Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 28, 2024, 04:21:36 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Recent Topics

[March 27, 2024, 11:13:05 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 10:53:01 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 08:00:55 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 07:25:42 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 07:05:39 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 04:18:57 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 12:35:34 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 11:18:23 AM]

[March 26, 2024, 07:45:07 PM]

[March 26, 2024, 06:19:03 PM]

[March 26, 2024, 05:47:06 PM]

[March 25, 2024, 07:10:08 PM]

[March 25, 2024, 03:17:35 PM]

Support NCKA

Support the site by making a donation.

Topic: Bill would open Bay Area lakes  (Read 4755 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

gearjunkie

  • Guest
Hey guys - Check this out.  Hope this bill worms its way through red tape successfully.  If someone knows of a list of CA Assemblymen email addresses, perhaps we should email them at an opportune time - perhaps right before the bill is put to vote?

Whenever I'd pass by Crystal Springs Reservoir off I-280, I'd daydream about sneaking in there at night with rod in hand to check out how large the trout are.   :smt003   Well now I know there are "large numbers of wild trout in the 16- to 22-inch class".  See below.  

Lots of other lakes in your neck of the woods could open up too!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill would open Bay Area lakes
- Tom Stienstra
Sunday, March 6, 2005


Crystal Springs Reservoir and 35 other off-limits Bay Area lakes would be opened to hand-powered boating, limited fishing and trail access if a bombshell proposal by a Bay Area assemblyman becomes law.

Under AB-672, authored by Johan Klehs, D-San Leandro, the public would be guaranteed access for recreation at reservoirs and watershed lands owned and managed by state or local agencies. In a key provision of the bill, agencies would be responsible for crafting access guidelines to keep watersheds in pristine condition. The bill will be announced Monday, Klehs said.

The law would require that fishing (in some form) be allowed at lakes where the public has been barred, including the cherished but forbidden Crystal Springs, San Andreas and Pilarcitos lakes on the Peninsula, and Upper San Leandro, Briones and Calaveras reservoirs in the East Bay hills. It would require that boats that could be hand-launched and hand-powered, such as canoes and kayaks, be permitted at eight lakes in Marin County (and elsewhere in the state), where boating is now banned.

It would also require that the San Francisco Water Department, East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and other utilities with vast land holdings permit trail access on their watershed lands, such as hiking and biking on service roads, just as already provided by the Marin Municipal Water District.

"California is filled with adventurous and outdoorsy people who appreciate and enjoy the beauty of this state and our great natural resources, " Klehs said. "This bill provides an opportunity for them to discover new trails and benefit from the lakes and reservoirs in their areas."

Klehs said the proposal was inspired by a Chronicle outdoors column that was published Nov. 14, 2004 (archived at www.sfgate.com), and other Chronicle outdoors stories that detailed conflicts over access to off-limit lakes and watershed lands in the Bay Area. When Klehs researched the issue, he discovered the conflict was largely unique to the Bay Area and that Los Angeles Water & Power, for instance, was unlikely to oppose the bill.

A key to crafting the proposal, he said, was to provide some level of recreation access, yet at the same time make certain that pristine lands, watersheds and lakes remain jewels. That is why the bill allows each agency to determine what is "safe and appropriate" for each reservoir.

A model program, Klehs discovered, is already established at Barrett Lake in San Diego County.

After being closed to the public for 26 years, Barrett Lake was opened under a reservation/lottery system with the lake open to the public on weekends, April through September, on a quota basis with applicants chosen by reservation (or lottery, in some years). Winning applicants are required to pay a fee, which funds the program. In return, they are provided a small boat with electric motor, with floating portable toilets available on the lake. All fishing is catch-and-release with barbless lures and flies required and no bait permitted. No fishing from shore, or landing on shore, is permitted.

It has turned into one of the nation's best fishing programs and is a model for providing access to an untouched lake without negative impacts.

Similar programs at Crystal Springs, Pilarcitos, Upper San Leandro and San Antonio would draw a fantastic lottery among anglers. Most would probably prefer that these lakes be managed on a strict quota basis, with catch-and- release -- with no fishing from shore to keep the setting untouched.

The surprise at these four lakes is the high number of large, wild rainbow trout that live there. These four lakes provide cool, clean water, a rich aquatic food chain, and large numbers of wild trout in the 16- to 22-inch class, similar to what you might hope for in a $3,000 trip to Canada.

A bonus is that these lakes also have populations of largemouth bass; in fact, the first largemouth bass planted in California were stocked at Crystal Springs. Because the water is often cold, the bass are not often big, but there are good numbers of 12- to 15-inch fish. On the other hand, in the warmer climate of the East Bay hills, Briones, as well as San Antonio, could likely have some monster-sized bass lurking in the coves.

In Marin, there are also some surprises. Kent Lake has some big bass, but with no boats of any kind allowed, they are nearly impossible to reach. Soulejule and Nicasio could be reborn as a recreation center with a warm-water fishery program for crappie, catfish and bass -- with access, perhaps, by a rowboat hand-launched from shore.

