Restoration of Upper Truckee must wait

Monday, Nov. 29, 1999 | 8:08 a.m.

Restoration work on a 36-acre chunk of land next to the straightened river channel near the Tahoe Keys subdivison had been set to start next year.

But conservancy officials delayed the project after opposition to it grew in recent months from Tahoe Keys residents, some of whom complained it would require 7,000 dump truck trips in their area.

"I'm disappointed because a lot of the public doesn't seem to understand the value of what we're doing," conservancy spokesman Steve Goldman said. "They don't seem to see the big picture."

Because of past development, the large wetlands at the river's mouth no longer is effective in filtering out sediments and nutrients from the lower river.

The Upper Truckee is the main tributary stream of Lake Tahoe, whose dwindling water clarity is largely blamed on sediments and nutrients pouring into it.

Goldman said he hopes to spend the extra year working out details of the project and better educating residents about its benefits.

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