Two states, five counties, one city. Thousands of residents. Millions of visitors.

It’s the reality the Lake Tahoe Basin has been working under for decades. While today the collective burdens foster a sense of collaborative stewardship, 30 years ago this was a recipe for chaos, infighting and finger pointing.

“Let me be candid — before the summit, California and Nevada were not exactly on the same page when it came to Lake Tahoe,” Gray Davis said. “At one point, California had actually withdrawn its financial support from TRPA and imposed its own stricter regulations. Nevada threatened to walk away from the compact entirely. We wanted stronger environmental protections; Nevada wanted more room for development. The 1997 summit changed all of that.”

The late Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, were instrumental in keeping the Lake Tahoe Basin on the radar of federal officials. (Image Kathryn Reed/2014)

Davis was lieutenant governor of California when the inaugural Lake Tahoe Summit took place in 1997. He was elected governor in 1998. Today he is of counsel at Loeb and Loeb law firm in Los Angeles and is co-chair of the Southern California Leadership Council.

The democrat was working alongside Gov. Pete Wilson, a republican. Wilson did not attend the summit, instead he sent Doug Wheeler, secretary of California Resources Agency, on his behalf. While the states were in disagreement, California was showing bipartisan synchronicity when it came to Tahoe.

At that time Nevada was under the leadership Bob Miller, a democrat.

“During the 1990s, there was noticeable erosion and a decline in the lake’s clarity and growing environmental concerns in the surrounding basin, which necessitated the attention of all stakeholders,” Miller said.

Today, Miller works at the consulting firm he started in Las Vegas.

Miller and Davis credit the summit with bringing the two states to the table to jointly and cooperatively work on issues pertaining to the basin.

“The first summit led to the establishment of an annual event and the creation of an environmental impact coalition. This has resulted in enhanced cooperation between federal, state, and local governments, as well as private interests,” Miller said.

The late Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is credited with spearheading the idea for the presidential summit. During Reid’s lifetime he was as advocate for the basin. Right alongside him, until her death, was Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Bruce Babbitt remembers getting a call from Reid saying he was concerned about the divide between the two states, and that federal intervention was needed and that it was imperative President Bill Clinton be directly involved.

“I said, ‘Harry I will recommend to the president that he put together a federal participation, but I’m not sure if you can get President Clinton, but you will get a federal presence’,” Babbitt recalled. He was secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior.

Babbitt was aware of the division between California and Nevada when it came to Tahoe, and foresaw the problems only becoming more exasperated if left unaddressed.

“I had always known about Lake Tahoe since growing up in the west,” Babbitt said. “I often thought in those years if I could rerun history, I would make Lake Tahoe a national park. It is one of the great ecological and scenic assets of the west.”

Babbitt was governor of Arizona prior to joining the Clinton administration. Forever involved in environmental causes, today he is working on issues pertaining to the Colorado River.

Clinton obviously was convinced by Babbitt of the need for the summit and had a desire to be an integral part of it.

“We have a shared responsibility to build on our commitment at levels to be sure the lake and its environs are protected,” Clinton said at that first summit.

Davis said the three most important things go come out of the summit were:

• “The creation of the Environmental Improvement Program (EIP): Bringing together state, local, nonprofit and private partners united under one coordinated restoration program was a game-changer. No more fragmented, agency-by-agency approaches.”
• “The massive investment commitment: Nearly $2 billion flowed into Lake Tahoe over the next two decades, including through substantial California bond funding. That kind of money doesn’t materialize without the momentum a presidential summit creates.”
• “The bipartisan model of collaboration: As President Clinton said, he came to show the nation a place where ‘everybody is working together in common cause.’ I saw that firsthand, and the trust built at that summit produced results for decades. The summit became an annual tradition.”

Clinton returned in 2007. Al Gore, who was vice president at the inaugural summit, gave the keynote in 2013.

“Here in Lake Tahoe an increase in air temperature means more precipitation that falls as rain and not snow. Snowsports are threatened. Ski resorts all over the world are threatened,” Gore said 13 years ago. He noted that the centerpiece of Lake Tahoe’s economy is tourism and that without snow and a pristine lake, that economy evaporates along with the snow and clarity.

All concerns that continue to resonate today.

In 2017, Babbitt returned to Tahoe for that year’s summit, where he was one of the speakers. At the time he was advising then Gov. Jerry Brown of California on environmental issues, and was asked by Brown to attend.

“I believe the summit’s legacy is best measured by results. Hundreds of projects completed — streams restored, 150 miles of bike and pedestrian routes built, 729 miles of roadways upgraded, tens of thousands of acres of hazardous fuels cleared. And most importantly, Lake Tahoe’s water clarity stopped declining and began to reverse. That alone vindicates the entire effort,” Davis said. “When I look back at my career in public service, Lake Tahoe stands out as proof that when leaders at every level of government align around a shared purpose, transformative conservation is possible. None of it happens without Harry Reid and Dianne Feinstein. Their vision and tenacity — they kept the summit going year after year and never let Washington forget about Tahoe. I’m proud of the role California played — and the role I played — in making that happen.”

Note: A version of this story first appeared in Tahoe In Depth.