Trestle work begins with June goal

Motorists on Highway 1 and Visitors to Pudding Creek Beach have surely noticed the presence of construction equipment and workers on the trestle.
According to State Parks Project Manager Michael Romo, work began on the trestle Jan. 17, and is being done by Abacus Construction Co. of Redding. Romo said State Parks has not received a final schedule from the contractors for the trestle repair, but a completion date of June 29 has been set.
Romo said State Parks' goal is to have the trestle open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic before the July 4 weekend. He said more work will be done following the holiday, at the north and south ends of the trestle.

Thoughts in 2001

Dogs chased from shorebird habitat

Stretch of state beach to ban canines, campfires to protect threatened plover
June 28, 2002

By PAUL PAYNE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Dogs and campfires will be banned on dozens of state beaches under plans to protect the snowy plover, a tiny shorebird threatened by pets and humans, California State Parks officials said Thursday.

The prohibition, which begins July 15, is an effort to prevent the extinction of a bird that has dwindled to fewer than 1,500 in California, said state parks spokesman Steve Capps. Beaches from San Diego to the Oregon border that are spring and summer nesting areas for the plover will be subject to the ban, Capps said.

In Sonoma County, the restriction covers a stretch of coastline about 3 miles long, from Mussel Point to Coleman Beach, including Salmon Creek, a beach popular with dog owners. In Mendocino County the ban covers Mac-Kerricher State Beach.

"I guess I won't be going to the beach anymore," said Angie Connors of Santa Rosa, who owns two Labrador retrievers. "I feel so bad for my puppies."

Dog owners and their pets have enjoyed a long run at Sonoma County beaches, often ignoring existing leash laws that are posted.

Federal beaches, such as Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin, already ban dogs.

The Western snowy plover, about 6 inches long with black, brown and white feathers, makes its home along the West Coast from Washington to Mexico.

Its population is centered in California, at about 25 beaches.

Because the plover nests near high-tide lines where people and dogs play, its numbers have been cut in half since the 1970s, parks officials said.

Officials said the rationale behind the ban is clear: Dogs chase and kill birds; people who make campfires gather driftwood, disturbing nesting areas.

Also, kites will be banned on some beaches, but not in Sonoma County, because plovers are spooked by them.

"They scare the bird," Capps said. "They think kites are predators."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which lists the bird as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, has mapped critical habitat areas in California where the plover could make a comeback.

Among them are Silver Strand State Beach in San Diego, McGrath State Beach in Ventura, Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County and Manresa State Beach in Santa Cruz.

Other beaches include San Onofre State Beach in Orange County, Montana de Oro State Beach in San Luis Obispo County and Half Moon Bay State Beach in San Mateo County.

A more comprehensive list of beaches that will have the ban on dogs and campfires was not immediately available.

For its part, the state will enforce the ban, which strengthens a mandatory leash law already in place on state beaches that allow dogs.

On some state beaches, officials may choose to simply fence off plover habitat areas, Capps said.

Parks officials on the North Coast said they will enforce the ban. They are preparing signs and pamphlets explaining the new restrictions.

Fines for violating the ban have not been set.

Plover breeding lasts from spring to mid-fall, coinciding with the beach season, said Dan Cooper, director of bird conservation for the Audubon Society.

The birds lay one to three eggs in nests that are simple scrapes in the sand. Eggs hatch in 27 days, and within hours, the chicks are on the beach searching for food.

Rick Royer, North Coast state parks spokesman, said dog owners will undoubtedly be upset by the ban, but most will understand the need to protect threatened species.

While she sympathized with the plover's plight, Bea Maxwell of Santa Rosa said this week that the ban would remove one of the few public places she can take her dog Ginger.

"I don't want to do anything to hurt the bird, but my dog loves the beach," she said. "It's sad."

New Researcher Vonnie Matthews contributed to this article. You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 521-5250 or ppayne@pressdemocrat.com.

Thursday, October 11, 2001 - 9:16:36 AM MST

State Parks making headway on MacKerricher connection

By Greg W. Picard
Mendocino District State Parks Superintendent

Thursday, October 11, 2001 - It has been a long "haul" these past years to make a revitalized trail connecting Fort Bragg with the MacKerricher State Park coastline.

In July 2002 the State Legislature will consider approving a project to repair the Pudding Creek Trestle with state funds. State Parks expects the Environmental Impact Report to be complete and the regulatory agency approval for trestle and trail repair plans (from, among others, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the Mendocino County Planning Department) by July 2002 as well.

