S. 432: Lake Tahoe Restoration Act 2011

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein

331 Hart Senate Office Bldg.

United States House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative:

My name is Ty Dayberry. I am a student at Sierra Nevada College and an employee for the United States Forest Service here in the Tahoe Basin. I am writing to you to ask for your support in passing the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2011 at the Senate.

As you may already know, Lake Tahoe is the fifth clearest and largest alpine lake in the world and with ever growing human activity in the Basin, there has been a noticeable drop in lake clarity, rise in air pollution and the over all degradation of Tahoe’s natural image. I have been a local here my whole life and I am attending school to get a degree in sustainability which I hope to apply to saving Lake Tahoe’s natural beauty. One of the big points that stands out to me for Lake Tahoe Restoration Act 2011 is that it “allows for increased efficiency in the management of public land. Under this legislation, the Forest Service would have increased flexibility to exchange land with state and local entities which will allow for more cost-efficient management of public land” (http://boxer.senate.gov/en/press/updates/030811a.cfm). The time spent at the Forest Service by office employees is mainly dedicated to finding a way through the maze of “who has what?” and “what can we do and where?” I feel that sometimes this can be tedious, time consuming, and cost the government more money than necessary. If the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act is passed, these complications could be smoothed out with better pace and efficiency.

The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act not only will allow scientific and restoration projects to be more steadily funded, but will make more funding available for the USFS and the state to educate school children, locals, and tourists about the importance of sustaining Lake Tahoe’s natural landscape. Education is one of the best ways to make a better and noticeable difference in Lake Tahoe’s ecological health. I am asking you to please vote yes and do what you can to make S. 432: Lake Tahoe Restoration Act 2011 pass in the Senate. Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing this act pass.

Sincerely,

Ty Dayberry