Backcountry Guide | Winter 2024 by Tahoe Guide (Tahoe Weekly)

y tr n u o c k Bac e d i u G 3 rd ANNUAL

WINTER 2024 The

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y tr n u o c k Bac ide Gu WINTER 2024

State of the Backcountry 2024 Alliance makes progress with parking, micro-transit BY SEAN MCALINDIN

Read Tahoe Guide’s ongoing public access coverage at

YourTahoeGuide.com/access

“We understand that you don’t want people blocking your driveway, but at the same time you shouldn’t be the only person to have access to public lands because you are fortunate enough to live there. We need to have public access to these lands, but we need to move parking from the street.” – Anthony Cupaiuolo

ABOVE: Geoff Quine enjoys spring corn above Emerald Bay. OPPOSITE: Joe Becker sends a backflip with his dog, Cookie, airing it out behind up. North Shore, Lake Tahoe. | Anthony Cupaiuolo, TBA

hen it comes to the Sierra Nevada snowpack, why does it always feel like feast or famine? After receiving more than 700 inches of snow last season, the 2023-24 winter has been largely defined by low snowpack until recently (especially under 7,000 feet) combined with a persistent weak layer that (at least until February) has presented a consistent danger to backcountry travelers. Because the snowpack has been thin to non-existent at lower elevations for most of the season, backcountry travelers have looked for trailheads that start at high elevations such as Mount Rose, Castle Peak or Carson Pass. But locations like these can often be steep and avalanche prone. As a result, more people than usual have sought out unicorn spots like Rubicon Peak that starts at 7,100 feet, yet offers lower-angle, more moderate slopes. An influx of skiers and splitboarders to Rubicon Peak may have led to a rash of $250 tickets for cars parked on nearby residential streets in mid-January, says Tahoe Backcountry Alliance executive director Anthony Cupaiuolo. “People were still trying to get out there with not as many places to go,” he says. Periodic ticketing has been a theme at trailheads that emerge from neighborhoods like the ones that access Rubicon, Trimmer, Echo, Angora and Flagpole peaks. Parking is prohibited on all public streets from Nov. 1 to May 1 each year for snow removal and few designated winter parking areas exist for public trail access. “We understand that you don’t want people blocking your driveway, but at the same time you shouldn’t be the only person to have access to public lands because you are fortunate enough to live there,” says Cupaiuolo. “We need to have public access to these lands, but we need to move parking from the street.”

The Alliance is always on the lookout for opportunities to create sustainable alternatives and reduce conflicts with adjacent landowners. In partnership with Eldorado County and Tahoe City Public Utility District (TCPUD), it’s gaining momentum for a new year-round parking lot at Rubicon Peak. The Alliance and TCPUD are in talks to allow parking near the district’s water tank on Highland Drive in the Rubicon neighborhood. “We have no issue with a parking lot there as long as it doesn’t impede access to our tank,” said TCPUD director of special affairs Kim Boyd. Parking at that location is still prohibited, however, as of press time and could result in a ticket.

New parking for Tallac

In winter, iconic Mount Tallac is accessed from State Route 89 by the gate to Spring Creek Road. The Alliance has entered into an agreement with the USDA Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to manage a new parking lot there. As part of a forest thinning project, trees have already been cleared and the area is now graded. Construction and paving of the parking lot is scheduled for later this year. The Alliance plans to pay for plowing and install a beacon checker at the trailhead.

Success with Donner Lake parking

The parking lot on the west shore of Donner Lake continues to be plowed through a partnership between the Alliance and Visit Truckee-Tahoe. The paved lot has space for 60 cars and offers access to the bottom of the popular Donner Lake backcountry run. As an unanticipated bonus, the parking has proved to be popular with snow play, too.

Feb. 14-March 26, 2024 | 2024 BACKCOUNTRY GUIDE

m i c rot r a n s i t BACKCOUNTRY SHUTTLE | Sat. until March 23 North Shore | High Sierra Taxi, (530) 550-5300 South Shore | Crown Taxi, (530) 314-3209 ON-DEMAND SHUTTLES North & West shores | TART Connect app, (530) 553-0653 South Shore | Lake Link app, (530) 800-4438

“Regardless of whether it’s a down snow year, a lot of families use it to access snow play on the beach,” says Cupaiuolo. “There aren’t a lot of places to pull over safely that are free, so this is something we’re stoked on.”

