LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This week, the Lakeport City Council joined other public officials in restating support for the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, the status of which is now under review by the federal government.

President Barack Obama created the monument – which encompasses 331,000 acres of public lands in Lake, Colusa, Glenn, Mendocino, Napa, Yolo and Solano counties – in July 2015.

Two-thirds of the monument is located within Lake County’s boundaries, according to Victoria Brandon of the Sierra Club Lake Group.

In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing a review of the 22 national monuments created over the past 21 years – 100,000 acres or larger in size – under the Antiquities Act. Another executive order directed review of five national marine monuments.

Of the national monuments under review, California has the most of any state: In addition to Berryessa Snow Mountain, they include Carrizo Plain, Giant Sequoia, Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow and San Gabriel Mountains. 

On Tuesday, the Lakeport City Council heard a presentation from Brandon as part of considering a resolution to restate the council’s support for the monument designation.

Brandon, pointing out that the council members already knew why the designation is important, said that the Bureau of Land Management and the United States Forest Service have been engaged in an extensive planning process to devise a joint management plan for the public lands included in the monument. That’s because half of the monument is in BLM lands and half is in the Mendocino National Forest.

That planning process has included public meetings to get community input on uses on lands which Brandon said have tremendous potential for recreational activities.

She said a wide variety of stakeholders, from mountain bikers to the Back Country Horsemen, the Sierra Club, backroad vehicle groups and even the Lake County Rockhounds have been a part of it.

“All of this is ongoing,” she said.

She said there was a two-day meeting in Woodland in January to talk with the representatives of the various groups and federal agencies as part of creating the plan for combined management, which has to follow the rules of both the BLM and US Forest Service.

Brandon said a draft plan is set to be released sometime this year, which will begin a second round of public review.

She said a full-time monument manager, Rebecca Wong, has been hired and works out of the Ukiah BLM Office.

Everything was going well until Trump signed the April executive order to review the 22 national monuments, Brandon said.

She said the argument used to support the review process was that there wasn’t enough public input in making the monument designations in the first place.

“It absolutely wasn't true here,” she said.

In fact, from 2008 to 2014 there were numerous public meetings locally on the effort to get national monument status for the area, as Lake County News has reported.

Brandon said the creation of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument had public and local government support – all impacted counties and many cities passed resolutions to show support – as well as a resolution in support of the designation offered by the California Legislature, which Brandon said had never happened before.

Brandon said the involved agencies don’t know what the future is going to hold for the monument, and monetary resources are now being devoted to the review which could be better used elsewhere.

“We're hoping to protect all of the monuments. They're all really important and there’s something very special about them,” she said.

Brandon said the goal is to get the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument off the table with expressions of renewed support from local governments.

She said a request for support also will be taken to the Board of Supervisors at an upcoming meeting.

Brandon said support from local governments and community members is being requested by July 10, the end of the comment period.

She said the hope is that the management plan process can go forward, the designation will be protected and the region benefits from “this really remarkable place.”

Brandon also asked council members to submit individual comments to the government to support protecting the designation.

Councilman Kenny Parlet moved to approve the resolution supporting the monument, with Councilman Tim Barnes seconding and the council voting 5-0.

On Thursday, the 111th anniversary of President Theodore Roosevelt signing the Antiquities Act into law, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra vowed to protect California’s national monuments.

Becerra sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke expressing his strong opposition to any attempt by the Trump Administration to revoke or weaken existing protections for national monuments.

“National monument designations protect the irreplaceable natural and cultural heritage that belongs to all Americans, ensuring that the haste or greed of one generation does not squander those gifts at the expense of future generations,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Any attempt by the Trump Administration to reverse decisions past presidents have made to safeguard our most treasured public lands is as unwise as it is unlawful. As the Attorney General of California, I am determined to take any and all action necessary to protect the American heritage which has become part of our monument lands.”

Becerra said that designating national monuments bestows important protections, which are otherwise nonexistent or insufficient, for large areas of cherished land.

In the letter, Becerra underscored that Trump simply has no legal authority to question monument designations made by a predecessor under the Antiquities Act. 

Late last month, Congressman John Garamendi – one of the two members of Congress representing Lake County and a former deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior – submitted his comments on the Department of Interior’s review of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.

