A view of the cobalt blue

Tahoe Daily Tribune

July 27, 1997
By Teresa Mills
Bonanza Staff Writer

President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore stood on the deck of the research vessel Le Conte Saturday morning, staring into the depths of Lake Tahoe as Dr. Charles Goldman lowered a white disk into the lake.

Thirty years ago, researchers could see the Secchi disk at a depth of 102 feet in Lake Tahoe.

On Saturday, Clinton and Gore lost sight of the disk at just over 62 feet. Dressed casually in blue shirts and khaki pants, Clinton and Gore gained firsthand knowledge of Lake Tahoe's declining clarity when they joined scientists from the University of California, Davis' Tahoe Research Group on a water-monitoring cruise. Aboard the research vessel were Goldman, who founded the Tahoe Research Group, and scientists Bob Richards and Brant Allen.

People standing on the nearby Incline Village beaches and boats cheered for Clinton as he boarded the vessel to study the lake. While onlookers sped by in boats and personal watercraft - kept at a distance by a flotilla of law-enforcement patrol boats - Clinton and Gore watched Goldman conduct a series of scientific tests. Besides measuring for clarity, Goldman collected plankton samples with a net, and captured water samples with a white plastic tube called a Van Doren sampler. The president and vice president peered into a vial where microscopic creatures darted about in the water sample.

Back on shore, Clinton announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will award the UC Davis research laboratory $880,000 for new computer models to predict the benefits of water-quality improvement projects. Later, Goldman said Clinton and Gore benefited from the graphic demonstration of the lake's declining clarity.

"I explained to him that we already lost a third of the transparency since I've been here, and they really seemed to understand," Goldman said, adding that the chief executive appreciated the importance of the research group's work. "They really understand that the instability of our funding makes us chase down funds instead of focusing on our work."

Goldman, who has studied Lake Tahoe for 39 years, said the visit by the president and vice president was the highlight of his professional career. And he praised Gore's quick grasp of marine science.

"Gore must have had a crash course in limnology," he said, referring to the study of fresh-water lakes. "And President Clinton picked up on it instantly."