Our Mission
Representing the people of the historic Donner Summit community for the preservation of the area’s rugged mountain character and natural resources by providing active coordination for community development issues.
Read more about the DSAA's Vision and past projects
Seminar 3 comments

Overland Emigrant Trail Seminar

By on March 16th, 2009

We held a very successful seminar on Saturday at the Sugar Bowl Academy on the Overland Emigrant Trail. Full notes will be posted in the next few days.

We have an updated presentation from Vance Kimbral along with the full OET map showing the best estimate of the original trail. Note that the trail on this map is NOT the planned route for the new trail, but instead is a best guess of the original trail. The proposed OET is a “memorial” trail that will not follow the exact route of the original historic trail.  Note that both of these documents are very large (~8MB). Permanent links to both documents are available with the other document links on the left navbar.

Thanks to the Placer County Planners for making these documents available to the public. We hope to get additional materials from the other presenters as well.

Many thanks to all of our panelists for coming out on the weekend to share their experience on these issues with the Summit community.

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Community Person of the Year – Nominations

By on February 28th, 2009

Thank you for your nominations for Donner Summit Community Person of the Year. DSAA received numerous nominations for several key summit community members, including Heidi Kolbe, Tam Lieberman, Pat Malberg, Norm Saylor, Sara Schricte, Tony and Sheryl Paduano, Katie Gray, Dave Achey, Wade Freedle, Pat Campbell, the Tuttles, Jamie from the Post Office, “Crow”, Nancy Latimer, and others.

DSAA is no longer accepting nominations for this year’s Community Person of the Year. The 2009 Donner Summit Community Person of the Year will be announced at the DSAA Annual Community Picnic (see separate posting above for more details about the picnic).

Last year’s winner was long time Serene Lakes resident, independent business owner, former volunteer firefighter, and new Placer County Supervisor: Jennifer Montgomery!
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Overland Emigrant Trail Seminar

By on February 22nd, 2009

The DSAA Invites you to attend a special Community Educational Seminar focused on the feasibility of establishing the route and building a trail along the Overland Emigrant Trail from Roller Pass to Rainbow. 

The panelists will be Dave Hollecker from the Oregon-California Trail Association (OCTA), Carrie Smith who is an archaeologist with the Forest Service in Truckee, John Svahn from the Truckee-Donner Land Trust who has been instrumental in getting the Donner Rim Trail designed and built, and Vance Kimbrell from the Placer County Parks Department who will be taking the lead in securing the mitigation funds. Peter Van Zant will moderate.

    Saturday, March 14
    10AM to Noon
    Sugar Bowl Academy, 19195 Donner Pass Road
    (Top of Donner Summit on Old Highway 40)

As background material, please see the enclosed presentation from Vance Kimbrell previously presented to the Placer County Parks Commission. The Parks Commission recently voted to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve $150,000 in funding for the initial planing and surveys for the Overland Emigrant Trail project. As the enclosed presentation describes, there will be many opportunities for community and regional input into this project, including a Trail Advisory board.

Please come learn and ask questions about this exciting Donner Summit community project!

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Community Prosperity Summit Report

By on February 15th, 2009

The full report from the DSAA Community Prosperity Summit (Charrette) is now available.  A permanent link is under the Documents section of our left side navbar.  The report consists of a summary and three appendices:

CommunityProsperitySummit.pdf
CommunityProsperitySummitAppendix1.pdf
CommunityProsperitySummitAppendix2.pdf
CommunityProsperitySummitAppendix3.pdf

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Donner Trail School Meeting

By on January 29th, 2009

The community of Donner Summit would like to invite all residents, young and old, to attend a very important meeting to be held on:
    Monday Feb 2,2009 @ 6pm
The meeting is being put on by the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District.  The topic will be to discuss the 3 million dollar budget cut that our district is faced with.  We as a community all understand that we all have to do our part in sharing the financial burden of these economic times.   BUT it is very important that we show the school district that we are a very strong entity in our community and it is very important that our community maintains our Donner Trail School.
PLEASE TELL YOUR NEIGHBORS AND COME OUT ON MONDAY FEBRUARY 2ND AT 6PM TO HELP RALLY YOUR SUPPORT FOR OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL!
 
