UC Davis leaders and faculty members will enjoy a full weekend of activities in support of scientific and public programs devoted to restoring and preserving the environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
On Saturday afternoon (Aug. 20), the campus will lead a ceremony to lay the cornerstone of its new Tahoe research laboratory. Set for 4 p.m. on the Sierra Nevada College campus in Incline Village, the ceremony will be hosted by UC Davis Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef and Sierra Nevada College President Paul Ranslow.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn are expected to attend.
Other officials will take part from Tahoe Regional Planning Agency; University of Nevada, Reno; Desert Research Institute; Nevada Power Company; and the RAND Corp.
Just prior to the cornerstone ceremony, UC Davis will join 11 other research institutions and management agencies in signing a new agreement that will streamline the sharing of scientific information. The agreement will create the Tahoe Science Consortium to provide environmental managers and decision makers with comprehensive and well-synthesized scientific findings drawn from research, monitoring and modeling.
On Sunday (Aug. 21), UC Davis will take part in the annual Tahoe Environmental Summit. This year the summit is being held at Commons Beach in Tahoe City, on the lake's north shore. It is hosted by Feinstein, Guinn and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Key issues to be discussed include Tahoe Basin water quality, wildfire danger and future planning efforts. UC Davis Vice Chancellor for Research Barry Klein will lead a panel discussion of lake water quality.
The Saturday cornerstone ceremony marks the completion of the foundation of the new $24 million Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences. The center will be an international leader for science and teaching on the preservation of alpine lakes and their watersheds.
It will house offices and laboratories of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) and of the Desert Research Institute; exhibits and educational programs in the UC Davis Thomas J. Long Foundation Education Center; and offices, laboratories and classrooms for Sierra Nevada College students.
As a joint project of UC Davis and Sierra Nevada College, supported by federal, state, private and foundation funding, the facility is a national model for multi-institutional collaboration. In keeping with its conservation mission, the building is being built using many energy-efficient "green" technologies. It is expected to be completed in August 2006.
The agencies and institutions signing the new science agreement on Saturday include:
- University of California, Davis
- University of Nevada, Reno
- Desert Research Institute
- U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station
- U.S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey
- Sierra Nevada College
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- State of California
- State of Nevada
- Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
Schedule and locations
What: Signing of Tahoe Science Consortium MOU
When: Saturday, Aug. 20, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Regency Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, Incline Village, Nev.
Directions: Travel on Highway 28 in Incline Village to Country Club Drive. Turn south (toward the lake) on Country Club Drive. The Hyatt is at the end of the street, at the corner of Country Club and Lakeshore drives.
What: Cornerstone Ceremony for Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences
When: Saturday, Aug. 20, 4 p.m.
Where: Sierra Nevada College, located in Incline Village, Nev.
Directions: Travel on Highway 28 in Incline Village to Country Club Drive. Turn south (toward the lake) on Country Club Drive. Follow signs to ceremony.
What: Tahoe Environmental Summit
When: Sunday, Aug. 21, 9 a.m. to noon
Where: Commons Beach, Tahoe City, Calif.
Directions: Commons Beach is located on the lake shore on Highway 28 just east of the Y intersection of Highway 89 and Highway 28.