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Lake Berryessa is Under Attack - Again! - A Call To Action!
An Editorial Opinion by Peter Kilkus, Editor-Publisher
As I watched a video clip of a long-time opponent of the renewal of our Lake Berryessa community speaking at the last Napa County Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, I thought someone had accidentally posted a clip of her from 25 years ago. I debated her on Napa Public Television way back then, and her style of aggressive misrepresentation has not changed much. The video of her comments is available to review for yourselves at:
Her buzzwords describing 20-year old issues and requesting a "broader conversation" for which we "need more information" to make the choice between a "family-friendly vs party lake" have not been valid for more than 20 years. During that time, despite all the hard work to protect the lake, our community has been subject to the ravages of evil, entropy, and the economy. But we've had five functioning resorts still operating with no "party lake" problems. Her comments come a year after the first sneak attack on Camp Margaritaville RV Resorts at the Supervisors meeting on November 7, 2023.
Those of you who follow the news about Lake Berryessa may have noticed a few articles that week popping up in local media after that meeting. The subject was the Napa County supervisors’ approval of a negotiating agreement with Camp Margaritaville Resorts in its bid for the revitalization of the Steele Canyon Recreation area. The item was originally on the "consent agenda" which means it was deemed generally unobjectionable and not in need of a public hearing. This was the same process that was used two weeks earlier to approve the interim contracts for Steele Canyon and Spanish Flat, and was one reason neither I, nor any other supporters of the Lake Berryessa Revitalization Process, attended the meeting.
But at the last minute the item was unexpectedly removed from the consent agenda by an unknown person and opened for discussion and public comment. This was followed by a concerted attack on the proposal from a small clique of pseudo-environmental exclusionists.
Their comments were little more than empty ad hominem arguments against the word "Margaritaville". They appeared to be crafting a new "The Little Lie" to replace "The Big Lie" I documented in my book: Policy and Politics Betray the People: The Lake Berryessa Saga: 1958 - 2020, "The Lake Berryessa resorts, especially the mobile homes in the resorts, discouraged the general public from accessing the lake, prevented the public from using the best parts of the shoreline, and also polluted the lake."
Their "Little Lie" is that "Margaritaville" means an exceptionally large resort with wild and crazy Cabo Wabo type activities that will be inappropriate for our community. None of their comments were valid. They simply wanted to frighten people with the image, despite the substance of the actual proposal. The real name of the bidder is Camp Margaritaville Resorts which focuses on family camping and lodging, especially RV camping. I stayed at a Margaritaville Resort in the Cayman Islands several years ago. It was one of the less expensive resorts on the beach, with simple but elegant facilities, great beach, nice restaurants, bars, shops, and pools.
What concerned me most about that November 2023 meeting was that it appeared to have been a coordinated, pre-planned stealth attack on the Lake Berryessa Revitalization Project which blindsided the County itself and the majority of the Lake Berryessa region residents, especially those in the Berryessa Highlands, who were not able to make comments of support at the meeting.
Having watched the meeting video more than once, I can affirm that Mr. Lederer, Ms. Sears, and the Camp Margaritaville representative Mr. Wilkens, did excellent jobs in answering all questions in detail, refuting every negative comment before they were made by the speakers later.
The totality of the meeting was positive in its presentation of the facts. It would have been even better with some Lake Berryessa community supporters there to add their positives comments. As I told the supervisors, "If you actually wish to hear what the real people think about the Lake Berryessa Revitalization Project, please provide a date and time at which I can have dozens of Lake Berryessa supporters lined up to speak in support of the Camp Margaritaville Resorts proposal or any other reasonable plan for our lake community."
I've made the Supervisors' meeting video available on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWRUTrofFZs
The video is an hour long but answers every relevant question in detail.
I also excerpted a statement by Supervisor Pedroza completely contradicting the negative misinformation being spread by the naysayers at the meeting. Supervisor Pedroza has consistently supported the Lake Berryessa community since he was first elected. I am hopeful that new Board of Supervisors will also be similarly supportive.
