Trash From Bottom Of Lake Tahoe Will Be Turned Into Sculpture To 'Inspire Greater Environmental Stewardship'

LAKE TAHOE (CBS13) — Trash collected from the bottom of Lake Tahoe will be turned into art.

The Tahoe Fund is commissioning artists to create a sculpture in Tahoe City by using some of the recovered items found during a year-long scuba cleanup of the lake performed by the Clean Up The Lake team.

The organization says the sculpture, which will be named "Surfaced," will be of an endangered animal native to Lake Tahoe. They have narrowed down the choices to either a Sierra Nevada red fox, Lahontan cutthroat trout or a bald eagle.

The fund is asking the public to vote for their favorite until May 20.

"Surfaced" will be a permanent installation at the Tahoe South Events Center. The fund says the sculpture will educate visitors about what lies beneath the lake's surface.

Tahoe Fund says Clean Up The Lake removed more than 21,000 pounds of trash from the bottom of the lake.

"By creating a permanent art sculpture at this wonderful location with some of what was recovered from the lake, our hope is that it will inspire greater environmental stewardship and remind those who love Lake Tahoe that it's up to all of us to take care of it," fund CEO Amy Berry said in a news release announcing the sculpture.

The fund says "Surfaced" will be a creation put together by internationally recognized artists Joel Dean Stockdill and Yustina Salnikova by Building 180. That team previously created the Monterey Bay Aquarium-commissioned sculpture "Ethyl," which is an 82-foot life-size whale that was made from 5,000 pounds of trash.