Background On November 8th Public Works brought a “Resolution to Summarily Vacate a Portion of Fisher Road (4G070) South of State Highway 36 in Hydesville” before the Board of Supervisors. This 0.8-mile section of road is located on one ranch and the property owners would like this section converted to a private road that will … Read more
Have you ever seen the “Grand Canyon of the Eel River”? Few have, but that might change soon thanks to a major new conservation deal engineered by the Wildlands Conservancy. The former “Lone Pine Ranch,” owned by San Francisco financial mogul Dean Witter, is now the Eel River Canyon Reserve, one of three reserves managed … Read more
By now, news of the impending threat of coal trains coming to town has spread far and wide. Municipalities from Sonoma to Humboldt have passed resolutions opposing the storage, transportation, and/or export of coal through their communities. Senator Mike McGuire introduced legislation, SB 307, to help stop the proposal by prohibiting state funding to improve … Read more
The Wildlands Conservancy is close to acquiring the 26,600 acre Lone Pine Ranch. This property contains more than 20 miles of river frontage, hundreds of acres of wetlands, and over 86 million board feet of trees in the standing forest, which can be protected to sequester vast amounts of carbon dioxide. The acquisition will build … Read more
The North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) has submitted reports to the Surface Transportation Board in support of its proposed railbanking of the Northwestern Pacific Rail line from Willits north to Eureka. This includes branches of the line in Samoa, Korblex, Carlotta, and Blue Lake. Friends of the Eel River submitted comments to the Surface Transportation … Read more
Last month our staff attended a ribbon cutting in Ukiah for the first officially branded portion of the Great Redwood Trail. We are so thankful to Senator McGuire and his staff for their work establishing a future for this trail. As the Senator said at the ribbon cutting, this portion of the trail is an … Read more
Settlement between North Coast Rail Authority, Friends of the Eel River and Californians for Alternatives to Toxics ends decade-long dispute, upholds bedrock environmental law and advances rail-to-trail project. Marin County, Calif. – The North Coast Rail Authority agreed in late April to a legal settlement with non-profit organizations Friends of the Eel River and Californians … Read more
Tell Gov. Brown the North Coast Needs the Great Redwood Trail For decades now, the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) has failed both to restore rail service the North Coast evidently doesn’t need and to protect the Eel River and its fisheries from the impacts of the failed rail line through the fragile Eel River … Read more
May 10th, 2018 California Senators and Assembly Members State Capitol Sacramento, California Re: SB 1029 Great Redwood Trail Act — Support Dear California Legislators: As representatives of the California conservation and sustainable recreation communities, we offer our wholehearted support for Sen. Mike McGuire’s Great Redwood Trail Act (SB 1029). It is profoundly important that … Read more
This March, California State Senator Mike McGuire introduced the Great Redwood Trail Act (SB 1029) to simultaneously resolve the festering debacle of the North Coast Railroad Authority and advance a vision for a world class trail network for the Eel River Canyon and the North Coast. It is profoundly important that the California Legislature is … Read more