Help Advance the Great Redwood Trail: Call the Governor’s Office (It’s working)!

advocacy, Outreach, Uncategorized

Your calls to the Governor’s office in support of Senator Mike McGuire’s Great Redwood Trail Act (SB 1029) have really made a difference! The effort resulted in the Governor’s staff coming to the table to discuss possible sources of funding to make the Trail happen. That was a huge step!  SB 1029 is now pending in its last committee, the Assembly Appropriations Committee. While the Legislature is in recess for the district work period, AB 1029 supporters are working hard with the Administration, appropriations, and budget staff on the funding mechanisms for the bill.

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. SB 1029 will dissolve the NCRA and prioritize non-motorized trail development along the rail right of way between Sonoma County and the Humboldt Bay (Read More..).
Finding the funds to buy out the freight contract and 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 in order to clear the decks for the Trail. Funding is also being sought for the basic maintenance of the rail right-of-way that hasn’t been done for many years, and for starting the Trail master planning process.

Please call the Governor’s comment line and leave a message expressing your support for SB 1029 – the Great Redwood Trail Act.  

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

Talking points to include:

  • I’m ——————-, calling from (town), (county) to express my 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 – including the possibility of an interpretive lesson on climate change!