The Forest Service in the Tahoe Basin (LTBMU) began managing the 81-acre property north of Zephyr Cove, known as Zephyr Shoals (Dreyfus Estate), in 2001 when the government acquired it. LTBMU is now proposing to offer the management concession to Aramark, who has been managing the adjacent 252-acre Zephyr Cove Resort for many years. Many members of the community believe that Aramark has not managed the current contract at Zephyr Cove Resort very well. This has been most evident this year from the recent July 4th events in this area.

Although the LTBMU want the 81-acre Zephyr Shoals to offer "a quieter Lake Tahoe shoreline recreation experience than the more heavily visited southern end of the property" at Zephyr Cove and "to be predominantly natural appearing with moderate evidence of the sights and sounds of humans" according to their August 31, 2022-dated prospectus, the new 20- to 30-year contract will allow further development on Zephyr Shoals, such as building a camping area over a sensitive meadow, an event venue for weddings, a new road and bridge over a sensitive stream environment zone for auto access, and additional parking spaces. The prospectus also would allow Aramark to turn the existing caretaker’s cottage into a snack bar.

Tahoe Yellow Cress, a protected plant species, are present in the Shoals area. This species is having a very difficult time surviving anywhere along Lake Tahoe's shorezone (the only place it exists) due to the onslaught of over-tourism in the Basin and new development-bent local agency decisions.

Please contact LTBMU's Lisa Herron at lisa.herron@usda.gov no later than September 1, 2023, and ask them to (1) reconsider granting the concession to Aramark, (2) remove these proposed developments on the Shoals property, (3) protect the Tahoe Yellow Cress on the site, and (4) better manage the combined 333 acres that LTBMU owns along Lake Tahoe's southeast shoreline if they truly want to protect it.

Thumbnail  photo by Kathryn Bricker.