FORMAL AGREEMENTS IN PLACE TO GUIDE LAKE TAHOE PROTECTION EFFORTS

                                                               
                                            Release No. 0390.97
                                                               
                                    Tom Amontree (202) 720-4623
                                          tom.amontree@usda.gov
                                    Linda Massey (916) 573-2688
                                                               



FORMAL AGREEMENTS IN PLACE TO GUIDE LAKE TAHOE PROTECTION EFFORTS

     Zephyr Cove, Nevada, October 29, 1997--In a landmark ceremony today on
the waters of Lake Tahoe, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman reinforced the
Administration's commitment to the environmental and economic health of the
Lake Tahoe region with the signing of two memorandums of Agreement (MOA). 
They represent the first major milestone in the implementation of actions
directed by President Clinton during his visit to Lake Tahoe last July.

     "We are here today to celebrate Lake Tahoe and the Administration's
dedication to this beautiful lake," said Glickman.  "We are here to pay
tribute to the partnerships which have made Lake Tahoe a role model for
communities around the country, partnerships which are working to ensure
that this national jewel does indeed have a prosperous and healthy future,"
he added.

     The first memorandum, signed by all leaders of the federal agencies
active in the Lake Tahoe Basin, puts into place the Federal Interagency
Partnership on the Lake Tahoe Ecosystem, as called for in an Executive Order
signed by Clinton during the Presidential Forum July 26.  The partnership,
which is to meet several times a year, will coordinate operations "...to
protect the extraordinary natural, recreational and ecological resources of
the Lake Tahoe Region and the economy that depends on them."  Co-signers of
the document with Glickman were Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt,
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner, Acting
Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) John Zirschky, and Secretary
of Transportation Rodney Slater.

     The other MOA was created to facilitate coordination between the
Federal Interagency Partnership and the states of Nevada and California, the
Washoe Tribe and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).  In the
agreement, the signatories reaffirmed their commitment to the Tahoe Regional
Planning Compact to TRPA's Environmental Improvement Program, and to a
comprehensive effort to protect the lake.  Nevada Governor Bob Miller, TRPA
Executive Director James Baetge, and Brian Wallace, chairman of the Washoe
Tribe, were present for the signing of this document, which also provides
for participation by the state of California.

     In another historic gesture at the ceremony, Juan Palma, supervisor of
the Tahoe Basin Management Unit, signed two special-use permits, granting
the members of the Washoe Tribe short-term access to the waters of Lake
Tahoe for the first time in more than 100 years.  These permits will be in
place while USDA Forest Service personnel complete environmental
documentation for longer-term permits
     
     "We are pleased to assist the Washoe Tribe in gaining better access to
land with which they have a deep spiritual and traditional connection," said
Palma.

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