by Lisa Wallace, Executive Director
Over the past decade there has been a trend to create “passive” income, outsource a bunch of tasks, and go live in ski resort town/on the beach while the money piles up in your bank account. To take the easy way. That trend is so alluring!
But even if it is actually attainable, it leaves a lot of important work un-done. And there is another way: doing things with a close team and really caring about the work you do.
This is the way of the crafts-person who wants to create something for the good of all, something useful and beautiful. This is the way of anyone who works not just to get a paycheck, but to create something powerful in the world.
This is the way of the people who love Donner Lake, Lakeview Canyon, Summit Canyon, Gregory Creek and who to work to improve the water quality, get rid of invasive species, stop shoreline erosion, eliminate stormwater runoff, increase bird species and fish populations, and have stunning places to boat, bike, ski and hike.
We decided to spend a year looking at how to restore Donner Basin. Not just listing out the problems, but examining the root causes and finding long term solutions.
This is time-consuming. And we do all of this work the hard way – meeting by meeting, phone call by phone call – and we collaborate with others who work hard, because we care about Donner Lake – and we want it here for those who will come after us.
These simple acts of caring are slowly but surely restoring our water quality, our streams, our meadows. It’s a deeply rewarding experience for me, and I hope for those of you who are our partners, funders, donors and volunteers.
Thank you to the donors of the Truckee River Watershed Council, Laird Norton Family Foundation, and the Truckee River Fund of the Community Foundation of Western Nevada for funding the Donner Basin Assessment.
Image: Aerial photo of Donner Lake and Truckee. Credit: Scott Shots Photography