The North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District (NLTFPD) reminds residents that the 2025 Curbside Chipping Program will conclude on Tuesday, November 5, 2025.

As crews wrap up this year’s chipping operations, NLTFPD has observed many chip piles still sitting curbside throughout the community. The district encourages residents to submit an online request if they have not already done so to ensure their pile is scheduled for pickup before the season ends.

“Curbside chipping is an important tool in maintaining defensible space and reducing wildfire risk,” said Division Chief Powning. “We have seen a lot of participation this season, but there are still piles out there. We want to make sure no one misses their opportunity to be included before the program closes for the winter.”

How to Schedule Pickup

Residents must request pickup online through the official NLTFPD Curbside Chipping page:
🔗 www.nltfpd.org/curbside-chipping

Program Guidelines

• Piles must be placed curbside and easily accessible
• Branches should be no larger than 6 inches in diameter
• Maximum pile size: 20 ft length × 6 ft height × 6 ft width
• No stumps, roots, garbage, nails, lumber, or pinecones
• Commercial piles are not accepted, these are piles created by a contractor or landscaping company, rather than by a homeowner
• Chips will be left on site for residents to use safely

The program typically completes requests within one week, but timing may vary depending on fire assignments or staffing availability.

Defensible Space Inspections (DSI)

Residents may schedule defensible space inspections by calling (775) 831-0351 ext. 8130 after October 30. Please note: inspections are subject to weather conditions.

Final Reminder

Residents have until Tuesday, November 5, 2025, to submit a chipping request. After that date, the program will pause for the winter season and resume in spring 2026.

For more information or to submit your request, please visit: www.nltfpd.org/curbside-chipping

On Wednesday, October 22, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) will recognize five individuals for their outstanding dedication to protecting and restoring Lake Tahoe as this year’s Lake Spirit Award recipients.

Established in 2011, the Lake Spirit Awards shine a light on individuals who go above and beyond to safeguard Lake Tahoe’s unique environment. Nominated by their peers, these community leaders embody stewardship through leadership, volunteerism, and everyday actions that make a lasting difference in the region.

This year’s awardees are:

Citizens

• Tim Kosier – A decade-long volunteer with UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships, and Tahoe Institute for Natural Science, Kosier has dedicated countless hours educating others about the science and stewardship of Lake Tahoe.
• Sydney Morrow – As Glenbrook Homeowners Association Director and FireWise Coordinator, Morrow has shown exceptional leadership in protecting her community and Lake Tahoe from wildfire risk through proactive planning and collaboration.

Agency Representatives

• Tom Berndt – Lead Roving Inspector with the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Program, Berndt has been instrumental in protecting the lake from invasive species through community education and in-person outreach at popular beaches and paddle spots.
• Kirstin Guinn – Marketing Director for North Tahoe Community Alliance, Guinn is an innovative communicator leading collaborative education and outreach in the regional shift to destination stewardship and helping create a tourism economy that gives back.

Lifetime Achievement

• Jim Baetge – Jim Baetge’s leadership has left an enduring mark on Lake Tahoe. Having served as former Executive Director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency from 1994-2002, his lifelong dedication is deeply woven into the health of the lake. It was under Jim’s leadership that TRPA spearheaded the ban on carbureted two-stroke boat engines, cutting polluting gasoline compounds in the water by 90 percent—a landmark achievement for water quality. He was also the visionary of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP), laying the foundation for decades of collaborative restoration surpassing $3 billion in investments to date. The EIP is now heralded as one of the most successful landscape-scale, public-private conservation initiatives in the United States. His vision, integrity, and unwavering dedication will continue to shape the Tahoe Basin far into the future.

“The Lake Spirit Awards celebrate the often-unsung champions of Tahoe,” said TRPA Executive Director Julie Regan. “Their efforts show us that caring for Lake Tahoe is something we do together, and that steady, thoughtful action can make an exceptional impact for the health of the lake.”

Agency staff will present a commemorative award to each recipient during a special recognition ceremony at the TRPA Governing Board meeting Wednesday, October 22. For more information about the recipients, join the TRPA Governing Board meeting or visit trpa.gov/awards. 

