At a raucous and spirited party in Truckee on February 7th, Sierra Watch officially launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund “The Movie to Keep Squaw True,” billed as a new film "to tell the epic tale of Tahoe conservationalists battling private equity developers.
 

Excerpted From Sierra Watch News Release....

Truckee, Calif. –February 8, 2018 -  Tahoe conservationists, locked in a fight with private equity developers over the future of the world renowned ski resort, Palisades Tahoe, officially announced the launch of an effort to tell the story of their ongoing grass roots movement in a feature length film.

“This is an epic tale of how we band together to defend our mountains,” said Tom Mooers, Executive Director of Sierra Watch. “And it’s a story the whole world needs to hear.”

KSL Capital Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm, proposes to remake North Lake Tahoe into an unrecognizable commercial beast, with 850 new units in a series of high-rise condo hotels, a roller coaster, and a 90,000 square-foot indoor waterpark that’s as wide as a Walmart and nearly three times as tall. The project would take twenty-five years to construct and add thousands of car trips to Tahoe’s already crowded roads. The development has now run into a granite wall of determined opposition.

 “KSL is trying to turn our favorite Tahoe mountain into a Vegas-style amusement park,” said Mooers. “It’s a direct threat to everything we love about the Sierra, and we won’t let it happen.”

 Acclaimed ski movie filmmakers Rob and Scott Gaffney, both Lake Tahoe locals, will direct the film. Robb Gaffney is a local psychiatrist and author of the popular book “Squallywood, A Guide to Palisades Tahoe's Most Exposed Lines.” His brother Scott is a recognized filmmaker and director of modern classic winter sports films including “McConkey,” (2013) and "Fade To Winter" (2015).

“This is not a time to keep quiet,” commented Robb Gaffney. “It’s a time to show the world who we are as we work together to Keep Squaw True.”

“There is so much of a story to tell here,” added Scott Gaffney, “I’m proud to be doing it.”

 “The Movie to Keep Squaw True” will tell the story of how thousands of volunteers, scores of local businesses, and allied conservation groups are working together to turn back KSL’s proposed development. They’re efforts include packing public hearings with an army of supporters in purple Keep Squaw True t-shirts, spreading the word on bumper stickers, social media and beyond, and they’ve also taken the development to court.

“This is a story that we are telling in real time,” said Tom Mooers. “And we’re going to do what it takes to make sure it has a happy ending.”

For more information, and to contribute to the fundraising campaign, visit www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/keepsquawtrue.