Pedroza statement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbbDDbWzMdE
This meeting resulted, probably as planned, in a spate of articles in local news outlets focusing only on the opponents' misrepresentation of the facts - and the word "cringey". Interestingly, Tuesday's little coordinated group of naysayers had never raised its head before in opposition to any of the other proposals over the last few years. Perhaps Sun Outdoors or Suntex Marinas just sounds better to them than "Margaritaville". Why didn't they complain two years earlier when the bid was awarded to Sun Companies (Sun Outdoors) which had proposed a more expansive plan?
Hopefully the Board of Supervisors will live up to its agenda statement that:
"The County hopes that the private investment associated with a long-term concession agreement will improve recreational opportunities for residents and visitors, provide new employment opportunities, and possibly become an anchor for revitalization of the Lake Berryessa community."
After that attack, which included false statements that the Lake Berryessa Revitalization Program might violate the Napa County General Plan or that it didn’t include "nature-based recreation", I wrote several reports refuting those allegations. These reports are available on my website (https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/) at:
Lake Berryessa and the Napa General Plan
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Past-Stories-&-Reports/Lake-Berryessa-and-the-Napa-General-Plan.pdf
Environmental Management at Lake Berryessa
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Past-Stories-&-Reports/Environmental-Management-at-Lake-Berryessa.pdf
Nature Based Recreation at Lake Berryessa
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Past-Stories-&-Reports/Nature-Based-Recreation-at-Lake-Berryessa.pdf
The primary refutation of every comment made last week and the comments made by the small, unrepresentative group on November 7, 2023, is the Ragatz Report funded by Napa County. It includes comprehensive analysis of Lake Berryessa's potential as an asset to Napa County and a detailed survey of several thousand lake users, including Napa County residents. The Lake Berryssa News and the Lake Berryessa Chamber of commerce worked diligently to get as many people as possible to respond to the survey.
2017 Ragatz Report Full
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/References-PDFs/2017-Ragatz-Report-Full.pdf
Ragatz Report Introduction & Summary of Recommendations
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Lake-Berryessa-Support-Documentation/Ragatz-Report-Introduction_Summary_Recomendations.pdf
On a personal note, although I publish, write, and edit The Lake Berryessa News and am the president of the Lake Berryessa Chamber of Commerce, I am essentially a community advocate dedicated for the last 25 years to the success of the Lake Berryessa community. I have been an environmental advocate since I read Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring" in the late 1960's. I’ve been amusingly accused of several personal flaws during my advocacy for the future of Lake Berryessa, but no one can question my environmental credentials. In the interests of transparency, I've posted my full resume at:
The Introduction states that I "have twenty-five years of corporate management experience in all aspects of telecommunication equipment design and manufacturing. Wrote ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems program for three local Lake Berryessa resorts. Successfully managed ISO 9001 Quality Management System certification for two companies. Public service as a member of the San Anselmo Town Council and Solid Waste and Recycling Advisory Committee. In-depth knowledge of business and environmental issues."
For those who are actually interested in environmental quality at Lake Berryessa, here are links to the Environmental Management System I wrote for Rancho Monticello Resort. I also wrote EMS programs for Steele Park Resort and Markley Cove Resort.
Rancho Monticello Environmental Management System
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Lake-Berryessa-Support-Documentation/RM-001-Rancho-EMS-Manual.2.pdf
Rancho Monticello Achieves ISO 14000 Certification
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Lake-Berryessa-Support-Documentation/Rancho-ISO-14001-Press-Release.pdf
International Standard: ISO 14000, Environmental Management Systems
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Lake-Berryessa-Support-Documentation/ISO-14001-Standard-copy.pdf
I care about my neighbors and the fact that we've lost more than a decade of family recreation at the lake. My focus now is on the Lake Berryessa Revitalization Process, for which I ask the Lake Berryessa community's continued support.