A sidelight of the bill is that it addresses the future of lands and lakes managed by the San Francisco Water Department and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. They operate the city-owned 23,000-acre Crystal Springs Watershed and the 38,000-acre Alameda County/San Antonio Watershed. While the public has been kept out, there are eight homes at Crystal Springs and another four at San Antonio provided to watershed keepers and managers. These city-owned houses include many with gorgeous lake views, spacious floor plans and acres of tree-shaded privacy that might fetch millions on the real estate market, and are rented for virtually nothing by Water Department employees and their families.

I believe the public has been kept out of the San Francisco watersheds is for one reason alone: So nobody can see these homes and the fairy tale life - the Bay Area's largely secret version of Golden Pond -- provided on the public dole.

For the bill to become law, it must pass a circuitous course in Sacramento: moving out of committees in the Assembly, passing a vote on the Assembly floor, then moving on to the Senate for the same multi-phase protocol. Finally, if it reaches the governor's desk, the bill would be analyzed yet again for cost factors, the litmus test for every bill arriving on Gov. Schwarzenegger's desk these days.

But if you have ever griped about not being able to boat, fish, hike or bike at so many of the Bay Area's lakes, what you now need to do is simple: Phone your local state assemblyman and senator and tell them to co-sponsor this bill.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lake restrictions
-- Alameda County: Public banned at Upper San Leandro Reservoir and San Antonio Reservoir; no boating at Cull Canyon, Don Castro and Shinn Pond.

-- Contra Costa County: No boating at Briones Res., Lake Anza and Lake Temescal.

-- Marin County: No boating at Alpine, Bon Tempe, Lagunitas, Kent, Phoenix, Nicasio, Stafford and Soulejule.

-- Napa County: Public banned at Lake Curry, Milliken and Rector Res.

-- San Francisco: No boating at Merced Impoundment.

-- Santa Clara County: Public banned at Calaveras Reservoir, Lake Elsman, Felt Lake; Palo Alto residents only at Boronda Lake; no boating at Arastradero, Sandy Wool, Cunningham, Cottonwood and Almaden.

-- San Mateo County: Public banned at Upper Crystal Springs, Lower Crystal Springs, San Andreas Lake and Pilarcitos Lake.

-- Solano County: Public banned at Lake Madigan.

-- Sonoma County: Public banned at Laguna Lake.

Lake restrictions

-- Alameda County: Public banned at Upper San Leandro Reservoir and San Antonio Reservoir; no boating at Cull Canyon, Don Castro and Shinn Pond.

-- Contra Costa County: No boating at Briones Res., Lake Anza and Lake Temescal.

-- Marin County: No boating at Alpine, Bon Tempe, Lagunitas, Kent, Phoenix, Nicasio, Stafford and Soulejule.

-- Napa County: Public banned at Lake Curry, Milliken and Rector Reservoirs..

-- San Francisco: No boating at Merced Impoundment.

-- Santa Clara County: Public banned at Calaveras Reservoir, Lake Elsman, Felt Lake; Palo Alto residents only at Boronda Lake; no boating at Arastradero, Sandy Wool, Cunningham, Cottonwood and Almaden.

-- San Mateo County: Public banned at Upper Crystal Springs, Lower Crystal Springs, San Andreas Lake and Pilarcitos Lake.

-- Solano County: Public banned at Lake Madigan.

-- Sonoma County: Public banned at Laguna Lake.

E-mail Tom Stienstra at tstienstra@sfchronicle.com.

Page D - 12
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/06/SPGCOBLB6P1.DTL


Bill

  • Sea Lion
  • ****
  • My Brother
  • View Profile GulfStream Outdoors
  • Location: San Jose,CA
  • Date Registered: Dec 2004
  • Posts: 4325
Wow that is a bombshell bit of legislation!

Get all your Assemblymen info here:

http://www.assembly.ca.gov/defaulttext.asp

Click on "Find My District" to get the contact information of the assmbly person in your district.

This will not happen unless we support it!


ChuckE

  • Global Moderator
  • View Profile
  • Location: San Leandro, CA
  • Date Registered: Dec 2004
  • Posts: 4430
It almost sounds too good to be true, but I looked it up on Assemblyman Johan Klehs' site and here's the actual bill:


Quote
BILL NUMBER: AB 672   INTRODUCED
   BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Klehs

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2005

   An act to amend Section 115825 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to reservoirs.


   LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 672, as introduced, Klehs.   Reservoirs with water intended for
domestic use: recreational use.
   Existing law prohibits the recreational use of reservoirs where
water is stored for domestic use to include recreation in which there
is bodily contact with the water by a participant. The law exempts
certain reservoirs from this prohibition and sets forth certain
conditions and restrictions to ensure water purity.
   This bill would exclude certain recreational activity from the
prohibition against bodily contact with the water in a reservoir
containing water intended for domestic use, including, but not
limited to, fishing and canoeing, and hiking in areas adjacent to the
reservoir.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 115825 of the  Health and Safety Code  is
amended to read:
   115825.  (a) It is hereby declared to be the policy of this state
that multiple use should be made of all public water within the
state, to the extent that multiple use is consistent with public
health and public safety.(b)  Except as provided in this article,
recreational uses shall not, with respect to a reservoir in which
water is stored for domestic use, include recreation in which there
is bodily contact with the water by any participant.  
   (c)  Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, this article
does not prohibit the following recreational uses:  
   (1) Hiking in the areas adjacent to the reservoir.  
   (2) Bike riding in the areas adjacent to the reservoir.  

