areas of environmental concern and identifying activities within the community (e.g., population growth, urban sprawl) that may compete with development of certain environmental protection strategies. Economic information can determine the relationship of dominant employment patterns to the environment and natural resources, and may be critical in designing environmentally compatible economic development strategies.
 

Information on economic conditions and employment can lend important insights into the trade off between money and other values in the community, thus allowing development of strategies consistent with both.
 

The economics chapter (Chapter 11) of the 2001 Threshold Evaluation Reportprovides an updated economic description of the Tahoe Basin, including population characteristics, economic trends, and a section highlighting travel and tourism in the Basin. The 2000 Lake Tahoe Watershed Assessment report for Lake Tahoe found that, “relatively little comprehensive or integrated social and economic analysis has been done in the Basin to date".