“The Berryessa Snow Mountain is a national treasure,” Congressman Garamendi wrote. “Its unique biodiversity coupled with its rich Native American cultural heritage make it an ideal National Monument. The broad coalition of activists and lawmakers who worked to make this designation possible ensured that the Berryessa Snow Mountain would be protected without hindering pre-existing water rights or imposing new regulations on hunting, fishing, and motorized recreation.”

Garamendi’s letter highlighted the cultural, historical, and environmental importance of Berryessa Snow Mountain as well as the positive economic impact that it has on the region.

In a separate statement, Garamendi said that the Berryessa National Monument also provides a vital stimulus to the local small business economy.

“Many local businesses in the Berryessa area depend heavily on tourism, and this National Monument designation brings in visitors who support and expand local businesses. But most importantly, the National Monument designation protects the Berryessa Snow Mountain from falling victim to destructive resource exploitation and preserves the pristine and unblemished land for all to enjoy,” he said.

He added, “If the Trump administration wants to strip the Berryessa Snow Mountain of its National Monument status, then they can expect a fight.”  

Tuleyome, the group that helped champion the monument’s formation, is offering online postcards for community members who want to support maintaining the designation.

Letters also can be submitted directly to the federal government online.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – After a 35-year hiatus, sprint boat racing returned to Clear Lake this past weekend, and the event has been hailed as a success by city officials and the organizers.

The inaugural Lakeport Sprint Boat Grand Prix took place on Saturday and Sunday on Clear Lake, offshore of Library Park in Lakeport.

Five classes of boats thrilled the those who came to watch the event, with great weather and water conditions.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen, who ran a city police command center out of City Hall throughout the event, estimated about 1,000 people packed into downtown for the races.

Both Rasmussen and City Public Works Director Doug Grider said the event went smoothly, with no major issues.

Racing promoter Jack Long of Clear Lake Motorsport Enterprises said he was very pleased with the event overall.

“The racers came out in force, they could hear the cheers of the crowd over the engines and they were excited to put on a show,” he said. “We gave the Southern California Speedboat Club racers a taste of Lake County hospitality that they will not forget.” 

At Tuesday’s Lakeport City Council meeting, council members and city officials praised the event, as well as the efforts of police, sheriff’s office personnel, fire and city staff to make sure the races went off without a hitch.

Mayor Stacey Mattina said some past councils have said no to bringing big events to town, but that view isn’t held by the current council.

“These events are wonderful and we will get more people coming to town who have never been here before,” Mattina said.

Long was equally appreciative of the efforts of local leaders to assist him with getting the event off the ground.

“We couldn’t have done this without the support of the Lake County government officials, the city of Lakeport government officials, and the police and first responders from all over Lake County that were there making sure that everything went according to plan. The feedback I received has been very positive,” Long said.

He said that the sponsors, his staff and volunteers all worked hard to put on a great event.

“This has been an amazing experience and I am proud to be a part of making this happen,” Long said.

Information on attendance and tickets sales was not immediately available, although city staff indicated on Tuesday that a debriefing meeting on the event is expected to take place with Long.

With hopes of reviving Lake County’s boat racing tradition, Long said plans are being made for the second annual Lakeport Sprint Boat Grand Prix in 2018. 

Follow Sprint Boat Grand Prix on Facebook for the latest updates and information.

The results of the inaugural event are published below.

2017 Lakeport Sprint Boat Grand Prix results

GPS-100

First place: Tim Hoffman, Mesa, Ariz.
Second place: Jasper McDonald, Valley Center, Calif.
Third place: Dave Shaw, Temecula, Calif.
Fourth place: Jeff McLachlan, West Jordan, Utah

Formula Lights

First place: R.J. West, Manteca, Calif.
Second place: Jared Wallach, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Third place: Mark Halyak, Santa Clarita, Calif.
Fourth place: Spencer Love, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Fifth place: Colin Cross, Alameda, Calif.
Sixth place: Warren West, Manteca, Calif.

