washoevalley.org

We noticed this fire on the eastern slope of Slide Mt. tonight at about 6:15pm when I took this photo. A Helicopter with a bucket is dropping water on it now. It seems to be creeping along on the ground and not getting up in the trees yet.

From a member of the Washoe Valley Working Group:

“As it says in the flyer,  the East Washoe Valley working group & the West Washoe Homeowners Association have hired a private attorney, Tom Hall, to represent Washoe Valley citizens’ interests in  two lawsuits regarding the TMSA application for municipal sewer and water that could, & probably would, lead to high density development in Washoe Valley.  Tom is well versed in water and land issues.  One lawsuit concerns the Weston property, 1 full section above Little Washoe Lake behind the power lines at the top of the hill going east.  The rest is explained in the flyer.  If you donate it would be wise to put “for the WV legal defense fund” at the bottom so you can deduct it on your taxes and would be used only for that fund.  Thank you!”

We were down in Sacramento on some business and stopped by “Time Tested Books” at 1114 21st St. when we had some time to kill. It seems that to find items about Nevada the best strategy to to look elsewhere. The local antique stores and used book sellers are usually sold out here but in other states, Nevada items can be found.

I was able to pick up “Virginia and Truckee” by Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, two wealthy and eccentric residents of Virginia City in the 1950’s. Originally Beebe wrote society articles for New York City papers before relocating to Virginia City. The only clue as to why I have seen is that VC was a hangout for eccentric artistic types in that era. They revived the Territorial Enterprise and pursued their interest in railroads by writing books on the subject while at the same time orchestrating the local social scene. Often they would be seen hobnobbing in VC in “top hats and tails.” One of their private railroad cars is on display at the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento.

This volume is a short 60 pages and includes some photos of the rolling stock taken by the authors among others. I was surprised to see two “Then and Now” photos included of Gold Hill and Virginia City. This is a mini hobby of mine. Beebe and Clegg later moved to San Francisco. In all, Beebe wrote 30 books.

They were both very interesting characters and deserve more attention on this site at a later time.

The Sierra Fire Protection District has just learned that it will receive $2 million dollars of federal stimulus money for a new fire station in the Arrowcreek neighborhood of southwest Reno according to this article in the Sacramento Bee. The SFPD serves a 214 square mile area of the eastern Sierra (Carson Range) which includes West Washoe Valley.

The South Valleys Area Plan was approved by the
Regional Planning Governing Board
on May 14, 2009

Highlights:
•    Strong vision and mission statements to maintain the rural character
of Washoe Valley
•    One house per five acres for East Washoe Valley including
Ophir Lake Properties (no specific plan for Mr. Weston)
•    One house per ten acres for West Washoe Valley with encouragement for ongoing agricultural land use
•    Defined commercial area boundaries with limited expansion
•    Compatible Allowed Uses for the commercial area
•    Language that shows the support Washoe County and the
Regional Planning Commission for a scenic byway
A fourteen mile Washoe Valley State Scenic Byway has been approved by the Nevada Department of Transportation.
Please check washoevalley.org for updates.
Goal not met:       The South Valleys Area Plan does not keep the TMSA out of Washoe Valley. Mr. Weston has a TMSA request for public water and sewer for his entire 640 acres.  Negotiations are in progress to limit his TMSA access to the north of the hydrographic basin line (currently being surveyed) on the property.  The TMSA request will be heard before the end of this year.
Please check washoevalley.org for updates.
Appreciation:
Thank you to Commissioner David Humke; Washoe County Community Development; East and West Washoe Valley CAB members; the Washoe Valley Working Group members; and to the dedication and spirit of the entire Washoe Valley community.
Special thanks to washoevalley.org for keeping us informed.

We were treated to a rare lightning show last night as a cell moved over the Carson Range to the west moving from south to north. For more lightning photos go to my flickr.com site.

We recently received this question:

“Does anyone know why there are so many dead fish on the beach at Washoe Lake?”

We received this info from State Parks:

“According to the fisheries biologist from the Department of Wildife the fish are dying off due to the low lake levels and warm water temperatures. The fish are basically oxygen starved. Wildlife says there are too many fish competing for oxygen in too small a space. The small fish on the beach are Sacramento Perch. We are trying to pick the dead ones up the birds don’t eat and dispose of them.“

Donna Silva
Washoe Lake (State Park)

I suspect as the lake evaporates, this will continue- ed.

Just got our newsletter about the freeway extension. It’s a good reminder to check out their cool website at

www.freewayextension.com

Dear Rick:  I wrote you previously with a question about weeds, and you were very helpful.

Any info or explanation you can provide (or forward my question to some “expert”?), I would appreciate.

Hi, Dear Reader,

I’m sorry you received no help from the UNRCE. It is too bad they say they want our help butthen ignore us! As far as invasive weeds go, I went to the website of the Washoe/Pleasant Valley Cooperative Weed Management Area (the folks who I think put up the sign) and couldn’t find a definition. Their site needs some work. But try their email link anyway.

I think, in my limited knowledge, that invasive or noxious weeds are those that are not native to our area and push out the native and more beneficial plants and “weeds”.

I think the “authorities” are mostly concerned with a set list of weeds that they are battling in large areas such as parks,  pastures, roadsides and waterways. We here at washoevally.org have expanded that with our information about “obnoxious” weeds that appear in our yards at home.

If you have specific weed you are curious about, send us a photo and we’ll try to learn more about it and add it to our list!

weed shown: Spiny Skeleton Weed. Ouch! But easy to root out.

We drove by Incline Lake the other day and noticed it was drained. It has since been mentioned in the media. Recently, the feds spent $46 million for a property with the major feature, and presumably the majority of the value, of an alpine lake. Now, after paying a premium for a lake, the feds say their is a danger of the 1946 dam failing. Huh? Couldn’t this be determined before we bought the lake?

Maybe we could have gotten a deal by saving the owner of the liability.

Anyway, we need to figure out a way to save our investment. Right here above Washoe Valley we have an answer, I think. Recently a homeowner in the northwest side of the valley allegedly modified Joy Lake, another old reservoir, without approved engineering or permits according to news reports. After the work was completed, the state engineer awarded him with a letter saying essentially that all standards had been met and the lake would “be safe for years to come”.

Let’s send this dam genius up to Incline Lake, let him work his magic on his homeowner’s budget and get a similar stamp of approval from the Nevada State Engineer.

One party sold us a lake that doesn’t exist and another took it upon himself to make a lake bigger and safe. We need to convince these dam people who know how to work the system to work for us too!