October 8, 2015 - Rep. Tom McClintock’s (R-CA) and Rep. Mark Amodei’s (R-NV) H.R. 3382, the “Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015” passed the House Natural Resources Committee today. The legislation focuses resources on fire prevention and additional measures to protect the lake from the introduction of invasive species.
“The House measure is specifically designed — after extensive input from fire districts throughout the Tahoe region — to reduce excess fuel loads in the Tahoe Basin before they burn. It streamlines the planning process that has severely hampered past attempts at forest management,” McClintock said. “It calls for new revenues generated within the Tahoe Basin to stay in the Tahoe Basin for environmental improvements. It also augments efforts to protect the lake from invasive species that have already devastated many other lakes in the West.”
“For the last eight years, Tahoe legislation has been introduced in the Senate and has not moved off the Senate floor,” continued McClintock. “This bill has been carefully crafted to fit within the budget parameters set by Congress and it addresses the two most immediate environmental threats to the Tahoe Basin. I believe this bill has an excellent prospect for passage out of the House.”
The bill:
--- Expedites active forest management and fuel reduction projects consistent with the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit land and resource management plan.
--- Guarantees that funds generated by timber sales and recreation will stay in the Tahoe Basin to provide for further fuels management and promote public access.
--- Supplements and expands the current inspection regimen of boats launched into Lake Tahoe and provides for fee-supported private, local, and state inspection and decontamination stations.
--- Provides for disposition of federal-owned parcels of land in urban areas and acquisition of in-fill parcels within the national forest to streamline management and reduce the inefficient “checkerboard” pattern.
--- Makes the involvement of local governments mandatory in land acquisition decisions that directly impact their communities.
--- Promotes tourism by prioritizing public access to the federal lands.
Source: Congressman Tom McClintock
