Best Management Practices are methods to help developed properties function more like natural, undisturbed forest and meadowland. Water that is conveyed to a lake by an undisturbed river in it's watershed is usually quite pure, because the watershed's soils and plants act as a natural water purification system.

BMPs help developed properties mimic natural conditions by preventing sediment and nutrients from entering our surface waters and instead filtering runoff water through the soil. By implementing BMPs, property owners can help slow the loss of lake clarity.

BMPs prescribed for residential properties usually fall into the following categories:

Vegetating and mulching soils helps them to absorb rain and snow melt like a sponge, mimicking natural conditions. TRPA regulations require that native and/or adaptive vegetation is planted, reducing the amount of irrigation and fertilization needed, thereby reducing nutrient loading and runoff even further.