WHAT: An opportunity to interview scientists and observe demonstrations of science that for more than 40 years has tracked the health of Lake Tahoe and informed public policy decisions intended to reverse the lake's degradation and to benefit the Tahoe basin's entire ecosystem. The work of UC Davis Tahoe Research Group scientists is at the heart of a landmark agreement among research institutions and local and federal agencies that will be announced Aug. 11 at a Sand Harbor State Park workshop attended by California and Nevada U.S. senators, governors and top policy makers. The agreement is intended to help researchers and agencies work together to preserve and restore the lake. VISUALS: Robert Flocchini, air quality expert and research scientist, will demonstrate real-time sampling techniques that instantly measure Tahoe basin air pollution. Alan Hayvaert, fresh-water scientist, will show the latest sediment-core samples dating back 2,000 years. Bob Richards, staff research associate, will display plankton specimens and show the remote operating vehicle that is used to explore the lake bottom. Research associate Brant Allen will discuss his work on the destructive effects of MTBE, the gasoline additive, in high-altitude lakes. The UC Davis research vessel the John Le Conte will be available for tours. Entomologists from the Tahoe Research Group will also show the variety of insects that infest the trees in the basin. WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. WHERE: Sand Harbor State Park, adjacent to the California- Nevada forum "Lake Tahoe: Working Together to Preserve a National Treasure." BACKGROUND: The UC Davis Tahoe Research Group laboratory, located in a former fish hatchery in Tahoe City, has been the site of UC Davis' pioneering research of Tahoe's air and water quality, forest health and watershed, since the 1950s. A $12 million campaign to construct modernized facilities, restore wetlands and to renovate the historic hatchery into an education center was launched in 1997, soon after President Clinton and Vice President Gore toured the lake on UC Davis' research vessel before convening the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum. More than half of the campaign's goal has been raised to date, including full funding for the education center that will serve Tahoe region residents and visitors. The new research center will be host to scientists from throughout the region and around the world.