In the late 1970s, the Sierra Army Depot attempted to dispose of its ownership of Honey Lake. They went so far to put a for sale on it. Of course, this caught the attention of the State of California, who had ceded over the lake to the Army back in 1933. The State wanted it back if the Army had no use for it. The State was interested in possible geothermal development. Before taking back the lake, they wanted to be assured that there were no unexploded devices in the lake bed. The Depot could not guarantee that, so the fate of the lake’s ownership was put on hold.
Enter the Base Relaignment Closure for the Sierra Army Depot beginning, in 1997, but I maybe wrong on the year, so someone correct me if I am wrong. BRAC as it was referred to, was to down size the military base. It was a slow process, especially what to do with the surplus property known as Honey Lake.
On October 20, 2003, the Sierra Army Depot decided to unload its ownership of the lake when they deeded over 57,632 acres to a consortium named the Honey Lake Conservation Team. This non-profit alliance comprised the Center for Urban Watershed Renewal, Trust for Public Land, Michael Baker, Jr. Inc, and The Bioengineering Group. To conduct various studies and future uses they were paid $8.6 million. Who knew Honey Lake was so valuable? The Honey Lake Conservation Team quickly prepared a study as a guide for future use. On November 8, 2006, they considered their work complete and deeded the ownership over of the lake to the State of California. It should be noted that the Depot retained 4,486 acres on the southeastern corner of the lake.