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Things are getting interesting on the Great Redwood Trail
Author: Jeff Moore
Date: 07-02-2021 - 23:03
Things are getting interesting on the Great Redwood Trail.
First off, North Coast state senator Mike McGuire announced this morning he has secured $16.5 million in state funding for the trail. $10 million will be invested into drafting a mater plan for the trail that will help define things like design, construction/operation/maintenance costs, and the various environmental and related studies; $4 million will go towards improving the southern end of the railroad presently in service; and the rest will be invested in permanently preserving the railbed for potential future rail use. Article from today's Eureka Times Standard can be seen here:
[www.times-standard.com]
Meanwhile, there's been a lot of activity on the Surface Transportation Board front. On 8 June the STB issued its Preliminary Environmental Assessment determining the proposed abandonment and railbanking will not significantly affect the human environment.
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
The following day the Board issued a Decision holding any further action by them on the NWP abandonment in abeyance until the exact status of the old Arcata & Mad River can be resolved. NCRA included that line in the original petition, but questioned whether it was still subject to STB jurisdiction or not. I wonder if the STB knows a good part of the A&MR grade at least through Blue Lake has already been converted to a trail, appears someone might have jumped the gun on that one!
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
Humboldt Redwood Company, which operates a part of the old Pacific Lumber Company sawmill in Scotia and owns most of the former PALCo lands, is attempting to insert its own wrinkle into the trail. On 24 May the company filed a letter indicating its absolute opposition to the railroad grade being converted to a trail anywhere on its lands, and referenced languages in various agreements its predecessors signed with NCRA's predecessors under which the right-of-way on those lands would revert to them should rail operations and maintenance cease. Humboldt Redwood in their first letter stated intentions to force the railroad to turn the right-of-way back to them:
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
On 7 June Humboldt Redwood filed a second letter as an Environmental Comment in which they restated their opposition to the trail and included both aerial and ground images showing the relation of the railroad line to its facilities in Scotia plus those of the affiliated Mendocino Redwood plants near Ukiah. The company claims and shows the rail line through the Scotia mill has been paved over and is now underneath log decks, and that as such the right-of-way does not really exist any more in those areas to be converted to a trail, and no trail could be safely used by any public while traversing the two sawmills.
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
Finally, on 17th June Humboldt Redwood filed a third letter providing NCRA what it called its official notice it was exercising the options they believe they hold under the right-of-way agreements to buy the railroad right-of-way.
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
NCRA responded to these three letters on 28 June stating that Humboldt Redwood effectively had no case they could bring nor any relief they could seek to stop the trail in as much as the nature of the abandonment and railbanking retains STB jurisdiction over the right-of-way. NCRA states Humboldt Redwood would be free to sue the United States for a property takings, which has been covered previously on this board, but otherwise cannot stop the trail from happening. NCRA also contends that even if it were agreeable to reconveying the r-o-w its interpretation of the agreement documents show the time period to do that have long since elapsed. The statements made by the two sides clearly show Humboldt Redwood and NCRA are likely headed to court.
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
Finally, on 28 June NCRA petitioned the STB to lift the abeyance of the abandonment proceedings pleading that it was improper to hold up the entire case on account of uncertainty over a few miles of r-o-w at the extreme end of the system, and that continuing to hold the case jeopardized several flood control and other projects that would require removing railroad materials from the grade in some placed, and that could not be done until the line had been officially railbanked.
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
There is a whole lot more on the STB website, mostly comment letters from many parties that can be found in the Environmental and Filings sections. Search for AB-1305-0-X.
Jeff Moore
Elko, NV
First off, North Coast state senator Mike McGuire announced this morning he has secured $16.5 million in state funding for the trail. $10 million will be invested into drafting a mater plan for the trail that will help define things like design, construction/operation/maintenance costs, and the various environmental and related studies; $4 million will go towards improving the southern end of the railroad presently in service; and the rest will be invested in permanently preserving the railbed for potential future rail use. Article from today's Eureka Times Standard can be seen here:
[www.times-standard.com]
Meanwhile, there's been a lot of activity on the Surface Transportation Board front. On 8 June the STB issued its Preliminary Environmental Assessment determining the proposed abandonment and railbanking will not significantly affect the human environment.
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
The following day the Board issued a Decision holding any further action by them on the NWP abandonment in abeyance until the exact status of the old Arcata & Mad River can be resolved. NCRA included that line in the original petition, but questioned whether it was still subject to STB jurisdiction or not. I wonder if the STB knows a good part of the A&MR grade at least through Blue Lake has already been converted to a trail, appears someone might have jumped the gun on that one!
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
Humboldt Redwood Company, which operates a part of the old Pacific Lumber Company sawmill in Scotia and owns most of the former PALCo lands, is attempting to insert its own wrinkle into the trail. On 24 May the company filed a letter indicating its absolute opposition to the railroad grade being converted to a trail anywhere on its lands, and referenced languages in various agreements its predecessors signed with NCRA's predecessors under which the right-of-way on those lands would revert to them should rail operations and maintenance cease. Humboldt Redwood in their first letter stated intentions to force the railroad to turn the right-of-way back to them:
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
On 7 June Humboldt Redwood filed a second letter as an Environmental Comment in which they restated their opposition to the trail and included both aerial and ground images showing the relation of the railroad line to its facilities in Scotia plus those of the affiliated Mendocino Redwood plants near Ukiah. The company claims and shows the rail line through the Scotia mill has been paved over and is now underneath log decks, and that as such the right-of-way does not really exist any more in those areas to be converted to a trail, and no trail could be safely used by any public while traversing the two sawmills.
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
Finally, on 17th June Humboldt Redwood filed a third letter providing NCRA what it called its official notice it was exercising the options they believe they hold under the right-of-way agreements to buy the railroad right-of-way.
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
NCRA responded to these three letters on 28 June stating that Humboldt Redwood effectively had no case they could bring nor any relief they could seek to stop the trail in as much as the nature of the abandonment and railbanking retains STB jurisdiction over the right-of-way. NCRA states Humboldt Redwood would be free to sue the United States for a property takings, which has been covered previously on this board, but otherwise cannot stop the trail from happening. NCRA also contends that even if it were agreeable to reconveying the r-o-w its interpretation of the agreement documents show the time period to do that have long since elapsed. The statements made by the two sides clearly show Humboldt Redwood and NCRA are likely headed to court.
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
Finally, on 28 June NCRA petitioned the STB to lift the abeyance of the abandonment proceedings pleading that it was improper to hold up the entire case on account of uncertainty over a few miles of r-o-w at the extreme end of the system, and that continuing to hold the case jeopardized several flood control and other projects that would require removing railroad materials from the grade in some placed, and that could not be done until the line had been officially railbanked.
[dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com]
There is a whole lot more on the STB website, mostly comment letters from many parties that can be found in the Environmental and Filings sections. Search for AB-1305-0-X.
Jeff Moore
Elko, NV
Things are getting interesting on the Great Redwood Trail