Monday, March 8, 2021

 8 March 2021


I’m back with good news to report!  Jonathan Keehn, Josie Crawford and I recently met with other members of the Wolf Creek Trail Phase II Project Development Team.  The purpose of the Zoom gathering was to view and discuss options regarding a draft preliminary alignment for the continuation of the Wolf Creek Trail.  Project manager Derek Hitchcock, other members of his team from Surf 2 Snow, Grass Valley city engineer Bjorn Jones, Bill Haire from the land trust, and several CalTrans representatives filled out the team.

Using the 2006 Conceptual Plan as a starting point, we acknowledged from the get go that much of it is unrealistic and problematic due to engineering, right-of-way, and COST obstacles.  Our agreed upon goal is to come up with a preferred alignment that is realistic, buildable, and affordable.  Having CalTrans actively at the table helps greatly in that regard.

As part of the process we submitted written comments detailing our preferences, which were echoed by the BYLT.   The Project Development Team will meet again in June to finalize the draft, then embark upon a series of public outreach meetings and presentations, with the final product hopefully wrapped up by January or February.  

In the meantime an active volunteer effort in trail building continues on the Daspah Seyo Trail.  This is the lower dirt extension of the Wolf Creek Trail that runs closer to the creek below the existing paved trail.  We recently met with Bjorn Jones to design a bridge over Little Wolf Creek at the confluence with the main stem.  This section will be completed this year for sure! And behind the scenes we are moving forward on both the Berriman Ranch and Newmont connections to the Trail.  We can expect positive developments soon in regards to both of those additions to our system.