Lake Tahoe

Proposed National ParkCalifornia and Nevada
A turquoise cove on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, framed by pines
All proposed National ParksLake TahoeNo active campaign
Location
California/Nevada
Current protection
Emerald Bay, Sand Point/Sand Harbor & Spooner Lake, Eldorado National Forest
Status
No active campaign
Tier
Tier 1 · National Park
Undiscovered America
Featured in the film and the book

Why should it be a National Park?

Most people believe Lake Tahoe is already a National Park. The reasons for its lack of a corresponding designation vary, but the underlying reality is that this country should do a better job of protecting landscapes that define America before they are overrun by development, which would exploit the natural splendor for profit. The massive freshwater lake is 22 miles by 12 miles along the California and Nevada border, with most of the unspoiled lands located on the California side. The Nevada portion is mostly developed, with small pockets of state park land scattered throughout. Despite all the existing development along its shores, 70 percent of the Lake Tahoe Basin is still made up of public land that could be redesignated from the USFS and state to the NPS.

This lake has some similarities with Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, such as consisting entirely of meltwater and being encircled by a rim of stone peaks, but their scales and geology are wildly different. Crater Lake was formed by the collapse of a volcanic mountain, making it a caldera lake. The hollowed peak of the former Mount Mazama is where that lake now lies. Lake Tahoe by comparison was also created by volcanic activity, although through different circumstances. A formed volcano named Mount Pluto dammed the natural outflow for snowmelt and created the impressive vacation destination that remains. This distinction from Crater Lake and its geologic uniqueness makes Tahoe a worthy site for a National Park, and an obvious and unmistakable natural beauty.

The history of National Park Campaigns

Tahoe is the most-attempted failed National Park on the list west of the Rockies: proposals in 1883 (state), 1899 (Sen. Stewart), three in the 1910s (1912–19), 1930, and 1935 all failed, per Douglas Strong's Tahoe: From Timber Barons to Ecologists. Logging had already scarred the basin, private ownership was pervasive, and Stewart's 1899 bill carried a land-swap that the San Francisco Examiner exposed as a reward to the lumber companies.

Distinct National Park attempts
at least 6 (1899; three in 1912–19; 1930; 1935) plus the 1883 state-park precursor

Sources

  • Douglas H. Strong, Tahoe: From Timber Barons to Ecologists (1984
  • Bison Books 1999) — the definitive account of every attempt
  • Donald Pisani's Tahoe/Sierra land-policy scholarship
  • San Francisco Examiner 1899 coverage
  • Stewart papers
Know of a campaign? Tell us
  1. 1883

    California State Assembly resolution and a governor-appointed forestry commission propose a land swap with the Central Pacific for the railroad's California-side lands, "for the purpose of California holding and preserving it as a state park or state forest"; dies in the state senate. (Strong via SFGate; Tahoe Weekly)

  2. 1897–99

    John Muir and the Sierra Club press for a giant Sierra forest reserve; federal agent B.F. Allen's proposal for nearly the whole California side is halved; April 13, 1899 — McKinley creates the 136,000-acre Lake Tahoe Forest Reserve (nucleus of Desolation Wilderness).

  3. 1899

    STEWART'S NATIONAL PARK BILL. Sen. William M. Stewart (R-NV) proposes a Lake Tahoe National Park covering the whole basin and lands down the western slope, with a lieu-land swap for inholders — and a dam at Tahoe City to store surplus water for Nevada irrigation and Reno hydropower. The Examiner found "the bill rewarded the lumber companies that had already pillaged the Tahoe basin"; Muir opposed the deal; the bill died. (SFGate, citing Strong; Tahoe Weekly)

  4. 1912–1919

    "Three efforts were made during that decade to have the lake declared a National Park, but all failed." (Encyclopedia.com, citing Strong) The Tahoe Fund dates one to 1913. The sponsors and bill numbers have not been located.

  5. 1930 and 1935

    Further citizen attempts "to convince Congress to create a Lake Tahoe National Park" fail, "mainly due to the amount of development and private interests." (Tahoe Fund)

  6. 1958

    Lake Tahoe Area Council; 1965 League to Save Lake Tahoe; 1969 Tahoe Regional Planning Compact (bi-state); 1969 Desolation Wilderness; 1973 Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (USFS); 1980 Santini–Burton Act (federal purchase of environmentally sensitive Tahoe lands); state parks from the 1920s–60s.