Questions please feel free to call Maria Montano: 530 412-1955  

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DSPUD Special Board Meeting

By on January 16th, 2009

The Donner Summit Public Utility District is holding a special meeting regarding its new permit:

6 pm, Tuesday, February 10th
Coaldstream room, Judah Lodge, Sugar Bowl
From the announcement:

This is an opportunity for the public to ask questions of these authorities and experts on the intricacies of the District’s upcoming discharge permit.  Mr. Landau and Ms. Messina have worked on the DSPUD permit and come with intimate knowledge of its contents.  Bob Emerick and Jeff Hauser will discuss the wastewater treatment process at DSPUD. 

Find out the answers to questions such as:

  • What’s so important about the new permit?
  • What is a dilution credit?  And how is it calculated?
  • Why is the District seeking dilution credits for nitrates and other constituents?
  • Why is it difficult to remove nitrates from the wastewater?
  • What impact does nitrate have on the South Yuba River?
  • What impact will the new permit have on sewer rates?

Download the entire official announcement.
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Community Prosperity Report

By on January 7th, 2009

The followup meeting on the DSAA Community Prosperity Summit (Charrette) will take place on:

    Saturday, January 24th
    10 am – Noon
    Donner Trail School
The meeting will include an update from Steve Frisch of the Sierra Business Council and discussion of next steps.
Please check back for additional details prior to the meeting.
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Snow Sculpting Contest

By on December 17th, 2008

Update: Pictures at http://donnersummitareaassociation.shutterfly.com

The DSAA invites you to attend the Donner Summit Snow Sculpting Contest!


Sunday, December 28th, 2-5 pm
Downtown Soda Springs

Fun for the whole family! There will be prizes for the snow sculpting along with treats and hot beverages. Come out and join us for this fun community event celebrating the arrival of the snow!
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Community Prosperity Summit

By on September 23rd, 2008

The Donner Summit Area Association (DSAA) is convening a community prosperity summit, also known as a “charrette”, to address the need for a process that includes all stakeholders in building a plan for the future.

Saturday, November 8, 2008
9am – 5pm
Sugar Bowl Ski Resort
Judah Day Lodge

Over the past three years, the DSAA has convened two “Summit Summits” and conducted an area-wide survey of homeowners. The message that we have heard through these events has been a clear desire by the community to revitalize the economic and social infrastructure of Soda Springs and the Old Highway 40 corridor up to Donner Summit without sacrificing historic and other values that we share.

This revitalization is the subject of the Community Prosperity Summit. The day will include a full background report of past and current conditions in the area, as well as an overview of what is possible by looking at what has been accomplished in areas with similar challenges and opportunities. The afternoon will be devoted to the participants working together to determine preferences and priorities, and to create a plan for the area based on shared values and existing conditions.

It is vital to the success of any planning for all voices and views to be heard. Please plan to join us for this important event. There is no charge to participate, but you MUST sign up in by November 1 so that we can have an accurate count for meals. Please sign up using our online form, or email info@DonnerSummitAreaAssociation with your contact information (name, mailing address, Donner Summit Address, phone, email, Donner Summit Neighborhood or other affiliation). Each person attending must register individually, so we have an accurate count for meals and materials. Lunch and snacks will be provided.

Update (9/27): The agenda is now available.
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September DSAA Board Meeting Minutes

By on September 23rd, 2008

The DSAA Board met on September 3 for the first Board meeting with our new 2008-2009 DSAA Board. The meeting was focused on the year ahead. We discussed upcoming projects, including the Community Charrette on Economic and Community Revitalization, to be held on Saturday, November 8 (please check back again for more details). We also talked about new sub-committees for the year, including a Parks and Trails committee. Please contact info@DonnerSummitAreaAssociation.org if you would like to participate. We would LOVE your involvement. See the attached meeting minutes for more details.