Happy Trails

This morning Emily Sinkhorn and I spoke with California Senator Mike McGuire about his draft legislation to dismantle the North Coast Railroad Authority, rail bank the right of way between here and Willits and establish the Great Redwood Trail Agency to establish a class one trail between Eureka to San Fransisco. The legislation protects the freight that currently exists on the most souther end of the line south of Willits. This bill has passed its first hurdle with a unanimous, bipartisan 12-0 vote in the Senate Transportation and Housing committee. There are still several committees it needs to go though, then go to the floor of the Senate, then go to the Legislature, then get signed by the Governor. It has a way to go yet, but it is well on it's way.

This morning Carol Vander Meer and I spoke with Lee Mills, board member and past president of the Bear Creek Greenway Foundation. This 20 mile class one trail goes though many different jurisdictions much like the Humboldt Bay Trail. We talked with Lee to see what we could learn from their success.

This morning Emily Sinkhorn and I spoke with Scott Ellsmore, traffic engineer of the City of Eureka. We look at 3 different plans to modify H and I streets in Eureka to be more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. All plans expore taking H and I down to 2 lanes from 3. Plans also look at putting in a physical barrier between traffic and the bike lane. Due to the width of these streets, none of these plans would impact parking. Today, during the show, Emily was live from I and Del Norte streets where a "Pop-Up" demonstration of what a bump out, taking I down to 2 lanes would look like.

This morning Michael Kauffamnn and I spoke with Mike McFadin, Wilderness Trails and Recreation Manager on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Mike gave us deep history on the area and gave us the status of trails in the area and trail project now underway.

This morning Emily Sinkhorn and I went over the vast amount of progress trails have seen here in Humboldt County over the past few years. We looked at the Eureka Waterfront Trail, the Bay Trail and explored the new Draft Legislation that Senator Mark McGuire has written which would devolve the NCRA and in it's place create the Great Redwood Trail Agency. This would turn the current unused public right of way into 300 miles of trails. We have contacted the Senator's office and are trying to get him on the show to more fully explain the vision.

This morning Carol Vander Meer and I spoke with Ben Moorehead, Executive Director of the Trinidad Coastal Land Trust about all the trails that hey have helped implement, the land they maintain in the public's interest, and their big plans to extend a tail across Little River and connect with the Hammond Trail.

This morning Michael Kauffmann and I spoke with Ken DeCamp who literally wrote the book about Wildflowers in the Trinity Alps. He will be in Arcata next Wednesday at the Masonic Lodge to speak. Ken has been hiking this area since the 50s and has chronicled and photographed many of the wildflowers many people have not seen before in his new book.

This morning I spoke with Michael Kauffmann about places to hike this spring and even now to check out some of the spectacular wildflowers that Humboldt County has to offer.

This morning Carol Vander Meer and I spoke with Hank Seemann about the Humboldt Bay Trail. With the recent completion of the Eureka Waterfront Trail, momentum is building to get the Bay Trail complete. The "Final Four," referring to the final 4 miles of trail to be completed will be the most expensive part of the trail as it will require modification of the old railroad bridge over the Eureka Slough and routing around the mill, utilizing the levy. This section also is going through several privately held pieces of land. The funding and land issues will need to be figured out. But for now, there is a public planing meeting set for Tuesday, February 27th at 5:30pm at the Wharfinger Building in Eureka. You can see what the trail will look like and give input for the next phase.

This morning Carol Vander Meer and I spoke with Miles Slattery, Parks and Recreation Director for the city of Eureka. Today at noon will be the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Eureka Waterfront Trail. The Grand Opening Celebration will be on Saturday at the Wharfinger Building. The trail now goes from the Herrick Park and Ride to Tidd Street near Target. Eventually it will connect with the Bay Trail and continue north to Arcata.