Numerous Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies within the
Lake Tahoe Basin are involved in a myriad of planning and restoration
efforts throughout the watershed ranging from permitting to regulatory
enforcement to maintaining and improving the quality of surface
and groundwater resources. Each entity collects, analyzes and disseminates
environmental data to meet their agency´s or organization´s specific
goals. Frequently, these goals overlap and one agency can benefit
from the efforts of another agency. That is, instead of re-sampling,
an agency can use the monitoring data of another agency.
However, until TIIMS, there was no means to track another agency´s
sampling and monitoring efforts or to coordinate efforts among agencies.
Currently, there are several large initiatives being undertaken
within the Basin including:
- Development of the Lake Tahoe Total Maximum
Daily Loads (TMDLs) in compliance with Section 303(d) of the
Clean Water Act.
- Development of the USFS Land and Resource
Management Plan which will establish desired land and resource
conditions, management standards, designate suitable uses, and
assure forest management is consistent with environmental laws.
- Updating TRPA´s Environmental Thresholds which
were developed in 1982 and are used to track and evaluate the
environmental status of the Lake Tahoe Basin watershed.
- Development of TRPA´s 2007 Regional Plan which
sets the stage for development and environmental restoration
in the Basin.
- Implementation of the Environmental Improvement
Program (EIP), which has identified nearly 800 projects to be
completed over a 20-year period. These projects support the
long-term restoration of Lake Tahoe and are the central means
of attaining the Thresholds.
Collectively, these efforts are called the Pathway 2007
initiatives. The agencies involved in these initiatives realized
the success of the Pathway 2007 initiatives was dependent upon the
ability of the multiple agencies involved in each effort to efficiently
and quickly exchange data and information. Technical roadblocks
are small compared to cooperation and coordination issues to achieve
this goal.
In May 2001, seven agencies partnered together to develop a system
to allow the seamless sharing of data and information and enable
collaboration and coordination among multiple agencies. TIIMS is
that system.
The seven TIIMS´ Partners include:
- Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA)
- Nevada Division of the Environmental Protection
(NDEP)
- California State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB),
- U.S.D.A. Forest Service (USFS)
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
- Desert Research Institute (DRI)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
These agencies have all committed the technical expertise, essential
data and information resources, financial resources and many labor
hours to ensure the success of TIIMS.
Your agency can easily become a TIIMS partner as well. To find
out how, go to Participating In and Supporting TIIMS