Unblown Flat

First place: Skip Tuttle, Oakley, Calif.
Second place: Dale Baker, Ferndale, Wash.
Third place: Tyler Roth, Concord, NC
Fourth place: Hal Jones, Layton, Utah

Sportsman Extreme Runabout

First place: Tim Hoffman, Mesa, Ariz.
Second place: Mike Stock/Tony Applegate, Boise, Idaho
Third place: Mike Purczynski, Hemet, Calif.
Fourth place: Dave Shaw, Temecula, Calif.
Fifth place: Jasper McDonald, Valley Center, Calif.
Sixth place: Lance Nicholls, Castaic, Calif.

K Racing Runabout

First place: Duff Daily, Boise, Idaho
Second place: Tyler Roth, Concord, NC
Third place: Michael Allen/Paul Fitzgerald, Concord, NC
Fourth place: Charley Hamill, Salt Lake City, Utah
Fifth place: Tony Scarlata, Perris, Calif.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – After taking community input at its Tuesday evening meeting, the Lakeport City Council voted to approve a resolution to form a groundwater sustainability agency for a portion of the Scotts Valley basin.
 
The council unanimously approved the resolution, the next step in creating the agency, after holding a public hearing that ran less than 20 minutes.
 
The State Legislature’s passage in 2014 of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act required that groundwater sustainability agencies be formed to govern basins that are rated medium or high priority.
 
In Lake County the Scotts Valley and Big Valley basins have been rated as medium priority. That means that, according to the state’s timeline, groundwater sustainability agencies to manage them must be formed by June 30. A groundwater sustainability plan for them must be adopted by Jan. 31, 2022.
 
Community Development Director Kevin Ingram explained that the agency the city proposes to form will cover the entire city plus a 350-acre unincorporated area just west of the city limits that include portions of Riggs and Scotts Valley roads.
 
He said that area outside of the city limits has city infrastructure and is served by water the city draws from wells at its Green Ranch property.
 
Ingram said he’s had several conversations with interested parties, including Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, which holds the main water rights to Clear Lake.
 
Most of the concerns, he said, have come from people who live in the 350-acre area outside of the city. He said they’ve raised questions about whether the city intends to increase the amount of groundwater pumping or if it will meter wells. He said the city intends to do neither.
 
Ingram said the city originally had wanted to form a joint powers agreement with the county of Lake to jointly manage the Scotts Valley groundwater basin.
 
However, he said that the county has decided to pursue a different direction to put all county groundwater basins into one agency, which would only give the city a technical advisory – not a voting – role.
 
During the meeting it also was explained that the county has submitted to the state an alternative plan seeking to reduce the ratings – and the subsequent requirements – on the Scotts Valley and Big Valley basins to low priority.
 
While he said the city intends to continue working with the county, the city wants to have its own voice in the process and is moving forward to meet the state’s timelines.
 
During the public hearing, Rhonda Armstrong, chair of the Scotts Valley Advisory Council, said residents have several questions about the agency’s formation, including who would be part of the agency’s leadership and how members would be selected. Ingram said those specifics haven’t yet been determined.
 
Armstrong said the residents wanted assurances that the groundwater sustainability agency’s power to levy fees, limit pumping and dig new wells wouldn’t extend past the city service area. Ingram said the regulation measures will come from the state, and the city isn’t yet sure what will be required.
 
Ingram noted that the city supports the county’s attempt to downgrade the Scotts Valley basin to low priority. In response to other questions from Armstrong, he said the groundwater sustainability agency’s meetings will be public, and that the Scotts Valley Advisory Council already is on the mailing list of interested parties.
 
“We appreciate being included,” Armstrong said.
 
Councilman Kenny Parlet explained that the county is trying to reduce the basin’s priority so a groundwater sustainability plan wouldn't be necessary. If that were to be approved, a lot of the effort the city is going through now may become irrelevant.
 
Parlet added that he believes major groundwater management issues aren’t likely to happen locally, but in other parts of the state, such as the Central Valley.
 
He said Ingram is making sure that the city will have the opportunity of weighing in on the basin’s management should its rating not be reduced.
 
Joanne Ruddock, whose property overlies the aquifer, said she is concerned about recharge.
 
She asked if the city will take more water from the basin. Ingram said the city isn’t permitted to do so under is agreement with Yolo Flood.
 
“It's important to move forward,” said Mayor Stacey Mattina.
 
