by Lisa Wallace, Executive Director
The Truckee River watershed – where the beauty of nature draws us – is threatened. Species of birds have disappeared. Essential invertebrates are leaving. Entire wetlands are drying up. Much of this is due to 150 years of human impact from grazing, mining, logging, dams, rail and highway building, and old-time development. The Truckee River is rated as polluted by the EPA! Yet it needs to be resilient to withstand increases in population and climate change. Can she do it alone? We don’t believe so.
The Truckee River Watershed Council exists to transform the health and resiliency of our environment—so nature and humanity can thrive together for generations. All In: Wetlands. Bugs. Birds. Critters. People. While we work for the watershed, everyone else—birds, bugs, beavers, bicyclists, and you—benefits.
Like our Truckee Wetlands Restoration project. When wetlands are fully functioning, they purify and replenish our water, act as a natural sponge against flooding and drought, and protect our shorelines and streambanks. They burst with biodiversity, and are a vital means of storing carbon. Unfortunately, the vast majority of our local wetlands have disappeared since 1900.
But we can get some of our wetlands back. Because of the support of our partners and funders, we are designing the restoration of 16 acres of wetland right in the heart of the Town of Truckee. This is what we do—bring diverse entities together—to find far-reaching solutions that revitalize our environment.
Thank you to our project partners: Town of Truckee, Truckee Donner Land Trust, Truckee Donner PUD, Truckee Donner Rec & Park, Truckee Sanitary District, and the Truckee Tahoe Airport.
Thank you to the donors of the Truckee River Watershed Council, the Nature Fund of the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, and the Truckee River Fund of the Community Foundation of Western Nevada for project funding.