Sculpture design selected for litter removed from Lake Tahoe

LAKE TAHOE – A bald eagle holding a Lahontan cutthroat trout will be constructed of litter removed from Lake Tahoe and placed at the new Tahoe South Events Center. The sculpture design was chosen by the community, who cast votes to decide how some of the more than 25,000 pounds of litter from the recent Clean Up The Lake effort would be used.

The sculpture, which will be named “Surfaced,” will be created by artists Joel Dean Stockdill and Yustina Salnikova. Once complete and in place, it will help to educate visitors and the community about what lies beneath Lake Tahoe’s blue waters.

The litter was collected during an unprecedented 72-mile near shore cleanup of Lake Tahoe’s waters by non-profit Clean Up The Lake. The effort began in 2021 and was completed in early May 2022.

“Over the past year, our dive team collected over 12 tons of litter. The artists are going to have some really interesting pieces to work with as they create their next masterpiece,” said Colin West, founder and executive director of Clean Up The Lake. “What I’m most excited about though is that this sculpture will be a lasting reminder of the importance of the effort each of us need to take to prevent litter from reaching the depths of Lake Tahoe.”

More than 1,200 votes were cast in the design selection contest. Other proposed sculpture designs included a Sierra Nevada red fox and Lahontan cutthroat trout.

Source: Clean Up The Lake