Mattina encouraged people with questions to call the city and speak with Ingram. “We're not trying to take anything from anyone,” she said, but rather trying to jump through the State Legislature's hoops.
 
Lake County Water Resources Director Phil Moy told the council that he had checked with the California Department of Water Resources about the status of the county’s basin priority reduction proposal.
 
He said the county probably won’t hear anything back from the state about its decision until the end of this year or the start of next year.
 
“My personal opinion is, Lakeport is doing the exactly right thing,” said Moy regarding the city’s effort to form its own agency, protect its groundwater and ensure that is has a place at the table.
 
Councilwoman Mireya Turner moved to approve the adoption of the resolution forming the agency, with Councilman George Spurr offering the second and the council approving it 5-0.
 
The council also voted unanimously to adopt a resolution affirming its support for the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, which is now under review – along with 21 other national monuments nationwide of 100,000 acres or more created since the Clinton Administration – because of an executive order signed earlier this year by President Donald Trump.
 
Sierra Club representative Victoria Brandon briefed the council on the effort to protect the designation of the Berryessa monument, formed in July 2015 by President Barack Obama. She said two-thirds of the monument is located within Lake County.
 
In other business, Police Chief Brad Rasmussen presented the Lakeport Police Department’s illegal fireworks operation plan, which covers the 30-day period – June 17 to July 16 – surrounding the July 4 holiday.
 
Last year’s July 4 celebration resulted in large amounts of trash being left on city and private property, much of it associated with safe and sane fireworks, Rasmussen said.
 
In years past, the groups that are allowed to sell safe and sane fireworks in the city had been involved in the cleanup process, although that hasn’t happened for the past two years, he said.
 
Rasmussen said the city is reaching out to those groups and he hopes to soon meet with them and a representative of the fireworks company to finalize a cleanup plan for this year’s event. He said he believes city ordinance dictates the groups have responsibility for cleanup.
 
“That’s a great idea,” said Mattina. “It was a big mess last year.”
 
The council voted unanimously to accept and file Rasmussen’s report.
Rasmussen also presented to the council the application for the Lakeside Car and Boat Show, which will take place Aug. 18 to 20 in downtown Lakeport.
 
The event was held for the first time last year. This year, major changes include the expectation of more cars and boats, and the request to close a portion of Main Street between First and Third streets, Rasmussen said.
 
The event will close the Third Street boat ramp to the public. The Fifth Street boat ramp will remain available to the public except for a brief period during the morning launch of high speed boats that will do high speed runs as part of the event, according to Rasmussen.
 
Event organizer Tony Barthel told the council that 100 percent of the proceeds go to Operation Tango Mike, which sends care packages to troops overseas.
 
He said it’s also meant to bring money to Lake County. Hotel rooms already are filling up, and he said feedback from local restaurants last year included reports that they almost ran out of food in serving the customers the event attracted.
 
The council unanimously approved the event’s application.
 
Also getting the council’s approval was Ingram’s request to advertise for competitive bids for the Carnegie Library Accessibility Upgrades Project.
 
“I’m excited to bring this one to you guys. We’ve been working on this for quite some time,” said Ingram, noting it’s a major economic development efforts the city has undertaken in the last few years, specifically getting it reopened for public use.
 
Garavaglia Architecture Inc. of San Francisco has finished the design phase for the building’s accessibility improvements, which include a lift/elevator, Americans with Disability Act-compliant bathrooms, accessibility upgrades to the southern end of the building, repairs to the second floor’s failing ceiling, and lighting upgrades, Ingram said.
 
“All improvements have been specifically designed to respect the historic features of the building,” Ingram said.
 
The total estimated cost of the upgrades is between $200,000 and $225,000, and will be paid for by Community Development Block Grant funding the city received for the project in 2014, he said.
 
Ingram said city staff hopes to turn the bid process around quickly so the council can make a decision.
 
“It seems like we're getting a lot for $200,000,” said Mattina.
Ingram said it’s always an interesting process to see how the bidding turns out.
 
Parlet moved to approve the request, which Spurr seconding and the council voting 5-0.
 
In other business on Tuesday, City Clerk and Administrative Services Director Kelly Buendia introduced new Administrative Specialist Pam Samac to the council.
 
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.