The State - News from June 28, 1989

Salt used by state crews to de-ice roads is killing thousands of trees in the Lake Tahoe basin, a conservation group reported. The League to Save Lake Tahoe asked the California Department of Transportation to curb its wintertime practice, based on a survey showing that more than 7,000 trees have been killed along 72 miles of area highways. More than 1,100 of the trees are along California 89 between South Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay, said league Director Tom Martens, who blames the loss on salt mixed with sand that is dumped on the roads, then picked up by snowplows and sprayed into roadside trees by rotary snow blowers. “We want Caltrans to lower the salt usage to earlier levels,” he said.