The Bureau of Reclamation's third extension of the comment period on the future of Lake Berryessa has come to a close, and the majority of those who wrote in suggested the lakeshore should get a makeover.

The Bureau announced that it received 785 letters calling for new recreational opportunities around Lake Berryessa in the 45-day comment period that closed April 4. In comparison, 241 letters called on the Bureau to maintain current recreational opportunities, according to Jeff McCracken, a Bureau spokesman.

The shoreline is owned by the Bureau, but seven pieces of land are leased to private operators, known as concessionaires, to run resorts. The resorts have overnight camping and boat launch facilities, as well as rental space for private trailer owners.

However, the resorts' leases expire in 2008 and 2009, and the Bureau is now in the midst of planning how to redevelop the shoreline. Studies are still in draft form, and a final decision is not expected until at least October. But the Bureau's preferred option includes removing all 1,300 trailers and leasing the land to a single concessionaire to operate a hotel, overnight cabins, campgrounds, and space for RV parking.

Those plans were heavily criticized last year when two groups -- Lake Berryessa Task Force Seven, a group of private trailer owners, and Citizens to Protect Lake Berryessa, a group of resort operators and lakeshore business owners --commissioned the "Summers Report." The report concluded that removing trailers would destroy the economic viability of the area and the profit potential for any resort operator.

The Summers Report described the Bureau's plans as highly unrealistic, stating that it would take "a 'white knight' concessionaire who would be willing to redevelop and operate all seven resort areas despite a great deal of financial risk, and probably a special alignment of the stars to make all of the relevant economic factors favorable."

The Bureau and advocates for removing the trailers and shifting toward different recreational possibilities say revamping the lake may improve economic conditions there.

A debate emerged, and the Bureau backed its own economic study, which stated that a resort could operate profitably without trailers. McCracken said that the Bureau re-opened the comment period, specifically "to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on their (Summers Report)."

Now, the Bureau's position appears to be validated by at least two private companies that have expressed interest in operating a resort without trailers.

"In my opinion, you don't need long-term (trailer) tenancy to make it work," said John Koeberer, CEO of the California Parks Companies, which operates numerous similar resorts around the state, including at Lake Camanche in the Sierra foothills. "There's a lot of different ways to make money."

However, Koeberer qualified his statement, noting that the length of the lease and the size of the capital investment needed to build the resort's facilities are important factors.

Another company, Forever Resorts, which operates resorts in at least 15 states, sent a letter to the Bureau last October expressing interest in operating at Lake Berryessa. In the letter, obtained by the Register this week, Executive Vice President John Schoppman states that the current facilities at the lake do not "welcome or encourage new visitors or vacationers looking for a positive and unique vacation experience. The alternatives you have outlined provide a wonderful change for the public and a positive financial opportunity...."

Peter Kilkus, who belongs to both Citizens to Protect Lake Berryessa and Lake Berryessa Task Force Seven, said he had heard about the letter from the California Parks Companies, but could not comment on it until he sees it.