When America’s Lake Tahoe was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors swamped the destination, leaving stress and debris in their wake. Julie W. Regan, executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, shares their solution – collaboration across numerous sectors and jurisdictions.
Lake Tahoe, a place worth caring for. Photo: Jarvis courtesy TRPA
Tahoe’s Destination Stewardship Council Gets High Marks for Collaborative Accomplishments
Cupped in a basin rimmed by the Sierra Nevada mountains, Lake Tahoe is one of the deepest and clearest lakes on Earth, shared by Nevada on the east and California on the west. The ancestral home of the Washoe Tribe, its name derives from mispronunciation of the native name for the lake: dáɁaw (DAH-aw or DAH-ow, with a catch in the throat between syllables).
In the summers of 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lake Tahoe experienced an intense influx of visitors seeking relief in outdoor spaces. The sheer volume of use, traffic congestion, parking transgressions, litter on beaches and trails, and irresponsible behavior, pushed local communities to a tipping point. Demands for urgent action to protect the basin arose across the entire region.
A History of Collaboration
The region’s outdoor recreation opportunities have helped fuel a $5 billion annual economy, as well as its traditional nightlife, complete with casinos, concerts, and beach parties, all of which are governed by a number of jurisdictions – two states, the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, numerous federal agencies, five counties, one city, and other local government agencies.
That complexity necessitates an integrated approach to problem-solving, hence the creation of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). This interstate compact between Nevada and California was ratified by Congress in 1969 and has played the critical role of convener and collaborator for years.
Summertime COVID-era crowding on Lake Tahoe. Photo courtesy TRPA
With the already existing governance structure, TRPA was able to respond to the COVID influx by organizing a collaboration of land managers, business owners, public agencies, and non-profits to address the immediate recreation issues. For the first time, the entities marketing Lake Tahoe were sitting at the same table as land management agencies like the U.S. Forest Service, and state park teams who oversee the beaches, trails, and attractions that visitors flock to. This initial group secured more than $1 million to expand litter removal, create an ambassador program to educate visitors, and launch a responsible recreation campaign.
The Rise of the Stewardship Council
While the pandemic sparked immediate action, there was widespread recognition that a long-term, sustained solution was needed. In 2023, the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Council was born. TRPA worked with its core partners to convene nearly 20 disparate bodies to provide the data and establish a framework for bi-state cooperation. The Council’s goal was to unify the region’s fragmented efforts into one clear vision and coordinated strategy, based on the core truth that the health of the environment is inseparable from the health of the community and the economy.
Lake Tahoe Partners Adopt the Region's First Ever Destination Stewardship Plan, 2023. Credit: TRPA
aroundFrom Strategy to Action
The Council quickly moved past jurisdictional debates toward tangible results. Essential to the process were three principles: Collaborate, catalyze, and communicate.
Collaboration brings partners and resources together to build a culture of stewardship.
Action teams help catalyze user groups, non-profits, businesses, and residents to respond to emerging issues and support destination stewardship.
Through clear and consistent communication, the Council instills the core values of the region among visitors and residents alike.
Led by a shared vision and armed with action teams, the Council has achieved the following accomplishments:
Peak Demand Strategies – Busy holidays like the Fourth of July can attract more than 300,000 visitors to a region with only 55,000 year-round residents. The 2024 Independence Day holiday was the first test under the Council’s guidance, which involved providing more trash cans and restrooms, expanding law enforcement presence at the busiest beaches, and launching a robust public education campaign. The result was impressive. At some sites volunteer cleanups saw a 97 percent reduction in litter compared to the previous year.
Tahoe’s beach-cleaning robot. Credit: TRPAUsing New Technology – The Tahoe Region has embraced technology as a stewardship tool. Beach-cleaning robots are now deployed to uncover plastic buried in the sand. New monitoring technology can track visitor patterns, detect safety issues, and recommend infrastructure improvements.
Reinvesting Tourism Dollars – The North Tahoe Community Alliance is leading the destination stewardshippartnership forward with a voter-approved Tourism Business Improvement District that reinvests tourism dollars into the community. In four years, the district invested $34.2 million in transportation, litter mitigation, public art, and community events. These projects reduce tourism impacts, improve residents’ quality of life, and support local businesses.
Ride Don’t Drive – On busy summer days, more than 500 cars may be dangerously parked along the narrow, two-lane road through Emerald Bay, Tahoe’s most photographed location. This haphazard access endangers the public safety and damages natural resources. In the summer of 2025, nearly 5,000 people ditched their cars and visited Emerald Bay by shuttle as part of a new pilot program funded by local government and philanthropic dollars. Shuttle service was paired with the removal of 50 parking spaces on the highway, a public education campaign, and increased parking enforcement.
Destination Champions – A new program dubbed “Destination Champion” was launched to encourage everyone to become stewards of Tahoe and Truckee. The project began when the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Council, North Tahoe Chamber, Tahoe Chamber, and Truckee Chamber came together around the shared commitments to elevate the visitor experience, support the local workforce, and protect the places loved by both residents and visitors. The outcome was a self-paced, online training program designed to help those who live and work in the community become “destination champions” – people who deliver warm, knowledgeable service, inspire visitors to experience the area responsibly, and better present their culture and place.
Trilingual Walking Tour – Partners have long recognized the need to connect visitors and recreation enthusiasts to the cultural heritage of Lake Tahoe. In 2023, the Tahoe Fund partnered with the National Forest Foundation on a trilingual tour at the U.S. Forest Service Taylor Creek Visitor Center. Available in English, Spanish, and Washoe, the audio tour celebrates the history of the Washoe on their native lands, while engaging all visitors in educational and stewardship messaging.
Lessons Learned
The Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Council has grown to 23 members. While the solutions to our challenges may be customized for our own location, the guiding principles of collaboration, analysis, and communication can become universal. By embracing cross-sector partnerships, any destination can create a shared culture of responsibility, ensuring that residents, visitors, businesses, and the environment all benefit.
Discover more about Tahoe’s destination stewardship plan and journey at www.stewardshiptahoe.org.