In the meantime State Parks has been doing historic and environmental studies through its contractor, EDAW, along the route of the trail from the trestle to Lake Cleone, and in addition has done a Timber Bridge Inspection through a contract with Cole/Yee/Schubert & Associates. The bridge report gives clear guidance for needed repairs and was very encouraging in that it indicated the trestle is in great shape for its age. It will be able to be reopened for pedestrian and bicycle use with relatively minor work. Soon, we will begin the design phase in order to be ready to construct in approximately late 2002.

What remains is to move forward with environmental studies and a management plan that incorporates habitat restoration, endangered species management and protection, and appropriate access in the Inglenook Fen Ten-Mile Dunes Preserve north of Ward Avenue. Since the dune complex is protected as a preserve, trail access will likely be minimal and not the traditional paved road surface found on the remainder of the Coastal Trail. Until this process is accomplished, all pedestrian traffic north of Ward Avenue has been routed along the wave action zone or on the exposed pavement of the existing portions of the old logging Haul Road. Equestrians are to ride only on the wet sand. Current approved beach access is available through the tunnel at Ward Avenue and the beach ramp approximately 300 yards north of the same location.

As was pointed out during the Feasibility Studies and public meetings conducted in the year 2000, Section 5019.71 of the California Public Resources Code says "The purpose of natural preserves shall be to preserve such features as rare or endangered plant and animal species and their supporting ecosystems"

Policy number 40 of the State Park and Recreation Commission says that "public uses and facilities in preserves shall be limited to those required to permit the public observation, enjoyment, and understanding of the prime resources, and shall be compatible with the preservation of the prime resources, and shall conform to unit resource elements and general plans."

Roads, motorized vehicles, and all facilities except trails are prohibited in natural preserves.

The MacKerricher General Plan (1995) is the result of much study and many public meetings. It states that access to the dunes shall be restricted in general to the beach, and no casual use is to be allowed in the Inglenook Fen.

The plan does call for controlled use through the development of boardwalks and guided tours. State Parks is pursuing the development of appropriately designed trails through the area, which in the past has generally been assumed will in part reuse the remains of the existing logging road.

Whether it does or not remains to be seen, and exactly where trails go is still to be decided. The feasibility study conducted in 2000 determined that constructing a hardened trail surface was not feasible due to the instability of the dunes and endangered species impacts.

The California Department of Fish and Game, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been critical of the Department of Parks and Recreation in the past for failing to adequately protect the Natural Preserve, which is home to federally listed endangered wallflower, spineflower, marsh sandwort, the federally listed threatened Snowy Plover, and other species of concern.

The Endangered Species Act requires the protection of these listed species.

Impacts or "take" of these species result from dogs chasing birds, people and horses trampling through nesting habitat, and without adequate park staffing these impacts have been difficult to control.

State Parks is, however, successfully meeting part of our obligation for species protection by removing European beachgrass, which impacts nesting and plant habitat for listed endangered species.

This action is supported and applauded by the Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, and they have given funding assistance to State Parks to assist in completing restoration projects in the dunes.

© 1999-2001 MediaNews Group, Inc.

Senator Wes Chesbro
comes through
for North Coast

In what can only be seen as a triumph for Fort Bragg, Senator Wes Chesbro delivered on his promise to "do what I can". In three months Sen Chesbro and Assistant Director of State Parks Mark Schrader mangaged to get the stalled Pudding Creek Trestle past it's biggest hurdle and on the way to completion by next year. See Press Demo story below.

The Press Democrat: Print a Story

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/28trestle_b1.html
© The Press Democrat

New life for old link

85-year-old trestle could be centerpiece
of trail linking Fort Bragg, MacKerricher Park

June 28, 2001

By MIKE GENIELLA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

FORT BRAGG -- A finding that the landmark Pudding Creek train trestle is sturdy enough for foot traffic gives new life to a plan to connect the heart of this old mill town to a 5-mile coastal trail leading north to spectacular beaches.

The trestle walkway would provide easy access from town to the beaches at MacKerricher State Park, and would create the key link in what advocates see as one of the longest public trails along the California coast.

After examining dozens of 44-foot-high redwood pilings sunk 85 years ago into the creek bed, state engineers concluded that with some structural modifications the trestle could be safely used by hikers and bicyclists.

The 545-foot-long trestle "looks very good for its age, and will be able to be fixed," according to a report prepared by the state Parks and Recreation Department for Sen. Wes Chesbro, D-Arcata.

