Natural
Resources
Plan
Environmental Assessment and Management
Overview and Background
In 2019 the latest update to the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan was adopted. As part of the 2019 Truckee Meadows Regional Plan, a policy was adopted stating that “TMRPA will facilitate a cooperative approach to developing a plan that addresses natural resources regionally, by working in conjunction with regional partners and the wider region. As part of this natural resources plan a map will be created identifying various natural resource areas that should be protected.” In addition, Nevada Revised Statutes 278.0274 subsection 2, requires that the Regional Plan include goals, policies, maps and other documents relating to, “Conservation, including policies relating to the use and protection of air, land, water and other natural resources, ambient air quality, natural recharge areas, floodplains and wetlands, and a map showing the areas that are best suited for development based on those policies.”
Given the abundance of natural resources, as well as the variety of agencies that are involved with the management and protection of these resources in the Truckee Meadows, the need for a centralized document to coordinate natural resource planning efforts is imperative. Additionally, as part of this document, an inventory of known natural resources will need to be taken, including a map identifying areas that should be protected, along with a centralized regional database of pertinent information regarding natural resources. It is expected that a combination of local, state, federal, and non-profit data sources will need to be utilized in the creation of this document. Most of the acquired data is expected to describe specific geographies and be easily represented spatially, however some data, such as that relating to climate change, may be broader and less specific in its representation.
Download Our Natural Resource Plan Field Trips And Get Out On The Road To Explore Our Truckee Meadows
TMRPA will be releasing a series of self-guided field trips. This tour consists of notable environmentally related subject sites throughout our Truckee Meadows. Participate in our Field Trips by downloading each document and following along with the route provided. Click the links below or the images to download them and get started!
Field Trip #1
Our first field trip begins in Sparks at the Truckee River Narrows where you can hop out and take a look around. Then as you head south to your next destination, we discuss UNR Farms, which can be seen on your way to the Rosewood Nature Study Area. After exploring the Study Area on foot, we finish the tour with a brief overview of the Daybreak Development Area.
Field Trip #2
Our second field trip focuses on the Hungry Valley Recreation Area, more commonly known as Moon Rocks. In addition to an overview of Moon Rocks, we also discuss various notable mountain ranges, such as the Pah Rahs, Virginia Peak, and Painted Hills, which can all be seen on your way to Moon Rocks.
Field Trip #3
Our third field trip takes you south within our Region starting with a look at Ormat, a local geothermal power plant. Next, you will continue on to Washoe Lake to learn more about the wildlife and recreational opportunities our community gets to enjoy from this shallow and small but teeming-with-wildlife lake!
LOVE
Where You
LIVE
Mini-Informational Series
In the spirit of continuing to show off why we love our home and why land use planning for our future is so important, we want to continue to highlight more reasons to love where we live! From local environmental and sustainability projects, to our unique Great Basin high desert biome and riparian areas teeming with wildlife, to the many outdoor recreational activities we get to enjoy, we want show our fellow Truckee Meadows community what motivates us to work on the Natural Resources Plan. We hope you enjoy our Love Where You Live mini-informational series!
TMRPA's Primary
Goals Are To:
- Develop a centralized Natural Resources Plan to coordinate natural resource planning efforts in our Region
- Create an inventory of natural resources in the Truckee Meadows
- Create a map of natural resource areas that should be protected
- Create an inventory of organizations and contacts that manage and/or protect natural resources
- Identify, describe and better contextualize natural resource issues and develop strategies to mitigate them
- Make natural resource policy recommendations to be included in the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan
Who is leading this effort?
The Truckee Meadows
Regional Planning Agency
The Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency (TMRPA) is committed to supporting comprehensive and innovative approaches for economic development and community planning for the cities of Reno and Sparks, as well as Washoe County. In addition to facilitating land-use, infrastructure provision and resource management conversations among public and private decision makers, TMRPA also serves as a collaborative information and data warehouse, coordinating regional data collection and delivering advanced geospatial analytics for regional solutions.
Who has been selected as TMRPA’s consultant?
Stantec (formerly Cardno Inc)
TMRPA identified that consultant assistance will be needed in both Phase 1, scope of work development and Phase 2, completion of the project tasks as identified in the scope. As part of Phase 1, TMRPA assembled a steering committee, comprised of representatives from local, state, federal, and non-profit organizations and is intended to act as a guiding influence to help keep the NR project on track. On July 26th, the steering committee held its first meeting to provide feedback, confirm project goals, define natural resources of interest and refine the draft scope of work. Cardno, Inc. was ultimately awarded the contract to consult on the Natural Resources Plan and to assist with data gathering.
Scope Of Work For Data Gathering Effort
The scope of work outlines the data gathering effort which is the first task of TMRPA’s Natural Resource Plan initiative. Although TMRPA maintains a robust data warehouse of information about development in the region, data describing natural resource assets and conditions are lacking. Thus, this data gathering effort is proposed to fill that gap and provide a foundation of information from which TMRPA staff and our regional partners can craft updated natural resource policy and mapping in advance of the 2024 Regional Plan Update. After the data gathering is complete staff will then analyze the information and begin policy development and map creation. Throughout the process TMRPA will facilitate outreach and be sure to engage our Truckee Meadows community in this effort.
Public Engagement
Currently Underway
01.
Self-Guided Field Trips
TMRPA has created a tour of notable environmentally related sites throughout the Truckee Meadows. Be sure to download them from the links provided below:
02.
Public Input Survey
TMRPA staff knows how important it is to hear from our community, and is currently working on developing further surveys to ensure their involvement. One survey has passed and there are more to come!
03.
Student Engagement Project
We wanted to ensure we are hearing from our youth and also get them thinking about the future of our Truckee Meadows. So TMRPA teamed up with WCSD to create an activity to foster student’s thinking around sustainability.
04.
General Outreach and Events
TMRPA will continue to provide the public with a comprehensive look at the process and data collected throughout the planning process through social media, email and newsletter campaigns. We have also hosted two outdoor events for this effort, thank you to those of you who were able to come participated and support our events!
The first event was held May 21, 2022 at Bartley Ranch where we provided an overview of the effort while collecting input from the public.
The second event was held on September 24, 2022 at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, where we presented more about our plan development thus far as well as an overview of our data synthesis.
TMRPA Presentation at the 2021 Annual Conference of the NV Chapter of the American Planning Association
This fall, TMRPA staff presented at the 2021 Annual Conference of the NV Chapter of the American Planning Association. The educational objective of this session was to describe progress toward the development of a Natural Resources Plan (NR Plan) to support regional planning decision-making and policy updates. The session focused on natural resource data that TMRPA and Cardno are currently gathering and how that data can be used to inform regional planning cases as well as the creation of natural resource policy. The session also highlighted available data from several entities and across various natural resource topic domains, as well as discussed data maintenance and plans to disseminate these data such that the information can become a resource for planners throughout the Region. After the presentation, staff held an open discussion to take questions as well as get valuable input and feedback from attendees.
For more information about the presentation, be sure to take a look at the slide deck provided above!
This site will be updated throughout TMRPA’s natural resource initiative to reflect the current activities and progress of the plan.
Check back in and stay tuned for more!
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