Martis Valley

Martis Valley is a geographic area of 70 square miles (180 km²) in the United States, extending northward from the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, California, to the west of the California-Nevada border. It is located in Placer and Nevada Counties.

Description

Located in the Sierra Nevada mountains north of Lake Tahoe, Martis Valley is largely rural and forested.^[1] Elevation ranges from approximately 5,800 to 8,600 feet above mean sea level.^[2]

The area is roughly coextensive with the Martis Creek Basin, which drains into the Truckee River.^[3] It includes Martis Creek, Donner Creek, and Prosser Creek, major tributaries to the Truckee River.^[3] There are several natural lakes, Dry Lake, Gooseneck Lake, Donner Lake, and Martis Creek Lake. The Prosser Creek Reservoir, a small manmade lake, was created in 1962.^[4] A much larger lake, the Martis Reservoir, was built in 1971 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers for flood protection for Reno, Nevada.^[2] The area also includes the Martis Creek Lake National Recreation Area, the northern portion of the Northstar at Tahoe ski resort, the Lahontan Golf Club,^[5] and the Truckee-Tahoe Airport. California State Route 267, one of two main roads connecting Truckee and Lake Tahoe, runs through the valley.^[2]

History

In 2001 a forest fire burned 15,000 square miles (39,000 km²) of land.^[6]

Development

In the 2000s Martis Valley faced development pressure due to its proximity to Truckee, California and Northstar at Tahoe, a popular ski resort.^[1] Developers initially obtained approval to build 6,000 homes on 25,000 square miles (65,000 km²) of subdivisions, which would have more than doubled the population of Truckee, California. In response environmentalists, preservationists and other activists created an organization in 2000,^[7] Sierra Watch, that filed lawsuits to prevent the development.^[8] After a judge issued an injunction against development, the litigation was eventually settled via a series of agreements that resulted in scaled-back housing projects,^[1][9][10] as well as preserving and providing more than $100 million for various wildlife and historic preservation initiatives.^[11][12] Among the agreements, developers and conservationists agreed to establish the Martis Fund, in order to develop affordable workforce housing for people who worked in the area,^[13] and also to levy a real estate transfer tax to pay for conservation land acquisitions by the Truckee Donner Land Trust.^[14][15][16] One major result was the preservation of the historic Waddle Ranch, a property of 1,500 square miles (3,885 km²) property dating to the 1850s.^[17][18] Among the properties developed are hundreds of multimillion-dollar vacation homes, Old Greenwood (a golf course and resort), and a new Ritz-Carlton resort at Northstar.^[19]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Douglas Fischer (2006-03-30). "Development deal leaves Tahoe basin wide open". Oakland Tribune. http://google.com/search?q=cache:-iT7fc_CQEkJ:findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20060330/ai_n16195710/. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Martis Creek Basin". Truckee River Watershed Council. http://www.truckeeriverwc.org/index.cfm?s=basin&id=20. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Martis Valley Groundwater Basin". California Department of Water Resources. January, 2006. http://www.water.ca.gov/pubs/groundwater/bulletin_118/basindescriptions/6-67.pdf. 
4. ^ "Prosser Creek Reservoir". packyourgear.com. http://www.packyourgear.com/California/Prosser-Creek-Reservoir.aspx. 
5. ^ "History of Lahontan". Lahontan Golf Club. http://www.lahontangolf.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=217833&ssid=61772&vnf=1. 
6. ^ "Martis Fire". Truckee River Watershed Council. http://www.truckeeriverwc.org/index.cfm?s=restProject&id=5. 
7. ^ "History". Sierra Watch. 2006. http://sierrawatch.org/about-us/history. 
8. ^ Ann M. Simmons (2005-02-26). "Judge Halts 6,000-House Martis Valley Development". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2005/feb/26/local/me-placer26. 
9. ^ Ken Garcia (2005-05-06). "Some relief for Tahoe's growing pains". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/05/06/EDGP7CK2GP1.DTL. 
10. ^ Celia Lamb (2006-03-29). "Developer agrees to scale back Martis Valley plans". Sacramento Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2006/03/27/daily27.html. 
11. ^ "Waddle Ranch Saved!". The Trust for Public Land. December, 2007. http://www.tpl.org/tier3_cdl.cfm?content_item_id=21291&folder_id=3348. 
12. ^ "Martis Valley dispute dismissed". Sacramento Business Journal. 2006-09-18. http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2006/09/18/daily26.html. 
13. ^ "Martis Valley, California". the Urban Land Institute. 2008-09-25. http://www.uli.org/CommunityBuilding/AdvisoryService/~/media/CommunityBuilding/AdvisoryServices/Panel%20Reports%20Upload%20Feb09/Truckee09Report.ashx. 
14. ^ Sierra Countis. "Land Trust gets $1 million for Martis Valley deal". North Lake Tahoe Bonanza. http://www.tahoebonanza.com/article/20070121/REGION/101210044. 
15. ^ "Landmark Agreement for Martis Valley Reached". Sierra Watch (press release). 2005-03-09. http://www.yubanet.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/50/18851. 
16. ^ David Bunker (2005-03-11). "Deal makes millions for Martis Valley". Sierra Sun. http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20050311/NEWS/50310005. 
17. ^ Greyson Howard (2009-03-20). "Preserved lands near Truckee put in public hands". Sierra Sun. http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20090320/NEWS/903209979/1066&ParentProfile=1051&title=Preserved%20lands%20near%20Truckee%20put%20in%20public%20hands. 
18. ^ Chuck Squatriglia (2007-04-28). "Rare compromise leads to protection for Martis Valley". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/28/BAGC0PHGIP1.DTL#ixzz0gHoJc5tQ. 
19. ^ "Land Dispute Settled In Martis Valley". KGO. 2006-08-23. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=4490321. 

Coordinates: 39°20′48″N 120°07′06″W / 39.34667°N 120.11833°W / 39.34667; -120.11833