Governor Voices Satisfaction With Effort to Restore Lake Tahoe Basin

Gov. George Deukmejian on Friday pronounced himself satisfied with efforts to restore and protect the Lake Tahoe Basin’s fragile environment, even as one of his top deputies said the state was barely “scratching the surface” of what needs to be done.

Donning a plaid shirt and sport slacks in a rare public appearance without a suit and necktie, Deukmejian toured four north Tahoe Basin projects that are designed either to improve the environment or allow increased public access to the lake’s scenic shore.

“I’m going to take a lot of pride in being able to say to my children that while I was governor, we were able to play a role in trying to ensure that Lake Tahoe remained a very unique and valuable resource for people for ages to come,” Deukmejian said at an impromptu news conference among the pines on a parcel of land just acquired by the state.

The Republican chief executive described himself as an environmentalist but made it clear that he hopes that the restoration programs will blunt opposition to continued growth of the region’s $1-billion annual economy.

Adjust to Needs

The state’s effort in the basin, he said, is “an example of how you can bring people together (and) at the same time you’re trying to preserve the environment, to also adjust to other needs of the people and other desires.”

But Resources Secretary Gordon Van Vleck, a Deukmejian appointee who accompanied the governor on the tour, conceded that the state still faces a huge task in repairing damage done by more than 30 years of intensive development.

“Unfortunately, we are only scratching the surface,” he said.

Van Vleck said visibility in the lake’s once-clear waters has decreased by 30 feet during the last two decades. The problem is caused by algae spawned by the nutrient-rich sediment that drains into the lake from steep, erosion-prone hillsides, many of which are scarred by the 435 miles of roads cut through the mountains ringing the lake.

Van Vleck said urbanization has greatly reduced wildlife habitat in the basin. Three-fourths of the basin’s marshland has been destroyed, while half the meadows and more than one-third of the riparian habitat has been lost, he said.

To repair the damage, the state has allocated $101 million to buy open land for habitat and recreational use and to build erosion-control projects. Of that amount, $85 million will come from a bond issue approved by state voters in 1982, the year Deukmejian was elected to his first term.

On Friday, Deukmejian visited the North Tahoe Beach Center here, then stopped at a Kings Beach site acquired by the state to improve access to 600 feet of shoreline.

The governor also viewed a project at which the state is filling in two abandoned reservoirs and returning the badly eroded hillside to its natural condition.

Dennis T. Machida, executive officer of the California Tahoe Conservancy, said it will take years for the erosion-control effort to produce a visible result. He said the state has so far spent $15.9 million on controlling erosion, a problem that requires $200 million to resolve.

“It’s going to take a long time to have a comprehensive solution to these problems,” Machida said. “It will take decades to see the benefits in the lake.”

Cross-Country Skiing

Deukmejian finished his tour with a visit to the edge of a 940-acre estate recently purchased by the state for $3.2 million from a San Francisco family. At one time, 100 condominiums were planned for the site, but now it will be used for hiking, bicycling and cross-country skiing.

After completing the tour, Deukmejian planned to spend the weekend at Lake Tahoe with friends, a press aide said. The governor, who has announced that he will not seek a third term in 1990, told reporters that he is looking forward to spending some of his private time here after he leaves office.

“We’ve enjoyed it a number of times, and I would expect in the years ahead to maybe have a little more free time to do that,” he said.