INCLINE VILLAGE, NV – Committing to continued partnership with the State of Nevada, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed a joint proclamation with Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval prior to today’s 17th Annual Lake Tahoe Summit to boost cooperation on wildfire protection and preparedness efforts in the Tahoe Basin.
The full text of the proclamation is below:
A JOINT PROCLAMATION
BY THE GOVERNORS OF THE STATES OF CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA
WHEREAS Lake Tahoe is a unique national treasure that must be preserved as our gift to future generations; and
WHEREAS the 2007 Angora fire destroyed and damaged 254 homes, burned 3,100 acres and placed the community and its people in grave peril; and
WHEREAS the Angora fire demonstrated the substantial danger posed by catastrophic wildfires and the need for proper planning, preparation and prevention efforts necessary to avoid such devastation in the future; and
WHEREAS the 2008 California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission was created in the wake of the Angora fire to review forest management and fire suppression policies in the Lake Tahoe Basin by creating the Multi-Jurisdictional Fuel Reduction and Wildfire Prevention Strategy 10-Year Plan; and
WHEREAS cooperative efforts between fire agencies and regulatory agencies have already streamlined actions across a wide spectrum of suppression, preparedness, fuels management and planning to mitigate the threat of catastrophic fire in accordance with the 10-Year Plan; and
WHEREAS a healthy forest can better withstand the threat of damaging large wildfires that erode valuable watersheds, and forest conditions throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin are the driest in a century as negative climatic conditions continue to pose a threat in relation to wildfire; and
WHEREAS the California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission has been sunsetted, yet the demonstrated commitment and momentum created by its bi-state cooperative efforts to protect people, property and natural resources in the Tahoe Basin must continue;
THEREFORE on the 17th Anniversary of the Tahoe Summit, and in keeping with the Summit theme A Clean Lake Legacy: Preserving Tahoe and the Environment for Future Generations, the states of California and Nevada shall commit to:
Supporting strong bi-state cooperation and a strong wildfire protection and preparedness and response capability within the Tahoe Basin.
Working closely with the Lake Tahoe Regional Fire Chiefs Association to further enhance integrated federal, state and local activities.
Supporting the efforts of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team and community-based wildfire awareness efforts to identify fuel reduction projects and potential funding sources.
Working with regional organizations such as the Lake Tahoe Public Information Team and the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority to increase public awareness among both permanent and seasonal residents, as well as visitors about actions the public can take to help protect the Tahoe Basin from wildfire.
Working to address, as an element of the Regional Plan, implementation of fire safe building standards and regulations in cooperation with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and local jurisdictions, as well as joint work with regional organizations to develop a biomass strategy to reduce fuel loads in the Tahoe Basin.
Supporting reauthorization of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, which includes federal funding to help support the 10-year fuels management plan and competitive grants for fuels work.
Set forth this 19th day of August 2013 by:
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EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
Governor of California
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BRIAN SANDOVAL
Governor of Nevada