To counteract the false information being spread about Steele Canyon Campground and the Camp Margaritaville process, I encourage everyone who supports the revitalization of our beloved lake to take action and contact our supervisors. Please tell them you appreciate the County's continued support of the Lake Berryessa Revitalization Program and why.
District 1: Joelle Gallagher.
Office: 707-253-4828
Joelle.Gallagher@countyofnapa.org
District 2: Liz Alessio
Office: 707-259-8276
liz.alessio@countyofnapa.org
District 3: Anne Cottrell
Office: 707-253-4827
Anne.Cottrell@countyofnapa.org
District 4: Amber Manfree
707-259-8278
Amber.Manfree@countyofnapa.org
District 5: Belia Ramos
707-259-8278
Belia.Ramos@countyofnapa.org
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I'll end this long report with a letter from RoseAnn DeMoro to the Napa Register on Saturday, January 11, 2025. RoseAnn was a Steele Park mobile home owner, as was I. I think this letter expresses the present view of most people in our lake community, of Lake Berryessa News readers, of people I've spoken with across our region, of folks in Napa, and of visitors from around the Bay Area. RoseAnn has done significant research on the Camp Margaritaville RV Resort locations, with positive results.
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To the Napa County Board of Supervisors,
I want to welcome the 2025 Board of Supervisors and wish them all the best. I also want to encourage them to please approach the Camp Margaritaville project with enthusiasm. Lake Berryessa is a Napa County treasure.
After discovering the lake when I lived in the Bay Area, we leased a small cabin on the lake. Prior to the federal government not renewing the leases, along with our kids, relatives and friends we spent many wonderful times throughout the years together there. The reflections on that time are priceless. The memories golden.
In the aftermath of losing that, I came to realize that families recreating together are some of the greatest ties that bind. They build community, the most wonderful shared memories, supportive family units, and are great opportunities for exercise. That is what happened at those resorts back then. People bonding with people.
Now we have a chance for incredible recreational activities again with the potential of Camp Margaritaville rebuilding the Steele Canyon Recreation Area. As a staunch environmentalist I have studied their resorts across the county. They are socially conscious and, as I understand it, the plans call for a soft footprint.
Families throughout Napa will have the opportunity to love and enjoy the lake as we did and find a safe, local place to gather free of distraction. There are thousands who will agree with me.
RoseAnn DeMoro,Napa
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For the facts about what happened at Lake Berryessa, here are links to free downloadable chapters in my book:
Policy and Politics Betray the People: The Lake Berryessa Saga: 1958 - 2020
https://www.amazon.com/Policy-Politics-Betray-People-Berryessa-ebook/dp/B08MFSQDBR/ref=sr_1_1?
Chapters: https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/styled-7/
I. The Five Tragedies Of The Berryessa Valley: A History Of Heartbreak
II. Lake Berryessa Political History Timeline
III. The “Big Lie”: How It All Began
IV. The “Big Fail”: Napa Abandons Lake Berryessa (1975)
V. The “Big Picture”: Lake Berryessa Issues: 1957 - 2012
VI. The “Big Illusion”: Notice Of Intent
VII. The “Big Fight”: Facts Do Matter
VIII. The “Big Betrayal”: Perversion Of Public Law 96-375
IX. The “Big Mistake”: Pensus - The Beginning Was The End!
X. The “Big Hole In History”: Post-Pensus Blues
XI. The “Big Boondoggle”: Creation Of A Phony National Monument
Addendum 1. Dueling Napa Register Letters To The Editor
Addendum 2. The Napa Register View
Index Of Primary Documents
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For context see my videos of a 1998 tour of Steele Park Resort and the final 2009 destruction of Steele Park Resort at:
Steele Park Resort Tour 1998:
https://youtu.be/PkPV8dZS6pM?si=puI5qrqzJj7Pqeop
Destruction of Steele Park Resort 2009:
https://youtu.be/i4pxcbA9pUY?si=AZlsS-DcuziUgwTu
For information - do your own research.
https://www.margaritavilleresorts.com/locations/ways-to-stay/rv-resorts
The Lake Berryessa News in the news!
