Nearshore Algae Research Fund

Shoreline algal blooms are rapidly approaching crisis condition at Lake Tahoe. The blooms degrade water quality, cover large areas of beach with mats of decomposing algae, and last fall caused the first toxicity-related beach closures ever to occur at Lake Tahoe. In 2022 conditions are even more dire.

The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center’s (TERC’s) nearshore algal monitoring program used helicopter surveys to record the entire shoreline of the lake at monthly intervals through the prime growing season (April – November) to discover and track algal blooms.

This research serves as a warning system, to alert both the public and agencies to potentially dangerous situations, and guides clean-up crews to areas where they’re most needed. Help the Tahoe Environmental Research Center algal research team to maintain, expand and mitigate to preserve the beauty of Lake Tahoe.