Testimony of the Napa County Sierra Club
Bureau of Reclamation Hearing on
Future Use and Operations of Lake Berryessa,
Napa County, California
Genji Schmeder, Conservation Committee Chair
The Sierra Club has more than 1,200 members in Napa County, and more than 76,000 members in the Sacramento-San Francisco Bay Area, the prime market for Lake Berryessa.
We will submit more extensive written comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Today, we focus on a few issues: exclusive use, non-motorized recreation, and public management of public land.
In brief, the Napa County Sierra Club supports implementation of Alternative D, but would like to see improvements in two areas: more public management and more emphasis on non-motorized recreation.
Lake Berryessa has a very poor reputation in Napa County. The Recreation Area is seen as catering primarily to motor boats and jet skis. It provides limited access and few facilities for those, including our members, who wish to enjoy the outdoors by types of recreation with less impact on the environment, like hiking, canoeing, swimming and birding.
Exclusive Use. From its founding in 1892, the Sierra Club has relied on access to public lands to promote appreciation and respect for nature. Reserving access to public land for an exclusive group is an abuse of the public’s right to access the land it owns. Also, excluding the public undermines the ability to develop a broad constituency interested in protecting our natural resources. For this reason we strongly support BOR’s proposal to implement its policy of prohibiting exclusive use of public recreational land.
Nature Recreation. Many of our members consider the Lake inhospitable to the more natural forms of recreation they prefer. We therefore strongly support the proposal to create more non-motor and 5-mph zones in the Lake. But these proposals don't go far enough. Those who seek more natural recreation will be frustrated by the noise and speed of nearby motor-boats. For this reason we support focusing the more remote reaches of the Lake on non-motorized recreation.
Besides ruining the quiet enjoyment of nature, the overuse of motor boats on the Lake contributes to erosion, causing loss of habitat as the shoreline is undermined and gradually disintegrates into the water. This is particularly true in the Narrows, where the long arms between Monticello Dam and the main body of the Lake are not wide enough for wake from motor boats to dissipate before reaching shore. Slowing boats to a speed that will not create a wake, and the expected reduction of boats in this area due to it being a low-speed zone, will have the added benefit of reducing erosion and sedimentation.
We also recommend that jet skis not be allowed at Lake Berryessa. Jet skis are responsible for a disproportionate number of boating accidents. In addition, the noise, speed and often reckless behavior of jet skiers, including deliberate harassment of people in canoes and kayaks, combine to increase the risk of water-based recreation to other users, as well as to disturb those seeking quiet enjoyment.
Public management. The Sierra Club has long supported public management of our natural resources. While our preference would be for the entire Lake Berryessa Recreation Area to be a public park with campgrounds as the only form of accommodation, we recognize that some commercial use is more likely. However, that use should be limited to facilities inherently commercial in nature, like cabin rentals, marinas, restaurants, and retail operations. Parks, day use areas and campgrounds should not be burdened with the obligation to generate a commercial profit either directly or indirectly.
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Finally, the Napa County Sierra Club strongly supports the proposals for
sustainable development;
an eco-tourist focus;
environmentally sensitive practices;
rehabilitation of lakeshore and riparian habitat;
assurance that any development be kept within the current developed footprint;
prohibition of fees for entrance to concession areas;
and compliance with all codes and regulations.