The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is a United States national forest that manages and protects public land surrounding Lake Tahoe and the Lake Tahoe Basin. Straddling the state borders of California and Nevada in the Sierra Nevada, the LTBMU encompasses approximately 191,000 acres (773 km²) of National Forest system lands, ranging in altitude above sea level from 6,225 feet at lake level to 10,881 feet at Freel Peak. The U.S. Forest Service established the LTBMU in 1973. The name of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit reflects a unique sort of National Forest, as unique as the resources of the Tahoe Basin.