The modernized bill redirects long-standing conservation constraints toward unlocking funds, expanding flexible management authority, and broadening Washoe tribal stewardship by designating the Washoe Tribe as a primary recipient of acquired lands

By Dana Tibbitts, March 4, 2026 12:01 pm

 For more than four decades, the Santini-Burton Act has created one of the strongest conservation frameworks safeguarding Lake Tahoe’s lands and open spaces. Passed by Congress in 1980, the original Santini-Burton Act was intended to curb the overdevelopment of environmentally sensitive lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Its mandate was clear: acquire high-risk parcels and permanently remove them from the development pipeline. 

However, Senate Bill S.3695— the Santini-Burton Modernization Act of 2026– introduced in January by Nevada Democrat Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and cosponsored by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), would substantially alter that protective framework. 

The modernized bill redirects long-standing conservation constraints toward unlocking funds, expanding flexible management authority, and broadening Washoe tribal stewardship by designating the Washoe Tribe as a primary recipient of acquired lands.

Santini-Burton Act Modernization Act: Conservation Plan for Lake Tahoe or a Quiet Federal Land Power Grab? – California Globe