Stewardship learning program
Educate and Support a Dedicated Team of Lake Rangers who understand:
1) Indigenous Wisdom - Community, Culture, Heritage
2) Lake Tahoe's unique Carrying Capacity
3) Sustainability Principles - Geotourism
4) TriNomics - collaborative efforts with business, government, and nonprofits
5) Adopt New Career paths to preserve the natural resources and infrastructure with responsible leadership
6) Sustainable Travel Adventure Network - an online portal of Geotourism activities sponsored by Green businesses
1) Indigenous Wisdom - Community, Culture, Heritage
2) Lake Tahoe's unique Carrying Capacity
3) Sustainability Principles - Geotourism
4) TriNomics - collaborative efforts with business, government, and nonprofits
5) Adopt New Career paths to preserve the natural resources and infrastructure with responsible leadership
6) Sustainable Travel Adventure Network - an online portal of Geotourism activities sponsored by Green businesses
Why?
- Tahoe’s sensitive watershed requires businesses, residents and travelers to make responsible choices that sustain and enhance the natural resources of the destination.
- Lake Tahoe is a National Treasure surrounded by federal, state, county, city and private property - each having its own priorities and protocols for use and access.
- DMO's (Destination Marketing Orgs) are no longer the key guides as travelers pull a variety of unregulated activities online. Short Term Rental lodging practices lack educated, onsite Hosts that add to this mixed access problem.
- The current visitor activity menu requires billions of dollars for ongoing mitigation, restoration and clean-up expenses.
- Tourism industry, govt agencies, major business stakeholders have begun to steer advertising and marketing strategies toward sustainability; however, Lake Tahoe's water clarity is still falling and overtourism has impacted this travel destination. One challenge with implementing a Sustainability Plan is not having a dedicated team whose ongoing purpose is to ensure that goals become a reality.
- 60 years of Lake science provides clear guidelines on how to preserve clarity and what types of recreation, transportation and construction contribute to the degradation of the water quality. Reference: 2010 State of the Lake Report.
- 2010 TRPA Environmental Improvement Program highlights the cost to mitigate the public's footprint - $1.4Billion. Costs were estimated to exceed $2.45B by 2020
Our role in creating the future of tourism for Tahoe
We honor the 10,000 years of stewardship by the original people of this land. Members of the Washo and Paiute tribes have participated in these demonstrations of stewardship, as it is core to their culture.
Sustainable Tahoe role is to accelerate the adoption of responsible travel by educating, proposing, demonstrating and facilitating Geotourism (recreation stewardship travel) in the Tahoe Truckee Watershed. Our Tahoe Expo was a "Learn-by-Doing" model, so agencies, businesses and NGO’s could experience Geotourism using what we have in new ways. Adventures spread out over 150-miles and involved collaboration by 55 to 85 NGO’s, agencies, and businesses. Unlike traditional fairs or festivals, Tahoe Expo demonstrated how to create and host a "community owned" tourism menu that was beneficial for our visitors and destination alike - 365 days a year. This creates paid jobs that contribute to the well being of the watershed, wildlife and people included.
The Prosperity Plan identified Geotourism (destination stewardship) in the ‘Visitor Satisfaction’ cluster as a key action in service to long-term prosperity and water clarity.
Sustainable Tahoe role is to accelerate the adoption of responsible travel by educating, proposing, demonstrating and facilitating Geotourism (recreation stewardship travel) in the Tahoe Truckee Watershed. Our Tahoe Expo was a "Learn-by-Doing" model, so agencies, businesses and NGO’s could experience Geotourism using what we have in new ways. Adventures spread out over 150-miles and involved collaboration by 55 to 85 NGO’s, agencies, and businesses. Unlike traditional fairs or festivals, Tahoe Expo demonstrated how to create and host a "community owned" tourism menu that was beneficial for our visitors and destination alike - 365 days a year. This creates paid jobs that contribute to the well being of the watershed, wildlife and people included.
The Prosperity Plan identified Geotourism (destination stewardship) in the ‘Visitor Satisfaction’ cluster as a key action in service to long-term prosperity and water clarity.
what if...
- Dedicated Team of " Lake Rangers" where to create a 21st Century 4-season Stewardship Recreation Menu
Sustainable Tahoe's team of volunteers (mostly 16 to 35 years old) produced 4 Geotourism Expos so locals and visitors could to "test-drive" a 21st Century (transit) menu of fun, informative activities that promote visitor satisfaction, inspire longer stays and migrating stories that increase demand for activities that do no harm. - Inspire Visitors to adopt stewardship behaviors
People CARE about things they feel CONNECTED to and SHARE at that level of caring. Immersive adventures hosted with inspired stewardship is how we Sustain Tahoe! Increasing "Visitor Satisfaction" is a “High Priority Action” section of the 2010 Lake Tahoe Basin Prosperity Plan (LTBPP) Final Report (pg. 57-79). - Work as ONE WATERSHED
TriNomics ™ provides a collaborative guide for building GeoTracks: Geotourism is an international strategy endorsed by five departments of the U.S. Department of the Interior
Collaboration
- Learn from others.
The Northeast Kingdom shares similar assets and challenges as Tahoe, with upscale resorts to rural farming. Local leaders asked “What do you love in our destination and not want to lose?" and "What is one thing you are willing to do to help sustain the destination?” This focused efforts from competing to collaborating. They changed their marketing and menu items to highlight unique assets that attracted visitors to stay longer and explore more; return sooner and share new exciting stories. - Sustainability Innovators. David Hansen helped Embassy Suites save $400K a year by implementing energy monitoring, composting and other measures in sustainability. He shared this turn-around model at our 2010 Stewardship Congress to raise awareness and motivate others to lead-by-example. 2010 Stewardship Congress-Speaker summaries
- Learn-By-Doing Sustainable Tahoe facilitated a collaboration with Business, college and resort.
Students from Sierra Nevada College created a Geotourism recreation program for a resort to help increase their revenues. San Jose State University students submitted Geotourism Adventure ideas: SJSU student created GeoTrack - TriNomics™: a collaborative model designed by Sheri Woodsgreen CEO of WISE Ventures .
We adopted TriNomics™ : .ORG; .GOV; and .COM to ensure adventures had buy-in from all stakeholders.
- Non-Profit - .Org: guides the Geotour adventures to enrich the visitors understanding and protect nature.
- Agencies - .Gov: offers grants and access to sensitive or remote areas.
- Business - .Com: provides and supports "Eat | Sleep | Shop | Play" for the destination visitors.
The need for Geotourism was further confirmed and endorsed by U.S. Vice President Al Gore at the 2013 Tahoe Executive Summit when he said,
“The future will look at this Lake and either ask, Why didn’t you do something?….or.... How did you do this?”
If we succeed in protecting Lake Tahoe and the Watershed, our answer will be,
"We found a way to make political collaboration a renewable resource!”
