Rep. Mike Thompson Secures 60 Bipartisan Co-Authors for His Legislation Transferring Management of Lake Berryessa to Bureau of Land Management

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) today announced that 60 bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed on as co-authors of H.R. 4166, Thompson's legislation that would transfer the management of Lake Berryessa from the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

"There is serious bipartisan momentum behind changing the management status quo at Lake Berryessa," said Thompson. "My colleagues understand that our federal agencies need to be operating efficiently, and our community has waited too long for BOR to effectively execute its redevelopment plan at Lake Berryessa. I will continue working to gain additional support so that we can pass this bill, transfer management, and craft a successful redevelopment plan with BLM and Napa County."

Recreation along the 165 miles of shoreline and 2000 acres of wildlife areas have been managed by BOR since the lake was formed after Monticello Dam was built in 1957. However, BOR has failed to provide and manage adequate concessions at Lake Berryessa in recent years. Currently, only one of the seven concessions has a permanent operator and four are operated under interim contracts, providing only boat launching and camping without hook-ups, showers or running water. The two remaining concession locations are closed. The lack of concessions has caused tourism to drop and has hurt the local economy.

BLM manages 264 million acres of public lands across the United States, and has extensive experience managing outdoor activities on public lands -- including camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, wildlife viewing, and more. BLM management of the Lake Berryessa Recreation area would help ensure better management and enhanced recreational opportunities for visitors to the lake.

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