Greetings Everyone and welcome to our 2026 Summer Cyanobacteria Neurotoxin testing and analysis project for the Lake Tahoe Basin! Because we have the highest rates of ALS cases in the country, we are actively testing our water and air to see what concentrations of cyanotoxins are affecting the adjacent Tahoe communities with neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS. As you know, we have been at this for 11 years after collecting four years of solid data starting in 2022 for our water biology and toxin lab at UNH run by Dr. James Haney. This is our 5th year and we have an amazing opportunity to work with a second lab in Ohio which can test for the "super toxins" : Saxitoxin, Guanitoxin, etc which are known to exist in our area and are highly lethal to pets, children and adults. We are asking for $17K to fund multiple test kits, office, packing and shipping supplies, travel around the Basin expenses and office expense offsets. Although we raise a small amount via GoFundMe, the costs to do this project are so much more. Over the years, our team regularly reaches into our own pockets to make up the differences. Since we are self-funding we depend on your help to get us through the summer, this year especially! Dr. Haney has invited a geneticist to assist with our lab testing as he explores the drivers of these toxic algal blooms. He will be releasing data from the 2024-2025 projects soon. Given our warm winter weather and lack of snowfall, we expect to have more algal activity in our water bodies this summer. Please help us create the opportunity to continue our studies for the 2026 summer by making a donation to our GoFundMe account. Whatever you wish to give will be graciously appreciated. We will, of course, update you regularly over the course of the summer.