Silver Lake along the crest of the Sierra Nevada. California.

I feel fortunate that Dr. Charles Goldman of the Tahoe Research Group and the Tahoe Environmental Research Center agreed to write the introduction to Lake Tahoe: A Fragile Beauty.  Dr. Goldman’s 50 years of study and advocacy on behalf of Tahoe has spawned a generation of scientists researching all aspects of the Lake Tahoe watershed.  His work has been instrumental in the founding of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, a California-Nevada bi-state agency that oversees all development in the Tahoe Basin.  His team at UC Davis has laid the foundation for much of the public policy addressing Tahoe’s challenges and has been at the heart of a model for environmental stewardship emulated the world over.

As with other contributions to Lake Tahoe: A Fragile Beauty, Dr. Goldman’s introduction is written in the first person and comes to the reader on a very personal level.  This element of individual contribution is how change is brought to our world.  If we wait for the group to act, the important work will not get done.  We all have a responsibility to pursue our passions and create the world we wish to see

Fifty years ago a man came west to study fresh water lakes and fell in love with Lake Tahoe.  Today,  agencies, universities, non-profits, and countless individuals have joined the effort to save Lake Tahoe.  The government has pledged $1 billion towards the cause.