   (d) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, this article
does not prohibit any of the following recreational activities, nor
does it prohibit bodily contact with the water that is reasonably
necessary for any of the following recreational activities:

   (1) Fishing.  
   (2) Kayaking.  
   (3) Canoeing.      
Winner - 2018 ARW Halibut Handline Derby
Winner - 2013 Doran Beach Crabfest
2nd Place - 2012 Alameda Rockwall Halibut Derby
Winner (Biggest Rock Crab) - 2010 Half Moon Bay Crabfest
Winner - 2009 Alameda Rockwall Halibut Derby
Winner - 2009 Paradise Halibut Hunt
Winner - 2007 NCKA Angler of the Year
Winner "Grand Slam" - 2007 Bendo @ Mendo III
2nd Place - 2007 Monterey Bay Kayak Fishing Derby
Winner - 2004 Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing Derby


ChuckE

  • Global Moderator
  • View Profile
  • Location: San Leandro, CA
  • Date Registered: Dec 2004
  • Posts: 4430
I just called Assemblyman Klehs' office and talked to his press scretary.  I told her that I proudly lived in his district and asked what I, and my fellow kayak fishermen, could do to help promote this bill and here's what she said to do.... in order of impact:

1) Write a letter to the Governor (letters hold the most weight)
2) Call the Governor's office
3) Email the Governor
4) Call and email your local Assemblyman and the Senator.  In my district, it's Liz Figeroa's office (510) 413-5960.
Winner - 2018 ARW Halibut Handline Derby
Winner - 2013 Doran Beach Crabfest
2nd Place - 2012 Alameda Rockwall Halibut Derby
Winner (Biggest Rock Crab) - 2010 Half Moon Bay Crabfest
Winner - 2009 Alameda Rockwall Halibut Derby
Winner - 2009 Paradise Halibut Hunt
Winner - 2007 NCKA Angler of the Year
Winner "Grand Slam" - 2007 Bendo @ Mendo III
2nd Place - 2007 Monterey Bay Kayak Fishing Derby
Winner - 2004 Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing Derby


Bill

  • Sea Lion
  • ****
  • My Brother
  • View Profile GulfStream Outdoors
  • Location: San Jose,CA
  • Date Registered: Dec 2004
  • Posts: 4325
Chuck, do you feel like drafting a letter as a starting point for everyone?

Govenators contact info is:

    

Governor's Office

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633

To send an Electronic Mail please visit:
http://www.govmail.ca.gov


ChuckE

  • Global Moderator
  • View Profile
  • Location: San Leandro, CA
  • Date Registered: Dec 2004
  • Posts: 4430
Sure... I can try, but if anyone else wants to create a letter draft please post it here.  It will help if not all of the letters look exactly the same.

BTW... the press secretary discourages faxes.  She said they're usually viewed as a nuisance and a waste of paper.

Bill, thanks for posting Arnold's contact info :smt066
Winner - 2018 ARW Halibut Handline Derby
Winner - 2013 Doran Beach Crabfest
2nd Place - 2012 Alameda Rockwall Halibut Derby
Winner (Biggest Rock Crab) - 2010 Half Moon Bay Crabfest
Winner - 2009 Alameda Rockwall Halibut Derby
Winner - 2009 Paradise Halibut Hunt
Winner - 2007 NCKA Angler of the Year
Winner "Grand Slam" - 2007 Bendo @ Mendo III
2nd Place - 2007 Monterey Bay Kayak Fishing Derby
Winner - 2004 Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing Derby


MolBasser

  • Sea Lion
  • ****
  • Kayak disguised as a Bass
  • View Profile
  • Location: Chico, CA
  • Date Registered: Feb 2005
  • Posts: 2265
Quote
In return, they are provided a small boat with electric motor, with floating portable toilets available on the lake. All fishing is catch-and-release with barbless lures and flies required and no bait permitted. No fishing from shore, or landing on shore, is permitted.


This is categorically false on a number of levels.  One, the motors are gas and there are no floating portable toilets.  They allow shore fishing.

That said, Barrett rocks.  I was blessed with the chance to fish  it on the first day it was reopened to the public in the early 90s.  I have since fished the lake a number of times.  The program is nice, but it is quite expensive to fish this lake.  I would prefer they just open the lakes to usage to people with human powered boats.  I have no desire to be provided with a motorboat.

MolBasser
2006 Kayak Connection Father's Day Champion
"The Science of Fishing"
Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!
  :happy10:


Bill

  • Sea Lion
  • ****
  • My Brother
  • View Profile GulfStream Outdoors
  • Location: San Jose,CA
  • Date Registered: Dec 2004
  • Posts: 4325


 

anything