Sustainable Tahoe in Incline Village, NV was founded in 2010 after Jacquie Chandler attended a tourism conference in South Lake Tahoe. Jonathan Tourtellot, the Executive Director for National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations (NGCSD) gave a presentation on Geotourism and afterwards asked Jacquie if she would take the role of Tahoe’s Geotourism Liaison. This then brought together a confluence of volunteers: Ferry designers, historians, sustainability experts, educators and more to help the region emerge with a 21st Century Geotourism Visitor Menu of adventures that would ensure visitors sustain or enhance the destination.
Sustainable Tahoe’s role is to inspire, enable and showcase the emergence of geotourism throughout the watershed. We facilitate alliances and collaboration models that create geotourism. Using our Tahoe Expo as a learn-by-doing model, we enrolled agencies, business and NGO’s to host a four-season community venue.
Our strongest asset is our relationship building with the community including the Washo and Paiute tribes. Their 10,000 years of stewardship is essential to geotourism becoming a reality at the lake. Members of the Washo tribe have participated in every public event Sustainable Tahoe has sponsored. They are natural advocates for destination stewardship as it is core to their culture. Their presence is central to the recovery of Lake Tahoe.