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PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD RE-OPENED TO PROTECT THIS . . .
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. . . AND KEEP THE PUBLIC FROM HAVING THIS!
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1300 private vacation sites from which
the public is excluded
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Signs keep the public away from public land
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Many of the private vacation sites
are eyesores
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Those whose private vacation site permits are expiring are fighting to keep the sites
from being opened to the public . . . . . |
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Jet skis and power boats dominate the Lake
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Unmuffled 'hot boats' at Lake Berryessa
can be heard for miles
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Massive motorboat presence makes the Lake
inhospitable to non-motorized recreation
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. . . while those who seek a quiet place to enjoy nature remain unserved by this recreation area.
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The Bush Administration is re-opening the public comment period to allow special interests to present arguments that private vacation sites are economically necessary.
If the government can privatize vacation sites at the Lake Berryessa Recreation Area for the benefit of 1300 families, while excluding the other eight million residents in the area from these sites, what public land will be next?
Submit Comments to the Government by April 4
NATURE NEEDS YOUR HELP!
The Economic Problem
Those with exclusive vacation sites take the position that without the
mobile home parks at the Lake, a concession operation cannot survive.
Furthermore, their view is that they contribute substantially to the
local economy. Neither is true.
Napa Valley tourists generate $22 million dollars a year in sales tax
and transient occupancy tax (TOT) for local governments in the county.
But the 1300 private sites at Lake Berryessa, which make up 92% of the
non-camping accommodations, pay no TOT and generate little in sales
tax.
As a result, the county has determined that Napa pays $700,000 more in
enforcement and emergency services for Lake Berryessa
than it earns in revenue from the Lake.
The Bureau of Reclamation has reported that it earns only $375,000 a
year from the Lake Berryessa concessions, but its operating budget for
the lake is $3.8 million. So both the county and the federal government
subsidize the private enjoyment of this lake.
And the local economy at the Lake is hardly thriving - at any one time
half the few retail outlets in the area are out of business. Building
trails and creating quiet zones on the lake, installing cabins and
public campgrounds, would not only provide California residents with
the
type of outdoor experience they prefer, it would bring in more stable
vacation visitors which the lack of public accomodations today does not
now allow.
The Bureau of Reclamation hired Kleinfelder, Inc. to do an environmental assessment of the concession areas. Their conclusion? The concessions are in violations of health, safety, fire, and environmental regulations.
The report says the wastewater treatment facilities are in a "deteriorated condition" and need more than $5 million dollars worth of work. The report also says the "potential for human pathogenic contact is very high."
You can download this report from www.usbr.gov/mp/berryessa/docs_forms/. As it is so large, it is broken down into sections for downloading. For numbers on how much total work is needed in the concessions - close to $12 million - download the executive summary and look at the table on page 11. For the summary of the poor state of the wastewater treatment systems, download "Summary and Recommendations" (pp. 104-5)
Why are these concession areas allowed to continue operating?
What You Can Do
Submit Comments to the Government by April 4
What the Napa Sierra Club and Many Other Conservation and Recreation Interests Want
The Napa Sierra Club has endorsed the VISION
FOR LAKE BERRYESSA and its two principles:
(1) parity for nature recreation and
(2) public management of all park-like amenities at Lake Berryessa.
More specifically, we support the government's Alternative D, enhanced with
(1) public management of all parks, day use areas and campgrounds (with concessionaire operations limited to cabin rentals, marinas, restaurants, etc.) and
(2) more quiet zones and facilities for nature-based recreation.
In addition, we have asked that use of jet skis, with their history of pollution, accidents, and harassment of paddlers, be banned.
An excerpt from our Comments:
"Few of our members, even those in Napa County, visit Lake Berryessa. Indeed, most of our members who visit the Lake do so once, and do not return. The lack of trails, the few swimming areas, the ambiance of a private lake, the unappealing and expensive concession areas, the poorly-sited and crowded commercial campgrounds, and the noise of motor boats and jet skis, all combine to make this area unattractive for our members.
We believe that the Vision, and its two principles of parity for nature-recreation and public management of all park-like amenities, will provide a recreation area that balances differing interests, while providing substantial facilities for the nature-oriented recreation preferred by our members and the vast majority of the public."
Napa
Sierra Club Comments Submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation
Napa Sierra Club
Testimony at BOR hearing
What
else the Napa Sierra Club supports
at Lake Berryessa
nature receation
150 mile shoreline trail
companion water trail
electric ferry and only
electric boats for rent
Napa County Sierra Club, Box 644, Napa CA 94559