The Humboldt Trails summit happened at the Sequoia Conference Center this Saturday, and there were many updates on upcoming trail projects.
There were many different organizations in attendance, as well as Senator Mike Mcguire here to talk about the new Great Redwood Trail.
“We want to share with the world one step at a time. All on the Great Redwood Trail. Now, walking the GRT, visitors and locals alike will experience the tallest trees, the remote by the trail beaches, oaks and golden hills, rivers, world renowned vineyards, and some of the most welcoming folks in the United States”, McGuire said.
We spoke to the California Coastal Conservancy to learn more about railbanking, which is the practice of preserving rail corridors for future use.
“One of the biggest questions, whenever you’re planning a trail, is figuring out where you are going to put the trail. And one of the processes that really helps to make the great redwood trail possible is a process called rail banking, which is a federal legal process where you’re able to essentially say that this trail we want to preserve is the right of way. It’s a linear corridor that used to be a railroad, and we want to preserve it for potential future rail use. But we want to have this interim use for public benefit. And one of those uses is a trail”, says Hannah Bartree of the California Coastal Conservancy.
In McKinleyville, there are new expansions and additions to the McKay community forest for new activities.
“The Mckay Community Forest, we’re working on a bike park there. We’re waiting for funding for that. But also mountain bike specific trails will be in the Mackay Community Forest, as well as McKinleyville, and we’re looking at building more mountain bike specific trails there as well”, Says Lacey Comer of the Redwood Coast Mountain Bike Association.
In East Eureka, there’s also going to be a new Bay to Zoo trail that will give commuters more options.
“This is a new trail. It’s kind of like a way to get from the north end of Eureka at the waterfront trail all the way to the south, where it connects, down near the zoo in the park at Sequoia Park. So kind of along the eastern edge of the city and connecting a lot of great resources, like Zane Middle School, the hospital, kind of getting near those neighborhoods that are all throughout that Corridor”, Says Jesse Willor, city of Eureka Engineer.
If you want to volunteer, there’s always plenty of options with the Humboldt Trails Council.
“The McKay Community forest is a huge ongoing development right now, and that’s where we kind of need the most volunteers at the moment, because there’s a lot of active trail work, as far as trail building being done. And then for the future, we’re really looking forward to expanding the trail. So we’re hoping to get some more volunteers there, as we continue to expand”, Says Rachael Garcia, Volunteer Coordinator with the Humboldt Trails Council.
You can learn more about volunteering at humtrails.org/volunteer.
Story by Tucker Caraway
