This week on the EcoNews Report, our host Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River discusses the opportunities and challenges presented by the Great Redwood Trail. The project, proposed to be the longest rail-trail in the nation, is the state’s opportunity to fulfill their responsibility to remediate the environmental harms caused by the old railroad. These harms include fish passage barriers, toxic waste, and hazardous debris left in the river. The trail also provides opportunities for safe active transportation, enhanced public access to the Wild and Scenic Eel River, and a boost to the tourism economy. But of course a grand vision like this has significant challenges too. Top of the list are protecting cultural sites abused by the railroad, navigating fragile geology, and of course funding this whole thing.

Join us to hear from guests Ross Taylor, fisheries biologist and principle at Ross Taylor and Associates, Colin Fiske, executive director for the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, and Scott Greacen, conservation director for Friends of the Eel River.

LINKS:

• Ross Taylor’s fish passage report
• Great Redwood Trail Master Plan
• Friends of the Eel info about the railroad