In The News – Tahoe’s oldest locals: A guide to all things tree in the Tahoe Basin
September 11, 2026 | Member Submitted
Originally published by the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 9/11/2026, Written by Victoria Mastrocola
It’s easy to be captivated by Lake Tahoe’s ancient, shimmering waters and the vast mountain landscapes forever resting in the distance. Yet looming over every corner and rooted along almost every path are some of Tahoe’s oldest and most majestic locals – trees. “There are three ways to tell trees apart – cones, needles, and bark,” says Maria Mircheva, a passionate tree lover, expert and Executive Director of the Sugar Pine Foundation, an organization focusing on creating and upholding forest stewardship through things like environmental education and forest restoration. “The Sugar Pine Foundation plants hope as surely as it plants seedlings—restoring forests, creating a connection, and sowing seeds in people’s minds so that conservation becomes a shared promise for future generations.” From ascending the ridgelines of Mt. Tallac, to the wildflower-strewn Alpine Meadows, Mircheva shows us that these woods are teeming with a variety of species.
JEFFREY PINE (Pinus jeffreyi)
Residing in much of the Tahoe Basin, jeffrey pines are considered as the classic Tahoe tree. These lofty entities can live up to 500 years and are known to be very fire resistant thanks to their thick bark. A jeffrey pine’s needles are long and usually come in spurs of threes. They have heavy, spiny cones which range from 4 to 10 inches in length with the barbs pointing inward. “The spines are adaptations,” says Mircheva, “for animals to stay off, so they can’t get the seeds because the seeds are what reproduce.” Mircheva recalls reading about how a jeffrey pine was once found above 10,000 feet elevation. “They call jeffrey pines the ‘tree of the future’ because they’re so versatile and can survive in such extreme environments,” Mircheva adds.