Chesbro said the state study suggests that refurbishing the trestle could cost less than $200,000. If so, Chesbro said he's confident of securing funding through the state Coastal Conservancy, of which he's a director, or from unallocated state park bond money.

"I'm pretty optimistic construction could get under way within a year," said Chesbro.

A restored trestle with new planking and railings is seen as the centerpiece to the coastal trail.

As it is, the trail leads from the northern edge of Pudding Creek north to Ten Mile River, traversing dramatic coastal bluffs and a 1,400-acre swath of sand dunes. Because of environmental concerns surrounding the dunes and adjacent Lake Cleone, the state Parks Department last year scaled back plans and eliminated recreational use of the last two miles of the trail.

Six of the seven miles of existing trail are already paved because it was used until 1992 as a private road by trucks hauling logs to the Fort Bragg lumber manufacturing complex, now operated by Georgia-Pacific Corp. State park crews are in the process of restoring the road as a multi-purpose trail for hikers, bicylists and equestrians, and for park maintenance vehicles.

Good for residents

In Fort Bragg, the trestle link to the trail is seen as beneficial not only to the burgeoning tourism industry but to local residents as well.

"Right now, Fort Bragg folks have to get in their cars and drive someplace to be able to walk along the ocean. There's no real access in town," said City Manager Connie Jackson.

Jackson said she and other civic leaders see the train trestle as a quality-of-life issue. "We want our children to be able to bicycle to the ocean. If visitors to the town want to join in, that's going to be even better," said Jackson.

City Councilman Dan Gjerde said a reopened trestle will become a destination for visitors and locals alike.

"Restoration of the Pudding Creek trestle is going to transform Fort Bragg by opening up the beautiful beaches at MacKerricher State Park to pedestrians and bicyclists," said Gjerde.

For longtime trail advocates such as Stan Anderson, president of the nonprofit Ten Mile Trail Foundation, the state's findings about the structural integrity of the train trestle mark "a really big step forward."

"It's a grand old landmark. We're thrilled by the prospect of it being put to public use," said Anderson.

Anderson's foundation says the Pudding Creek trestle marks an important crossing of an ancient coastal trail that was used by local Pomo and Coastal Yuki Indian tribes for centuries. The Indian trail route, which once ran up the coast to where the city of Eureka is now located, was first documented in 1857 by European settlers, according to the foundation.

Only remaining trestle

In 1915-16, the old Union Lumber Co. built a logging railroad parallel to the trail and slightly inland from the beach. Some remains of the railroad track can still be seen underlying the logging road north of Ward Avenue, where both the track and road were eroded by the ocean over time.

Once, the logging railroad crossed five trestles. Only the Pudding Creek trestle remains. In the summer of 1949, the old railroad line was paved over in just 21 days to allow big truck-trailer rigs to carry logs to the mill over the same route. Before state acquisition of the road in the early 1990s, mill owners used to open the road for public access on the weekends.

"If we can get the trestle restored, we will have one of the finest public coastal accesses anywhere in California," said Chesbro. "It will be a stunning accomplishment for the town, and the state."

You can reach Staff Writer Mike Geniella at 462-6470 or e-mail mgeniella@pressdemocrat.com.

Pudding Creek Trestle
Nine Years Later

Living on the Coast...
Driving the Kids to the Beach!
Thank you State Parks

I'd like to start right off. I'm mad. The State Parks have been telling us that the trestle would be ready for pedestrians "within 2 years" for 10 years now. The last time was at a city council meeting on October 10, 2000. Gary Shannon said it would need an E.I.R. and take "12 to 18 months".

Last week (6 months later) I heard that State Parks has indicated that they haven't even filed with the appropriate state agencies to get this moving, and it now looks like another "18 to 24 months".

I repeat what I said at that October 10, 2000 Fort Bragg City Council meeting:
"We moved into town from the Westerburg Ranch out the Willits Road in 1994. We were excited about the prospect of being able to ride our bikes to the beach across the Pudding Creek Trestle. My oldest child, Katie was 14 and Dewey was 12. Today, they are off in college. Needless to say, they never got to ride to the beach. Our two youngest children love to ride their bikes. They love the ocean. Today, Packie is 12 and Bryna is 10. What does the city and park system have to do to get this done? Let's not come up with reasons why we can't do it. Let's work together, and get the job done. I am standing here today, asking: "Will Packie and Bryna be able to ride their bikes to the beach in their childhood?"

So, six months later, it looks like we need to light a fire under a lot of folks who just don't get it. Fort Bragg residents of shouldn't have to fire up the Chevy to go two miles to the beach! Get mad.

Dave Turner