Aquatic Invasive Species

Aquatic invasive plants have taken root in shallow waters around Lake Tahoe, threatening the lake’s prized clarity, water quality, ecology, recreation and economy.

TKPOA Water Quality Website

Video by Sierra Overhead Analytics

Why is Controlling AIS Important?

Conditions in Lake Tahoe are becoming more and more hospitable for these plants, with the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center 2020 State of the Lake Report showing the water warming faster than normal.

The continued spread of these aquatic invasive plants could rapidly transform from a nuisance to a very real threat to the environment, water quality, recreation and the economy of Lake Tahoe. These plants can harbor other non-native species and create ideal habitat for mosquitoes and non-native fish.

TKPOA AIS Program Staff

Meghan Hoffmann

Water Quality Supervisor & AIS Technician

Meghan has been with TKPOA since May 2020. She graduated from Keene State College in 2019 with a B.A. in Biology and Secondary Education. Meghan is responsible for West Lagoon projects, Bubble Curtain projects, Lake Tallac projects, WQ administrative work, and the training and scheduling of AIS staff.

Erin Harkins

AIS Technician

Erin joined the TKPOA team in 2021. She graduated from Sonoma State University in 2020. She has a B.A. in Biology with a Zoology concentration.

What is the AIS Program?

AIS Program focuses on providing data for the harvesting operations and the long term projects of the AIS Program. It consists of the WQ Manager / AIS Management Coordinator, two AIS Technicians, two AIS Technician Interns and consultants with guidance and oversight from the Board of Directors and Water Quality Committee.

This department is responsible for several multi-year water quality improvement test projects throughout the Key's waterways.
These projects are the Laminar Flow Aeration, the West Channel Laminar Flow Aeration, the West Channel Bubble Curtain / Sea Bin Project, the Boat Backup Station. These projects require daily, weekly, monthly and annual sampling, monitoring, data collection, data analysis and annual reporting.

See TKOPOA Projects for more information on each project.

The Importance of AIS Program

Aquatic Invasive Plants are a Widespread Problem

Around the Country

USGS Map of Aquatic Invasive Plants, 2018

Aquatic invasive plants are a challenge for numerous bodies of water around the country, costing billions of dollars each year, according the the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Click here to see how other areas around the west are handling the challenge.

Around Lake Tahoe

Tahoe Keys Weeds

Aquatic invasive plants affect all marinas and numerous shallow, warm areas around Lake Tahoe and continue to spread, constituting the most immediate threat to Lake Tahoe, according to the University of Nevada, Reno's 2015 Implementation Plan for the Control of Aquatic Invasive Species within Lake Tahoe. Curlyleaf pondweed, able to grow in deeper, colder waters, has begun to spread more rapidly than Eurasian watermilfoil.

In the Tahoe Keys

Tahoe Keys Hydroacoustic scan 8/5/2020

More than 95 percent of the Tahoe Keys' 172-acre lagoons are infested with aquatic invasive plants. Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association has both aggressively managed these plants with available methods and proactively sought long-term solutions to bring the infestation under control once and for all.

Learn More About the TKPOA Projects!

Click button below to learn more about all of the TKPOA Projects!

TKPOA PROJECTS