Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful

1.) Expand work in removing invasive weeds, planting native plants, and working to lessen beaver damage throughout the year, including during KTMB’s Adopt-A-River program (AAR), the Great Community Cleanup (GCC), and the Truckee River Cleanup (TRC);

2.) Continue work in removing litter, green waste, and hazardous waste along the Truckee River corridor via the AAR, GCC, and TRC programs;

3.) Provide in-river cleanup work by partnering with municipal WET teams at GCC and TRC, and otherwise as needed;

4.) Provide community education and outreach to decrease environmental threats to the Truckee River; and

5.) Continue with the Truckee River adjacent condition survey, gathering information about litter and invasive weed projects that need attention.

TMWA Benefit:

Priorities II and V Watershed Improvements & Tributary/Creeks Rehabilitation: Planting and invasive weed removal along the Truckee River corridor and its tributaries helps to reduce erosion and sediment in the river. Removing litter and hazardous waste directly impacts the contaminants and bacterial pollutants in waterways. While our work is consistent year after year, it is impactful and vital to the overall health of the river corridor. We will work directly along the Truckee River Corridor as well as in all the tributaries in the Reno-Sparks area. In 2024, we removed 34,707 pounds of weeds, planted 5025 plants, and planted 84 trees in the watershed, and we will continue to focus on this work.

Priority III Stormwater Improvements: Marking storm drains to educate the public about where stormwater goes is again simple but effective. Most people have no idea where water that enters a storm drain ends up, with the common misconception that it ends up at a treatment plant. With proper signage, we are educating the public on their direct connection to the river. In 2024, KTMB volunteers and staff stenciled 362 storm drains, and we will continue to do this work as directed by our municipal partners.

Priority IV Revegetation Projects: Improve watershed resiliency through the GCC, TRC, and Adopt-A-River programs by engaging volunteers to remove invasive plants and replant native species at river-specific sites and tributaries. These include Lockwood Park, Hunter Creek, Valley Wood Park, and Carcione/Canepa. We are also working with the City of Reno on projects that will include ditch work to reduce fire vulnerability as well as revegetation options in parks such as Huffaker Hills Trailhead, recently damaged by fire as part of our Adopt-A-Spot program.

Priority VI stewardship & Environmental Awareness: Communicate environmental awareness about water, water quality, and watershed protection by engaging already present volunteers in relevant education on-site during their project. Our service-learning program, newly expanded this past year, will continue to tie the “why” to the work being done in order to increase awareness about the health of the watershed and why they are doing the work they are doing.