Action Alert Help Extend Our North-South Greenway to Mendocino, Humboldt Counties

Join MCBC and our friends at Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition in supporting the vision for the Great Redwood Trail, an extension of Marin and Sonoma’s North-South Greenway/SMART Pathway toward Willits and Humboldt Bay.

For decades now, the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) has failed either to restore freight rail service to the North Coast or to protect the Eel River and its fisheries from the impacts of its rail line. Senator Mike McGuire’s Great Redwood Trail Act (SB 1029) will dissolve the NCRA and prioritize trail/pathway development along the rail right-of-way between Sonoma County and the Humboldt Bay.

SB 1029 was approved earlier this week in the Assembly Transportation Committee. Now, it’s time to turn our full attention to the financing side of the bill. Finding the funds to pay off the NCRA’s existing debt is definitely a challenge, but it will only grow worse without this legislation. We need your help in asking Governor Brown to support the financing necessary to resolve the NCRA’s liabilities to make the Great Redwood Trail Agency happen.

Please call the Governor’s comment line and leave a message asking him to actively support SB 1029 – the Great Redwood Trail Act.

Governor Brown’s Phone: (916) 445-2841

Talking points to include:

• Clearly state your name, and the town/city and county where you reside.
• Express support for SB 1029, the Great Redwood Trail Act.
• California’s state government is already on the hook for the NCRA’s liabilities one way or another; the sooner we resolve this situation, the better.
• This bill would turn an environmental and fiscal liability into a public asset.
• SB 1029 will bring much needed tourism revenue to the North Coast region.
• The Great Redwood Trail will connect the North Coast’s diverse landscapes and rural communities with healthy opportunities to explore the great outdoors by bike, foot, and horseback for generations to come.
• The Great Redwood Trail will traverse several unique and diverse ecosystems, providing first-hand environmental education and enrichment opportunities.

Thank you to Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition for providing this call-to-action. 

Image: NCRA rail bridge over Eel River (credit: D. Speredelozzi)