Images

Tim Kosier: Lake Spirit Award recipient for Citizen, Tim Kosier explores the science behind Lake Tahoe’s protection with visitors to the Tahoe Center for Environmental Science.
Credit: UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center

Sydney Morrow: Lake Spirit Award recipient for Citizen Sydney Morrow, Glenbrook Homeowners Association Director and FireWise Coordinator.

Tom Berndt: Photo: Lake Spirit Award recipient for Agency Representative, Tom Berndt, roving invasive species inspector with the Tahoe Resource Conservation District.
Credit: Clean Up The Lake

Kirstin Guinn: Lake Spirit Award recipient for Agency Representative, Kirstin Guinn, Marketing Director for North Tahoe Community Alliance.

Jim Baegte: Lake Spirit Award recipient for Lifetime Achievement, Jim Baetge, former Executive Director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 1994-2002.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency leads the cooperative effort to preserve, restore, and enhance the unique natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region, while improving local communities, and people’s interactions with our irreplaceable environment.

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 10/20/2025, Written by Katelyn Welsh

The Tahoe Institute for Global Sustainability through the University of Nevada, Reno’s Lake Tahoe Campus is gaining momentum after its launch in early June with the goal of developing solutions to sustainability in the basin and worldwide.

“Lake Tahoe is not only the jewel of the Sierra Nevada,” said Sudeep Chandra, PhD, professor and limnologist at UNR, who has helped launch the new institute, “but it is an important marker for the globe for understanding environmental change and economic resilience.”

READ MORE >

Photo provided

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 10/15/2025, Katelyn Welsh

The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners adopted an ordinance increasing the maximum density for multiple family dwellings in a zone between Incline Village and Crystal Bay at a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

In a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Michael Clark dissenting, the board amended the ordinance, increasing the maximum density from four units per acre to six units per acre in the Crystal Bay Condominiums Regulatory Zone Special Area, which lies between Tahoe Blvd and Lakeshore Blvd, heading towards Crystal Bay from Incline Village.

This was the second hearing on the ordinance amendment, initially introduced on Sept. 9.

READ MORE >

Photo credit: Tahoe Daily Tribune

Here’s an update on IVCBA member I-School, which started in Raley’s Center in 2011 as eLearning Cafe, became I-School and moved to the redwood building at 889 Alder, lost its lease when the building ownership changed during COVID, and moved to Carson City where it is now housed in a beautiful building on the National Register of Historic Places three blocks from the State Capitol.  Built in 1879, the building has retained much of the original character and even the wallpaper of the original Leport family, French immigrants who ran a grocery business in Carson City.  Fun fact:  Linda Offerdahl’s daughter took AP Calculus with us way back when!) 

We have a goal to retire the mortgage by July 4, 2025, to ensure the continued longevity of the school, now a K-12 establishment with a faith-based sister school, Hope Academy of Nevada, at the same location.  You may have seen our booth at the Carson City Farmers Market this summer, run by our students through their hard work in our gardens and greenhouse all summer.

To help our goal, the ever-generous McAvoy Layne will come out of retirement to do a Twain fundraiser for us at the opening night of the third annual Mark Twain Days in Carson City, October 16-18.  The performance will be next door to the Brewery Arts Center at 511 W. King Street, which was originally built in the late 1800s and home to anEpiscopal Church; it is now a lovely performing arts space.  In this show, starting on Thursday, October 16, at 7:30 after the opening reception next door at the Brewery Arts Center, Mark Twain will be visited by friends and family from his Carson days, including Julia Bulette, his wife Olivia, his brother Orion, and more, portrayed by another accomplished Chautauquan, Kim Harris, and the Hope Academy Chautauquans who have been performing this summer at the Dangberg Ranch. McAvoy and Kim will also perform together on stage the following night as part of Mark Twain Days.

Tickets are $100 for seating in the first rows and $25 for general admission. There is no charge for children under 16.  I-School is a 501(c)(3) and donations are of course welcome at this major fundraiser.

For information, please contact Emma Turner at eturner@ischools.us or Kathryn Kelly at admin@ischools.us.  For tickets, please go to Mark Twain Days – Visit Carson City.