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Lake Tahoe, of course, makes for tough competition. It’s widely considered one of the most beautiful bodies of water on the planet. Alterra’s indoor alternative would include video arcades, a fake river, and an indoor skydiving center, centerpiece of a massive Vegas-style project that would take 20 years of construction to build.
Replied Tom Mooers, Executive Director of Sierra Watch, “Well if you think there is nothing to do in Tahoe in the summer, you might end up proposing an indoor waterpark!”
The Tahoe Sierra is under threat. Reckless private equity developers seek to remake the mountains with Vegas-style highrises. But a new generation of Tahoe conservationists is mobilizing to stymie their schemes and defend mountain values.
Here are seven watershed moments in the incredible, ongoing campaign to Keep Tahoe True.
Saving the Sierra: Seven Milestones in the Movement to Keep Tahoe True
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That’s not planning for disaster;” said Mooers of Sierra Watch. “It’s planning a disaster.
In response to Alterra’s proposal to construct a concrete complex the likes of which Tahoe has never seen, Sierra Watch, a non-profit conservation group, founded a movement to Keep Squaw True.
Sierra Watch volunteers began circulating a petition, demanding the project be denied – collecting 22,000 signatures so far. Locals slapped purple Keep Squaw True stickers on their bumpers. They turned up for public hearings by the thousands, refusing to cede this alpine paradise to developer greed.
On November 15, 2016, hundreds of volunteers packed a public hearing and, in nine hours of emotional testimony, urged the Placer County Board of Supervisors to reject Alterra’s proposed development. The Supervisors were unmoved, voting 4-1 to approve the largest development in North Tahoe history.
“The bad news is that Placer County sided with the narrow interests of an out-of-state developer and against the shared values of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada,” said Tom Mooers. “The good news is that this is far from the end of the road in our efforts to Keep Squaw True.”
Sierra Watch, arguing that the approvals were illegal, took Alterra to court.
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Meanwhile climate change and drought combine to diminish local water supplies.
The Alterra proposal comes as California has entered year six of crippling drought, the driest period in the state's recorded history. The situation continues to worsen. This year California recorded its driest January, February and March on record. And as of April 1, the Sierra snowpack was at 38% of its annual average – leaving little water for existing communities, let alone a new waterpark.
Alterra’s project would suck 78 million gallons annually to fill its waterpark and serve its new condos. Conservationists argue, in an era of drought and climate change, there is simply not enough water for a waterpark.
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By StoryStudio on June 6, 2022 11:19 AM
In 2018 legendary local filmmakers Robb and Scott Gaffney presented the dramatic local struggle in a feature-length film: The Movie to Keep Squaw True. (Last year the film was retitled The Movie to Keep Tahoe True.)
“The movie is a ‘David and Goliath’ story about a local community coming up against big money and big development,” said Robb, a Tahoe skier of cult-hero status and author of Squallywood, a Guide to Squaw Valley's Most Exposed Lines. “We’ve got an amazing opportunity to shape the future of our region and it’s happening right now with Sierra Watch.”
The Movie to Keep Tahoe True has toured throughout the west, igniting audiences from Jackson Hole, Wyoming to June Lake, California – and recruiting supporters at every showing.
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1. “There’s Nothing to do Here in the Summer”
2. A Movement is Born: Keep Squaw True
3. There Isn't Enough Water for a Waterpark
4. Placer Supervisors Rubberstamp Alterra Proposal
5. Sierra Watch premieres The Movie to Keep Squaw True
6. Caldor Fire Rattles Tahoe
On any given weekend, Tahoe traffic is already infamous. Alterra’s proposed 20-year highrise and indoorwaterpark project would only add to the pressure. Most days, that traffic is a nuisance. In the event of wildfire, it could be fatal.
If Alterra’s project were built, the evacuation travel time out of Olympic Village is estimated to exceed 10 hours – to go only three miles.
7. Court Sides with Conservationists
In that same hot summer of 2021, Sierra Watch and the movement to Keep Tahoe True scored a major victory. After ten years of struggle, two legal challenges, a resort name change, drought, wildfire and a documentary film, California’s Third District Court of Appeals sided with Sierra Watch.
The 3-Justice panel based their unanimous decision to block the development on the project’s potential environmental impact on Lake Tahoe, citing increased fire danger, noise, and traffic concerns.
“The decision marked a major milestone in the multi-generational commitment to conservation in the Sierra Nevada,” said Mooers. “And it’s a great example of how we can work together to protect the places we love.
So what happens now? Alterra claims that they remain determined to move forward with their plans to remake the mountains. But Tahoe’s big problems – threat of wildfire, lack of workforce housing, loss of lake clarity, and stifling traffic – are not going away. And Alterra’s project would only make them worse.
If Alterra Mountain Company makes another run at its Olympic Valley project, the movement to Keep Tahoe True is ready – keeping its commitment with an ever-growing foundation of grassroots support.
“There is a third option,” says Mooers. “Alterra could come to the table, end ten years of conflict, and seek a collaborative resolution. They could simply sit down and work together on development that, instead of making everything worse, respects our shared mountain values.”
As we move into another summer in spectacular Tahoe, one constant remains true says the Sierra Watch Executive Director.
“Whichever route Alterra chooses, we’ll be ready to keep our commitment to Keep Tahoe True.”
Visit the Sierra Watch website to learn how you can support conservation efforts to preserve Lake Tahoe and its mountain values.
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As the years went on, the movement grew. Alterra changed the name of its resort to Palisades Tahoe. Sierra Watch’s legal challenge made its way through the courts. And the threat of wildfire got more and more real.
The ignition came in 2021 when, for the first time in recorded history, a wildlife fire raged over the crest of the Sierra and into the Tahoe Basin. Residents clogged local highways in an attempt to evacuate and, though this conflagration stopped short of local communities, most locals were asking the same questions, "When will it be our turn, and will we be able to evacuate when that time comes?"
Alterra Mountain Company touted Tahoe’s “great growth potential” when they bought the iconic ski resort then known as Squaw Valley in 2011. They declared, at a public meeting no less, that “there is nothing to do here in the summertime.”
Clearly, they had never visited Tahoe in summer, when hikers, swimmers, paddleboarders, cyclists, waterskiers and every other stripe of outdoor adventurer arrive to recreate, explore and celebrate California’s alpine backyard. So Alterra proposes to build a massive indoor waterpark – they call it a “wet amenity to compete with the lake.”
Truckee River running dry
Truckee River running dry