JULY 11, 2005

As a Permittee and Executive Director of the California Watershed Posse, I wanted to take a few moments to correct the offensive and false assertions made by the Bureau of Reclamation’s Public Affairs Director Jeffrey S. McCracken regarding the BOR’s perception of the meaning of “appropriate access to federal property.”  Having received your certified letter of March 28, 2005 notifying my wife and I that we would have to vacate our mobile homes at Pleasure Cove Resort by November 1, 2005, it is sadly clear to all Lake Berryessa Permittees that you neither grasp the limits of your authority as Lake Berryessa Park Manager nor understand that the issues of “land use” and “public access” are two entirely different matters of law.  If the BOR or your new partners Forever Resorts are interested in purchasing our mobile homes, we will consider all offers.  If you, Forever Resorts and any other government bureaucrat ever threatens us again, we will initiate immediate legal action naming them as individual defendants.   I recommend you have BOR legal counsel review yours and  Public Affairs Director McCracken’s future releases before they are distributed to the law abiding public. 

Zoning and Land Use:  In the unincorporated areas of the county of Napa, California, the legal authority to determine all land zoning and land use is found in the General Plan which is codified by the Napa County Board of Supervisors aka the legislative branch of government in Napa, County.  The seven Mobile Home Parks located on the shore of Lake Berryessa were lawfully codified into the Napa County General Plan, approved by both the State of California and BOR over the last 45 years. Today, a third generation of over 1,300 families continue to lawfully rent space on Lake Berryessa’s shoreline that was set aside by Congress for the “People.”  Appropriate and lawful access to these federal lands have always been and will continue to be open to the People for recreational purposes for a day, a week or month to month.  The seven Mobile Home Park concessions were developed entirely with private sector funding and are privately owned.  All seven parks mobile homes are owned and maintained as private property by their lawful owners.  Any member of the public can rent a mobile home space at any of the seven resorts and/or purchase the mobile home occupying the rented space.

The federal government does NOT have the legal authority to modify the zoning or land use at Lake Berryessa.  The seven Mobile Home Park’s zoning and land use ordinances for Lake Berryessa have no expiration date.  The federal government does not have the authority to seize the assets or private property of the Concessionaires or Permittees.  Under eminent domain, the federal government may seize private property only after first paying the property owners the fair market value of that property.  Federal employees individually can be held liable for illegal acts ( i.e. seizing of private property without legal compensation) conducted under the color of law.  The BOR has contractual agreements  only with the Concessionaires set for renewal in 2008 & 2009.  The BOR does not have any contracts with the Mobile Home Park Permittees mobile home owners. The Concessionaires only have space rental agreements with the Permittees.

Appropriate Access to Federal Property: There is no exclusive recreational use at any of the Lake Berryessa Mobile Home Parks.  All seven concessions are open to the public for day recreation, overnight camping, RV rental space, cabin rental, motel accommodations, and mobile home rental space on a weekly or monthly basis.  Public access to these federal lands is only limited by applicable laws governing  capacity limits placed on each recreational facility to protect the public health and safety and the vital natural resources at Lake Berryessa.   Local , state and federal laws require open recreational access to Lake Berryessa .  There are “NO Exclusive Recreational Access” policies at Lake Berryessa.   The public has had open recreational access for over 45 years….not free access at the seven Mobile Home Park resorts.  Mr. Lucero, please inform your public affairs director that we are a nation governed by laws and not public opinion polls.  The BOR’s public opinion polls including  their Draft Environmental Impact Statement  3,487 comment letters (plus over 500 letters still unaccounted for), of which nearly two-thirds support changes at the lake to include trailer removal and equal public access have no standing in law.  If BOR or their agents of change, Forever Resorts, want to purchase our mobile homes at Lake Berryessa,  I believe most Permittees will consider all cash offers of  the legal tender of the United States of America.

Oscar Braun, Pleasure Cove Resort at Lake Berryessa         

Executive Director , California Watershed Posse