Thanks to Friend of Lake Berryessa, Paul Franson, for his review of local news outlets - and mentioning The Lake Berryessa News.
NapaLife: For those who live in Napa Valley – and those who wish they did. An Insider’s Look at Napa Valley
Publisher and Editor: Paul Franson paul@paulfranson.com
https://www.napalife.com/3035.html, https://www.napalife.com/
Napa County is no news desert; let’s keep it that way
As the internet and social media gut local newspapers by pirating advertisers, more and more counties in the United States have no source of local news. Fortunately, ours isn’t one of them. We’re all waiting to see what happens to the Napa Valley Register and St. Helena Star under its new Florida-based owners. It has some excellent reporters who do a good job but need more resources; a surprising amount of local news surfaces elsewhere.
The Press Democrat from Santa Rosa has devoted significant resources, i.e., reporters, to Napa County and breaks many stories, some during the week with a section on Napa every Sunday.
The San Francisco Chronicle writes most about wine and food here and likes to sensationalize events, but its writers Esther Mobley and Jess Lander do a good job, sometimes annoyingly so.
We are also fortunate to have locally owned and community-oriented independent radio stations in both English (KVYN) and Spanish (KVON). Most radio stations are now parts of giant chains heavily dependent on automation with little local involvement.
Then we have the Yountville Sun and Calistoga Tribune, both attempting to convert from advertising-heavy support to community memberships and donations. If you live in those towns, take the appeals for support seriously. Would your town be the same without a community newspaper?
Then there’s Napa Valley Features looking at both frivolous and weighty topics under its thoughtful creator Tim Carl. It has more than 4,400 subscribers, but only about a quarter pay to support it.
The Lake Berryessa News is obviously most important if you live there, but I find it quite interesting. Again, it needs local donations. See www.lakeberryessanews.com.
Napa Patch hasn’t worked out the way we hoped but still has some interesting local news, though to them, “Napa” seems to include Sonoma County and more at times.
NextDoor, Facebook and Instagram are full of information, some incorrect since it’s not moderated, but occasionally they post interesting local news.
Napa Valley Marketplace and Napa Valley Life run information of local interest, though much is “sponsored” (paid for).
NapaLife sticks mostly to “lifestyle” news and events – food and wine, the arts and entertainment – as well as retailing, lodging and wine business news but doesn’t cover hard news of politics, health, education, the environment, housing, land use and crime.
Be sure to support the media you find useful and important.
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Glory Hole Watch 2025 (January 12, 2025)
It is statistically likely that Glory Hole will overflow in 2025, but when? Although rainfall has been good to date, and we are only 2.95 feet below Glory Hole, we need another 5 inches of rain to overflow, depending on how many dry spells we may get. At the present lake level, every inch of rain on saturated ground raises the lake about 7 inches.
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Lake Berryessa Statistics (1/12/25)
The rain total is at 12.34 inches at Monticello Dam. No rain likely for at least a week.
Lake level is now at 437.05 feet, now only 2.95 feet below Glory Hole.
Water temperature continues to drop and has stabilized at 53.2 degrees.
Lake output has been at 100 cfs (cubic feet per second) or 198 A-F (acre feet per day) for several days.
The Gamble Gauge shows the lake capacity is at 96.6%.
Follow the daily measurements at:
https://www.scwamonitoring.com/LakeBerryessa/
The wettest year was 1983 with 56.94 inches.
The lake was 6.7 feet over Glory Hole, the highest in history.
The driest year was 1976 with only 7.78 inches total rainfall.
The most precipitation in one month was 21.33 inches in January 1995.
The most precipitation in 24 hours was 5.29 inches on December 31, 2005. If you were around then, this is when the hill collapsed on Monticello Road just past the Wooden Valley Road turnoff, cutting the road to Napa for 2 weeks! We all had to do a lot more driving to reach "civilization".
