Tahoe Integrated Information Management System

There are no words fully capable of describing Lake Tahoe. The brilliant blue of its majestic waters must be seen to be believed. The feeling of being dwarfed by your natural surroundings can only be experienced in person standing along the Lake’s lapping shores. Lake Tahoe has the power to change lives—this spectacular environment has created a stir within human beings for thousands of years. The passion the Lake instills has moved a community of concerned citizens to join together to preserve Lake Tahoe for future generations. The Tahoe story is complicated and compelling and continues to evolve toward the ultimate conservation of an
irreplaceable icon.

Lake Tahoe is one of the largest and deepest Lakes in the world and the startling clarity of the water has drawn people to the Tahoe Basin for generations. Lake Tahoe’s earliest inhabitants, the Washoe Tribe, demonstrated a deep respect for the fragile environment that was their home. Their “walk softly” values enabled them to exist in harmony with the Lake, and posed no threat to its health. They believed that Lake Tahoe was a sacred place whose pure waters were life sustaining. The colonization of the West eventually engulfed the Washoe and forever changed the landscape at the Lake.

Protecting this national treasure requires many agencies, many people and a great deal of commitment.