Independence Lake north of Tahoe bought for public from power company

2325 acres of Land around and including lake ten miles north of Truckee is saved by NC

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/california/features/independence.html

On May 11, 2010, The Nature Conservancy announced that Independence Lake, one of the most pristine alpine lakes west of the Rockies, and the majestic wilderness that surrounds it will remain protected from development following the sale of the lake and the land to The Nature Conservancy by longtime owner NV Energy. (The property lies on both sides of the Sierra and Nevada County lines)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/20/SP5F1DG9ES.DTL#ixzz0oTibY9NH

--------------------------
Land buy around Calif. lake to ease Truckee Meadows droughts, Reno-Gazette Journal
http://www.rgj.com/article/20100510/NEWS/100511001/-1/CARSON/Land-buy-around-Calif.-lake-to-ease-Truckee-Meadows-droughts


May 10 2010--The purchase announced Tuesday of thousands of acres around Independence Lake by The Nature Conservancy will protect a critical source of water for Reno and Sparks in times of drought, states a member of the organization .The Nature Conservancy’s $15 million purchase of 2,325 acres of forest land in the Sierra Nevada from NV Energy will also preserve one of only two lakes in the world with indigenous populations of the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout, said Chris Fichtel, Independence Lake project manger for The Nature Conservancy.



http://www.rgj.com/article/20100518/TT/5180302/1047


May 18 2010--Last week the Nature Conservancy purchased 2,325 acres of land around Independence Lake north of Truckee for $15 million. The Conservancy called the 2.4-mile-long lake one of the most pristine alpine lakes west of the Rockies and home to one of the world's last two wild lake populations of the Lahontan cutthroat trout and other wildlife species. The acquisition was billed as a move that would "protect a critical source of water for Reno and Sparks in times of drought," but the rights to the 17,000-acre-feet of water in the lake were never threatened, and the acquisition did nothing to change ownership of the water itself. The Conservancy purchased the land from NV Energy, the utility that has owned the property since 1937, but the water in the lake remains in the hands of the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, which uses the lake as a reserve for times of severe drought.