Category Archives: Uncategorized

We had an amazing encounter on Lake Van Norden this week that really brings home why the lake is so special to the Donner Summit Valley. In this incredible year where we have already been kayaking on the lake twice, … Continue reading →

This site has been quiet for a number of months now, but we want you to know that it was not because we had reduced our efforts. Quite to the contrary, we have been concentrating our efforts on a proposition … Continue reading →

Preserving wild places may require more human intervention. This somewhat counter intuitive statement is the thrust of an opinion article in the New York Times by Christopher Solomon a few days ago (click here to read the article). The article … Continue reading →

In the last week a few people have forwarded to us an article by Jim Morgan, a dedicated and prominent environmentalist in the Northern Sierras and the president of the Northern Sierra Partnership’s Governing Council. The article was apparently being sent … Continue reading →

You have read a lot of information on this site that we have prepared. We thought you might want to hear what some others have to say about preserving Van Norden Lake and its wetlands. Dr Charles Goldman is a … Continue reading →

In the past few weeks we have spent a considerable amount of time investigating the claims that have been made by the U.S Forest Service and the Truckee Donner Land Trust (TDLT) to support their drastic action of draining Van … Continue reading →

Download pdf of this post The entire controversy over draining Van Norden Lake and wetlands is based on the contention that the Van Norden dam has been classified a “significant hazard” and as such the US Forest Service refuses to … Continue reading →

We have spent a lot of time on this site extolling the virtues of the lake and wetland habitats that Van Norden Lake provide. You can find out more about the value of wetlands from the large body of literature … Continue reading →

Many people that have contacted us ask the question I will paraphrase here: “Why, after 38 years when PG&E breached the dam and it was dropped from the jurisdiction of the State, has the lake become an issue. Why can’t … Continue reading →