By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to ensure that Federal agency actions protect the extraordinary natural, recreational, and ecological resources in the Lake Tahoe Region ("Region") (as defined by Public Law 91-148), an area of national concern, it is hereby ordered as follows:
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Tahoe Federal Interagency Partnership. 1-101. The Federal agencies and departments having principal management or jurisdictional authorities in the Lake Tahoe Region are directed to establish a Federal Interagency Partnership on the Lake Tahoe Ecosystem ("Partnership"). 1-102. Members of the Partnership shall include the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Army, and the heads of any other Federal agencies operating in the Region that choose to participate. Representation on the Partnership may be delegated. The Partnership shall be chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture for the first year after its establishment. The Chair of the Partnership shall thereafter be rotated among the members on an annual basis. 1-103. The Partnership will: (a) facilitate coordination of Federal programs, projects, and activities within the Lake Tahoe Region and promotion of consistent policies and strategies to address the Region's environmental and economic concerns; (b) encourage Federal agencies within the Region to coordinate and share resources and data, avoid unnecessary duplication of Federal efforts, and eliminate inefficiencies in Federal action to the greatest extent feasible; (c) ensure that Federal agencies closely coordinate with the States of California and Nevada and appropriate tribal or local government entities to facilitate the achievement of desired terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem conditions and the enhancement of recreation, tourism, and other economic opportunities within the Region; (d) support appropriate regional programs and studies needed to attain environmental threshold standards for water quality, transportation, air quality, vegetation, soils (stream environment zone restoration), wildlife habitat, fish habitat, scenic resources, recreation, and noise; (e) encourage the development of appropriate public, private, and tribal partnerships for the restoration and management of the Lake Tahoe ecosystem and the health of the local economy; (f) support appropriate actions to improve the water quality of Lake Tahoe through all appropriate means, including restoration of shorelines, streams, riparian zones, wetlands, and other parts of the watershed; management of uses of the lake; and control of airborne and other sources of contaminants; (g) encourage the development of appropriate vegetative management actions necessary to attain a healthy Lake Tahoe ecosystem, including a program of revegetation, road maintenance, obliteration, and promotion of forest health; (h) support appropriate regional transportation and air quality goals, programs, and studies for the Region; (i) support appropriate fisheries and wildlife habitat restoration programs for the Region, including programs for endangered species and uncommon species; (j) facilitate coordination of research and monitoring activities for purposes of developing a common natural resources data base and geographic information system capability, in cooperation with appropriate regional and local colleges and universities; (k) support development of and communication about appropriate recreation plans and programs, appropriate scenic quality improvement programs, and recognition for traditional Washoe tribal uses; (l) support regional partnership efforts to inform the public of the values of managing the Lake Tahoe Region to achieve environmental and economic goals; (m) explore opportunities for public involvement in achieving its activities; and (n) explore opportunities for assisting regional governments in their efforts. 1-104. The Partnership will report back to the President in 90 days on the implementation of the terms of this order.
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Memorandum of Agreement. 2-201. The Partnership shall negotiate a Memorandum of Agreement with the States of California and Nevada, the Washoe Tribal Government, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and interested local governments. 2-202. The Memorandum of Agreement shall be designed to facilitate coordination among the parties to the Agreement, and shall document areas of mutual interest and concern and opportunities for cooperation, support, or assistance.
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General Provisions. 3-301. The Chair of the Partnership shall advise the President on the implementation of this order. The Chair may recommend other administrative actions that may be taken to improve the coordination of agency actions and decisions whenever such coordination would protect and enhance the Region's natural, ecological, and economic values. 3-302. Nothing in this order shall be construed to limit, delay, or prohibit any agency action that is essential for the protection of public health or safety, for national security, or for the maintenance or rehabilitation of environmental quality within the Region. 3-303. Nothing in this order is intended to create, and this order does not create, any right to administrative or judicial review, or any other right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by a party against the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person. William J. Clinton The White House, July 26, 1997. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., July 31, 1997]