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Lake Berryessa Revitalization Program Update
Things are very quiet with no updates from Napa County except, "Not much to report until the beginning of February. Camp Margaritaville Resorts at Steele Canyon Campground is still on track"
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Lake Berryessa Political History (Free Downloads of Book Chapters)
Policy And Politics Betray The People: The Lake Berryessa Saga: 1958 - 2020, By Peter Kilkus
I. The Five Tragedies Of The Berryessa Valley: A History Of Heartbreak
II. Lake Berryessa Political History Timeline
III. The “Big Lie”: How It All Began
IV. The “Big Fail”: Napa Abandons Lake Berryessa (1975)
V. The “Big Picture”: Lake Berryessa Issues: 1957 - 2012
VI. The “Big Illusion”: Notice Of Intent
VII. The “Big Fight”: Facts Do Matter
VIII. The “Big Betrayal”: Perversion Of Public Law 96-375
IX. The “Big Mistake”: Pensus - The Beginning Was The End!
X. The “Big Hole In History”: Post-Pensus Blues
XI. The “Big Boondoggle”: Creation Of A Phony National Monument
Addendum 1. Dueling Napa Register Letters To The Editor
Addendum 2. The Napa Register View
Index Of Primary Documents
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Lake Berryessa Golden Mussel YouTube Video Updates
Sweeney Sports
Decontamination Start-To-Finish: Golden Mussel Cleaning at Berryessa
https://youtu.be/umaOYCQJLBA?si=ANKMbTafk3jC1CXr
Lake Berryessa Quarantine Update - Interview with Solano Water District and Decontamination Process
https://youtu.be/6Er9qnizuAc?si=llgSdz9DgmoDt7ZT
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Lake Berryessa Boater Outreach Program Highlights 2024
https://youtu.be/N8tjCsqwrG8?si=vnSJ48YMdIiJFCeG
Check out the 2024 Lake Berryessa Boater Outreach Program video. This video highlights the legacy and impact of the program as well as the importance of education and outreach. Hear from key partners and our team of interns who are working hard to protect our drinking water quality through education and the use of oil absorbents to keep boat engines clean.
The video includes Jeniffer Onufer, BOR Lake Berryessa Park Manager. Also, Amber Garcia who used to be the Steele Canyon Campground manager several years ago when Pleasure Cove Marina (Suntex) managed it.
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Free Book Chapters Available For Download
My sincere thanks to those of you who contributed to the future of the Lake Berryessa News. I challenge you to find any Lake Berryessa news anywhere. Hopefully, the many years of our intensive reporting about the latest Lake Berryessa issues will convince you of the truth of our motto, "Without The Lake Berryessa News there would be no Lake Berryessa news".
Here's a gift from The Lake Berryessa News to my readers - Free downloadable chapters from my books:
The Death of a Valley
Why Does Lake Berryessa Exist?
The Lake Berryessa Watershed
Rainfall and Lake Level History
How High Is Lake Berryessa?
How Deep is Lake Berryessa?
How Much Water Does Lake Berryessa Hold?
Mean Sea Level: Is There Such A Thing As Accurate Height?
Water In, Water Out, But From Where?
Does the WALROS Like Lake Berryessa?
Why is Lake Berryessa Not a Part of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument?
East Side Story
Hiking and Wildlife Viewing
Are There Quail on Quail Ridge?
Why Does A Hiker Cross The Road? To Get To Stebbins Cold Canyon!
Private Houseboats - Yes; Private RVs & Trailers - No: Why?
Motorized Boats Banned From Big Island Lagoon! Why!
Archeologists Can't Dunk But Can Dig
What Can't You Do At Lake Berryessa?
Napa Opposes Building the Monticello Dam
Monticello Dam Construction
Raise Monticello Dam
Power Generation at Monticello Dam
Monticello Dam Failure Analysis
Predicting the Future & Glory Hole Drone Videos
As Lake Berryessa Turns!
The Ins and Outs & Ups and Downs of Lake Berryessa
Does Lake Berryessa Sweat in the Summer?
