What: The first-ever compilation of 20 years of research about the Lake Tahoe watershed's air, water quality, forests and economy will be released to the public. The 1,200-page Lake Tahoe Watershed Assessment report -- developed in response to President Clinton's 1997 visit -- reflects unprecedented collaboration among Tahoe researchers from the University of California, Davis; University of Nevada, Reno; the Desert Research Institute; the USDA Forest Service; and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. The document will help guide future scientific work at the lake to allow for informed policy decisions to restore and preserve the lake. A new agreement to coordinate scientific study and link all research facilities at the lake will be signed by UC Davis, UNR and the DRI. Known as the Tahoe Environmental Science System, the agreement will help Tahoe researchers work together to fulfill the research priorities set forth in the watershed assessment report. Specifically, TESS will integrate the planned new UC Davis lab complex with research facilities being planned by UNR and DRI. Lake Tahoe scientists from all participating institutions and agencies will describe their research findings contained in the report in formal presentations in a morning press briefing and during afternoon discussions. When: 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Feb. 16, formal media availability and public program; 1 to 5 p.m., research discussions open to the public. Note: Lunch will be served to media representatives. Where: North Tahoe Conference Center, Kings Beach Who: UC Davis Chancellor Larry N. Vanderhoef, UNR President Joseph Crowley and DRI President Stephen Wells will speak about future collaboration and sign the TESS agreement. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service; University of California, Davis; University of Nevada, Reno; Desert Research Institute; and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency will present their Tahoe findings. Background: The watershed assessment report and the signing of an agreement linking research facilities are the next steps in growing collaborative efforts among Tahoe researchers. Last summer, a historic partnership agreement among these researchers was announced to help scientists and local and federal agencies to work together to preserve and restore the Lake Tahoe basin. While much is known about the increasing algal growth, declining clarity and influences of development on the lake's watershed, more collaborative scientific inquiry is needed into such areas as watershed repair and air quality. The researchers point to the Lake Tahoe basin as a model for other subalpine watersheds in the Sierra Nevada and in the mountainous western United States. Work done by scientists studying Tahoe water quality, air quality, forests, geology and social impacts embrace a multidisciplinary approach to resolving critical issues in the Tahoe basin and the Sierra Nevada. This work aims to inform public policy decisions regarding the Sierra Nevada treasure, and ultimately, to show how to preserve the beauty and health of the 10th-deepest lake in the world. The researchers' findings have resulted in the banning of dumped sewage into the lake, strict building controls, installation of major erosion-control projects, establishment of water-quality thresholds and control of nonpoint source pollution. The UNR, DRI and UC Davis are also developing their first-ever joint grant proposal to study social impacts on the watershed ecosystem. The $5 million proposal to the National Science Foundation will go forward in March.