Skulduggery usually happens behind closed doors, much like the NCRA actions such as the recent report on geotechnical issues in the canyon never being presented to the public. Or perhaps the back door discussions about the rock supply at Island Mountain with powerful private interests that would use public dollars to move public wealth to private interests.. As regards the trail proposal we have put everything on the table. There are no back room meetings or deals being cut, just realistic, local folks who are trying to protect a public right of way and find a suitable economic use for this resource. Yes Judah you are right, the hundreds of millions for watershed restoration should come from the feds and state and this work should be done regardless of a rail or trail. As trail supporters we recommend that the right of way be railbanked to protect our future options and in the meantime build the trail so that our communities can see a return on this investment of public dollars. These economic returns would be spread out amongst a very broad community, not concentrated into the hands of a few wealthy connected individuals.