Backcountry shuttle offered

The Alliance continues to organize and fund a micro-transit pilot program for a fifth year. The free backcountry shuttle service is offered on the North and Shore shores on Saturdays through March 23. Each week, the Alliance chooses a pick-up spot and destination zone based on snow conditions and current parking issues. “It’s been good to get the word and get people talking about different ways to get to trailheads, but we don’t want to keep running the same program on our own,” says Cupaiuolo. “We need other user groups to partner with us. It’s not realistic, if it’s just us.” Estimates are it would cost approximately $120,000 annually for a local transit agency such as TART or Lake Link to run a similar year-round, weekend shuttle dedicated to recreational access to and from trailheads, says Cupaiuolo. “I think other areas are doing a better job than our region with public transportation. But I think there are folks at different agencies with a real appetite for playing catch up. They get it and they don’t want to be behind anymore.”

Data collection, youth programs continue

The Alliance continues to partner with the Washoe Youth Cultural and Outdoor Expedition Program to get young people into the backcountry on cross-country skis and snowshoes. “We’re excited to get involved in programs like this,” says Cupaiuolo. “There’s lots of hurry up and wait on other projects and with this we can kind of just run with it. The kids are getting some cool opportunities to get up here and get on what is essentially their land.” In collaboration with Tahoe Backcountry Ski Patrol, the Alliance will also continue to track user numbers at popular trailheads. Tahoe Guide usually reports the data each season, but the tremendous snowfall of the 2022-23 winter made it difficult to keep the trackers consistently above snowpack. Due to this challenge, last season’s data set is incomplete and inconclusive. This year, the Alliance plans to track user entries at Luther Pass, Tamarack Peak and Deep Creek. | tahoebackcountryalliance.org n

2024 BACKCOUNTRY GUIDE | YourTahoeGuide.com

history of recreation in the area; and reports of disputes between motorized and human-powered travelers. Since 2017, Tahoe Guide has reported on this process for the six Forest Service districts that encompass the Tahoe Sierra — Eldorado, Humboldt-Toiyabe, Plumas, Tahoe, Stanislaus and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, as well as Lassen National Forest, which is a frequent destination for Tahoe locals and visitors. Tahoe Guide added Inyo National Forest, another popular destination of Tahoe locals and visitors, which includes Mammoth Lakes, to our coverage in 2023. Follow our complete coverage at YourTahoeGuide.com/access.

Tahoe, Eldorado and Plumas stall

Snowmobile policy changes inch ahead

Delays continue at most Forest Districts BY SEAN MCALINDIN

Draft environmental assessment under analysis | bit.ly/inyoOSV

LTBMU

Stanislaus lawsuit still in court

YourTahoeGuide.com/access

p l a n s tat u s by forest district Eldorado

Final decision under analysis | bit.ly/eldoradoOSV

Humboldt-Toiyabe

Not yet begun analysis | fs.usda.gov/htnf

Inyo

Draft environmental assessment expected in 2025 | bit.ly/ltbmuOSV

Lassen

OSV plan in effect (released 2022) | bit.ly/lassenOSV

Plumas

Final decision under analysis | bit.ly/plumasOSV

Stanislaus

OSV plan in effect (released 2021) | bit.ly/ stanislausOSV

Tahoe

Final decision under analysis | bit.ly/tahoeOSV

ABOVE: Tour group with Lake Tahoe Snowmobiles at the top of Mount Watson. | Anne Artoux

f you want something to happen quickly, don’t ask the USDA National Forest Service. While ongoing updates to snowmobile access in several Forest Districts throughout the Tahoe Sierra continue progress at a snail’s pace, some are moving steadily forward. Meanwhile, groups on the ground are tracking how new policies for over-the-snow vehicles (OSVs) are working out so far in the Forest Districts that have gone ahead. Here’s where things stand in an evolving process that has been the litmus test for every National Forest in the country that sees motorized winter travel on its public lands.

