National Forest designation sought; locals say bill premature

Thursday, Oct. 30, 1997 | 3:29 a.m.

Reps. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, and James Gibbons, R-Nev., on Wednesday introduced a bill to change the name of the Forest Service's Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to the Lake Tahoe Basin National Forest.

The management unit was created in 1973 from parts of the Tahoe, Eldorado and Toiyabe national forests, and the proposed designation would enhance the basin's status, the lawmakers said.

"Elevating the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to national forest status would greatly enhance its stature, ensuring that it receives the protection and attention it so richly deserves," said Gibbons.

Doolittle said the new name would clarify the basin's jurisdiction.

"Having its lands located in three different national forests creates public confusion and, frankly, has been a disservice to our efforts to maintain a healthy and viable forest," Doolittle said.

But representatives of the basin's Forest Service and private and public interests say the name change, first proposed last year, is no longer relevant.

"Things have changed dramatically since the presidential summit in July," said Steve Teshara, executive director of the Lake Tahoe Gaming Alliance and a member of the advisory committee that helped plan the July forum.

Teshara called the bill premature, and said the new Tahoe Basin Advisory Committee is already working on a possible new designation.

"We would hope that Reps. Doolittle and Gibbons will give the local process a chance to work," Teshara said.

Bob Harris, the former supervising forester of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, supported the bill when it was first introduced last year. But the creation of a federal interagency panel following the presidential forum has changed the circumstances, said Linda Massey, the unit's public information officer.

"We're not taking a position on the bill," Massey said, adding that the Lake Tahoe unit had not asked for the bill to be reintroduced.

Also opposing the bill was Rochelle Nason, executive director of the League to Save Lake Tahoe.

Nason said the league is concerned over annual timber allotments typically expected of national forests, adding, "Our hope is that the sponsors will hold off, and give the community a chance to work on this issue."