Around 80 people attended the event at Lake Tahoe Community College in defense of a rule that protects millions of acres in national forests. It prohibits the construction of new roads, commercial logging and mining with limited exceptions.
Repealing the rule would open up 45 million acres nationwide to potential development projects.
Several areas of forest service land in Lake Tahoe are protected under this rule. These areas include zones around Zephyr Cove, Rubicon Bay and the Mount Rose Wilderness area.
“They're unlikely to have any sort of public town halls as a result of their proposal to rescind the rule. And so we're taking it upon ourselves to create opportunities for the community and diverse voices to come together and let their voices be heard about this proposal to rescind the rule,” said Mary Lunetta, national conservation strategist for the Sierra Club.
Lunetta said that without this rule, these areas would likely face increased wildfire risk due to new road construction, negative impacts on water quality caused by erosion, and the loss of wildlife habitats and biodiversity.
