US Army Corps inks $1M deal to combat Lake Tahoe invaders

STATELINE, Nev. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reached an agreement with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to provide $1 million in federal funding to help combat invasive aquatic species that harm the health and clarity of Lake Tahoe.

Laura Whitney, the Army Corps' program manager, says the invasive species pose a major threat to the ecosystem health and economic vitality of the entire Tahoe Basin.

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She says the agreement reached with the bistate agency based in Stateline this week will bolster efforts to control, prevent and develop a basin-wide plan to monitor invasive plant species.

A similar agreement the Army Corps reached with the California Tahoe Conservancy in 2008 helped lead to a boat inspection program now used throughout the basin to keep watercraft from carrying the harmful species into the lake.