Anti-erosion project helps protect Lake Tahoe

HOMEWOOD, Calif. (AP) - Heavy rain in the Lake Tahoe basin earlier this month provided a test for an anti-erosion project intended to slow the flow of sediment that used to run down the ski slopes at Homewood Mountain Resort and into the lake.

The verdict so far? It's passing with flying colors.

"We haven't seen this kind of rain in five years. It was extremely informative, and the treatment did its job," said Michael Hogan, a soil scientist and president of Integrated Environmental Restoration Services.

"This is truly sort of an adaptive process. We're always looking for better, more cost-effective ways to treat," he said.

The resort contracted with Hogan to restore stretches of old dirt road, no longer needed and eroding into the lake. He has completed 240,000 square feet as of this year, replacing the once bare, hard-packed earth with grass and brush.

The approach has been holistic, taking water quality, forest health and even climate change into consideration, he said.

"A lot of people talk about keeping Lake Tahoe blue, but this is actually doing something about it," said Art Chapman, president of JMA Ventures, which owns Homewood, as well as Alpine Meadows.

By using wood chips from Meeks Bay Fire Protection District's thinning operations to till into the earth, his crew is creating a cheap disposal for the fire hazard reducing process, improving erosion at Homewood and even sinking carbon stores into the soil, which is a benefit for global warming, he said.

"If we don't incorporate climate change into every project we are going to miss the boat," Hogan said.

While the standard anti-erosion technique has been to spray hydromulch a slurry of seed, hay and mulch to cover up eroding hillsides, Hogan has used a variety of tactics - from filling in old, worn-down roads to tilling the earth and mixing in organic material.

The next critical step is monitoring.

Using a rain machine, crews are able to simulate rain on untreated and treated patches of land, and collect the sediment running off.

"We can typically see a four-to-ten times reduction in sediment," Hogan said.

He said crews in some places have been able to reduce the erosion to zero, in one case taking erosion from 10,000 pounds of sediment per acre inch of rain to nothing.

David Tirman, executive vice president of JMA Ventures, said an internal environmental review draft should be ready by spring for development plans at Homewood Mountain Resort.

Plans for the north side of the resort include a hotel with up to 75 rooms, 56 condos, 12 employee housing apartments and 25,000 square feet of retail, while the south side could include up to 99 condominiums and 11 homes.

"If all goes well, we could see project approval about this time next year," Tirman said.

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Information from: Truckee Sierra Sun