Read Tahoe Guide’s ongoing public access coverage at

Three months after being one of the first Forest Districts in the nation to issue an updated OSV policy in July 2021, Stanislaus National Forest was sued by Sierra Snowmobile Foundation and other organizations alleging that it overstepped its responsibility by reducing snowmobile access on the public lands it manages by 67 percent. Three months after that in January 2022, WildEarth Guardians joined the suit on behalf of Stanislaus alleging that the plan didn’t do enough to protect endangered species, specifically the Sierra Nevada red fox, Pacific marten, Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog and Yosemite toad. All sides have presented their arguments to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento and the decision now lies the hands of District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta. “It’s possible the judge will ask for oral argument before issuing a decision, but we don’t know,” says WildEarth Guardians public lands attorney Chris

Krupp. “All the written briefing is complete. Courts operate on their own timelines, so it’s difficult to forecast with any accuracy a date when we can expect a ruling.”

How did we get here?

Stanislaus’ OSV maps are a court-ordered attempt at diplomacy between various public interest groups including snowmobilers; skiers, splitboarders and snowshoers; private landowners; environmental scientists and stewards; and more than a dozen government agencies. It is part of an ongoing process that began with a 1972 executive order requiring federal land-management agencies to minimize environmental impacts and conflicts associated with the use of motorized off-road vehicles on federal public lands. While requirements were completed in the forests of the Tahoe Sierra for dirt bikes, quads and other vehicles by 2010, that same analysis for winter machines was never performed. Three groups – Snowlands Network, Winter Wildlands Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity – subsequently sued the Forest Service in 2011 to perform that study. The result was a 2013 settlement to complete the analyses. Each National Forest that sees significant OSV use is now required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assess potential impacts and release updated maps that show where OSVs, including snowmobiles, snowbikes and utility terrain vehicles may and may not legally be used. By law, the Forest Service project teams must consider numerous factors in its decision such as preservation of the environment and local wildlife; federally protected areas including wilderness zones and the Pacific Crest Trail; the

Since being ordered to rewrite the OSV maps in 2013, three other National Forest Districts in the region – Tahoe, Eldorado and Plumas – have completed the scoping, environmental analysis and public comment requirements for their plans. It’s now up to each Forest Supervisor and their team of biologists, lawyers and policy specialists to sign off on a final decision. But Tahoe, for example, (which had projected its decision for this winter) has been stuck on the last step for more than three years. In 2021, Forest officials from Tahoe, Eldorado, Stanislaus and Lassen said they were ready to release their plans. Stanislaus was first to go and Lassen followed in 2022. Tahoe and Eldorado did not move forward and now both Forests are no longer committing to a release date. “The project is still under analysis,” says Tahoe spokesperson Lauren Faulkenberry. “We do not have a date for the final decision.” In interviews with Tahoe Guide, Forest officials declined to blame the pending court decision on Stanislaus’ decision for the ongoing delays, instead pointing to unprecedented wildfires, the coronavirus pandemic, endangered species concerns and ongoing staffing shortages. “We do not have a date at this time,” says Eldorado spokesperson Kristi Schroeder. “We have to revisit our environmental review for some new species that have been listed since we did our analysis. We do not have a Forest biologist hired yet that would perform that analysis and design and oversee the wildlife monitoring for the decision. Our previous biologist has moved on to another position in the agency.” Although it aimed to release its decision at the end of 2024, Plumas National Forest did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the status of its plan. Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, spread across 6.3 million acres in California and Nevada, is the largest Forest in the lower 48. Despite once reporting it would commence scoping in the fall of 2021, it has not yet started its OSV project.