Glory Hole Introduction
How Does Glory Hole Work?
Glory Hole: Awesome, Frightening, But Dangerous?
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Conspiracy Theory or Automatic Pilot: The Economic Roots of Environmental & Societal Destruction
I. Introduction
II. Financial Principles For Fun And Profit
III. Money: Is It Wealth Or Ilth?
IV. The Financial System: Why Bad Things Happen To Good People
V. Growth: Anatomy Of A Panacea
VI. Corporations: Puppets To The Financial Markets
VII. Globalization: Wanted – Two More (Phantom) Planets
VIII. Environmental Economics And Sustainability (Finally)
IX. Any Solutions? (Always The Hardest Part)
Appendix: Sustainable Development Principles & Goals
References
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Lake Berryessa Technical Manual: The Science, Engineering, History, and Humor of a Major Unnatural Resource
https://www.amazon.com/Lake-Berryessa-Technical-Manual-Engineering-ebook/dp/B0C21DZ9M9/ref=sr_1_3?
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Policy and Politics Betray the People: The Lake Berryessa Saga: 1958 - 2020
https://www.amazon.com/Policy-Politics-Betray-People-Berryessa-ebook/dp/B08MFSQDBR/ref=sr_1_1?
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Conspiracy Theory or Automatic Pilot: The Economic Roots of Environmental Destruction
https://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Theory-Automatic-Pilot-Environmental/dp/1676368302/ref=sr_1_3?
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The KPIX Eye on the Bay interview below is one I did in 2010 and a relevant introduction to the substance of the book. I did it after Pensus had been given the contract for 5 resorts. As we all know Pensus was subsequently kicked out in 2012.
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Lake Berryessa Data Sources
There are many sources of Lake Berryessa water and weather conditions available. The Solano County Water Agency site is good for real-time graphs of level, capacity, and water temperature. The California Data Exchange Center has data going back decades for level, capacity, capacity change, dam outflow, dam inflow, and rainfall. Anyone can research their own data and create custom charts. This is the source of many of the charts on the Lake Berryessa News website.
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An upgraded wildfire alert camera system will be keeping watch on Napa County day and night and notifying Cal Fire crews of potential fires. Twenty cameras will be part of a system that will use artificial intelligence and other technologies to identify fire and smoke. If they detect something, an alert will sound in the Cal Fire emergency command center near St. Helena.
Cal Fire has made a large investment into the ALERTCalifornia system, partnering with UC San Diego. There are 1,000 cameras across the state and Napa County is one of the test models. Cameras can see 60 miles during the day, and this can increase to 120 miles on clear nights, with the changes in the air. The system can differentiate among smoke, clouds and dust. A link to this camera system and other relevant weather data is available on the Lake Berryessa News website at: http://www.rntl.net/lake-berryessa-cams/
This website was created by Doug Kunst. It is an amazing resource for Lake Berryessa fire cameras and weather. His business website is http://www.rntl.net/
Lake Berryessa Fire Alert Cameras
http://www.rntl.net/lake-berryessa-cams/
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Real-Time Lake Level, Lake Capacity, Water Temperature
Solano County Water Agency
https://www.scwamonitoring.com/LakeBerryessa/
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Lake Detailed Historical Data
California Data Exchange Center
https://cdec.water.ca.gov/
Research historical data and create custom plots
Lake Berryessa Code: BER
https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/sensorplots?staid=ber&dur_code=D
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Local Weather Stations (Weather Underground Network)
Berryessa Highlands (Somewhere in the Berryessa Highlands)
Berryessa Highlands - KCANAPA20
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCANAPA20
Skiers Cove (Below the Berryessa Highlands)
Skier Cove - KCANAPA228
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCANAPA228
East Side Road (Across from Big Island)
East Side Road, Lake Berryessa - KCALAKEB2
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCALAKEB2
Spanish Flat (Near the Spanish Flat Recreation Area)
Roger - KCASPANI1
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCASPANI1