State issues $366,000 in grants from Tahoe license plate money

Sunday, July 23, 2000 | 2:35 a.m.

More than 18,000 plates featuring a mountain and lake scene in pastel colors have now been sold.

Kim Evans of the Department of Motor Vehicles said the Tahoe plate is by far the most successful special plate in Nevada's history and continues to sell very well.

Every plate issued raises $25 for environmental projects at Lake Tahoe plus $20 more each year the car owner renews it.

Jim Lawrence, Tahoe program coordinator with the State Lands Division, said this is the first series of grants funded by the license plate money.

The agency plans to seek more applications this fall because the money continues to come in.

"We expected the revenue to slow down after the first year, figuring interest would dwindle," he said. "But that doesn't seem to be the case."

Lawrence said projects funded by the grants range from water quality to scenic improvements, wildlife protection and research.

"We were very pleased with the variety of projects," he said.

The largest grant is $193,000 to the Nevada Parks Division as part of the $560,000 project at Spooner Lake Park in Carson City.

That project will include development of the parking area, curbs and gutters, sand-oil separators and other improvements designed to prevent runoff and protect water quality at the heavily used parking area below Marlette Lake.

The parks division will also get $49,575 to rebuild the Sand Harbor entry gate and surrounding area.

A chain link fence will be replaced with a wrought iron and wood fence that should look better and control access to the park to prevent people from creating new paths and causing erosion, Lawrence said.

The Tahoe plate money will contribute $6,000 to a $100,000 project producing an educational video for schools and public television on the problems facing Lake Tahoe and what people can to do help fix them.

A total of $75,000 will pay three-fourths of a research study on how well wetland areas are able to clean up and handle urban runoff.

"The idea is to filter urban runoff through stream environment zones," Lawrence said. "We know it helps control pollution but we don't know how much benefit we can get from using those stream runoff zones."

Another $7,700 will go into a program to teach people how best to protect sensitive species from waterfowl to rorippa, a plant that grows only on Tahoe's beaches.

Finally, he said $34,743 will be awarded to the Nevada-Tahoe Conservation District for a program designed to encourage private property owners to improve erosion control and other environmental problems that start on their land.

Lawrence said that program will use everything from public workshops and mailings to neighborhood block parties to show people what they can do on their own land to help save Lake Tahoe.