Feb. 14-March 26, 2024 | 2024 BACKCOUNTRY GUIDE

Impacts of snow play visitors

RESORT and into the…

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Due to the heavy snow heavy snow during the 2022-23 season that saw multiple storms drop 6 to 10 feet of snow, keeping informational signage, including wilderness boundary and Pacific Crest Trail markers, visible during fluctuating snowpack levels was another a major issue. “The biggest thing we’ve been working on is direct communications with our OSV community,” says Stanislaus National Forest spokesperson Benjamin Cossell. “It’s not a one-way street. We have to listen to them. And if we don’t show them, we are setting them up for failure. There’s a been a lot of work to get better signage and get better maps out there by our recreation people.” Using the Avenza app, backcountry users can download an interactive map that tracks one’s location in relation to the OSV boundaries. Maps are also available on Forest Service stations and online. If anything, the process of redrafting snowmobile policies has forced the Forest Service to learn more about its own lands and how the communities they serve interact with these wild places. Fortunately, these policies can be revisited and updated in the future as needed. “We’ve learned the value in working with partners at every stage,” says Cossell. “Does that mean that it’s going to 100 percent bullet proof? No. But the more shared ownership, the better off the entire project is going to be. I think this is a huge shift in the Forest Service. Even if we could do this work alone, we wouldn’t want to anymore.” n

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Boundary issues

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Lassen National Forest was the second forest in the region to release an updated policy in 2022 that reduced snowmobile access on its lands by 22 percent. This is the first winter that rangers are enforcing the updated access rules. The new maps are available online and at Forest Service stations. “Our law enforcement tries to educate first and with repeat offenders use harsher methods, possibly tickets, as needed,” says Lassen spokesperson Jessica McMullen. “We haven’t had any issues reported yet. This winter will really be the one where we’d see any existing conflicts in the plan. I’m assuming because we adequately responded to objectors’ issues, we haven’t faced that.”

get out of the

How are the new rules working?

Alliance conducted surveys on new and existing policies at trailheads, parking lots and in the backcountry throughout the Sierra Nevada and California Cascades. Some of the observations were summarized in a report by the Alliance backcountry ambassador, Megan Fiske. Surprisingly for some (though not for many), the most commonly reported issue was illegal parking, pet waste, litter and other conflicts coming from snow play visitors, not backcountry travelers. “Outside of the occasions where snowmobiles violated boundaries, the biggest conflict for backcountry users is backcountry access being blocked/ utilized by people engaging in snow play,” wrote Fiske in a report for Winter Wildlands. “The vast majority of littering, not cleaning up after pets, and parking illegally seems to be coming from the snow play community as it occurs within the first mile of the SNOparks and parking areas. It would serve all backcountry users, motorized and non-motorized, for the USFS and other public lands managers to take a more proactive role in managing the public’s desire to engage in snow play.”

AVA

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, which oversees 154,000 acres of specially designated National Forest lands, released its initial ideas for snowmobile policy updates in 2019. It received more than 1,000 comments and is currently working on an environmental assessment and development of possible alternatives for release in 2025 – six years later – according to LTBMU spokesperson Charles Clark. Major issues driving the development of OSV decisions in the Tahoe Basin and other forests include: snow depth requirements and season of use; highuse conflict areas; impact to sensitive areas and species of concern; impact on neighborhoods; access points; separation of uses; and suggestions for additional groomed areas. Inyo National Forest conducted its initial public comment period in the fall of 2023. To open up the process, it released a sample plan that would permit snowmobile travel on 305,000 acres (or 15 percent of its total holdings) including 107 miles of groomed trails and 1,400 miles of non-groomed roads. Inyo is now conducting analysis based on the 166 comments it received. Popular public recreation areas affected by the plan include Lee Vining Canyon, Sherwin Creek, Mammoth Lakes and June Loop. “There is a lot of common ground,” says Winter Wildlands Alliance executive director David Page. “For example, staging at Shady Rest Park in Mammoth Lakes is a problem everyone agrees about. The fix is rerouting the snowmobile trails closer to town, away from the non-motorized walking zones and baseball fields. It’s a perfect example of how this can work when everybody comes to the table. There are ways to move people around so this can happen.” All public comments on the Inyo plan are available on the Forest Service website.

Lake Tahoe Basin, Inyo ongoing

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During the record-breaking 202223 winter season, Winter Wildlands 5