Trail Development Story
The Development of the Great Shasta Rail Trail
The development of Great Shasta Rail Trail is the result of collaboration and cooperation among many organizations and individuals. The Core Team that guided trail development from 2009 through 2013 was a loose coalition of five organizations[i]. Core Team members shared the work and gained support for the project, the beautiful idea of an 80-mile rail-trail. Planning Team members volunteered many hours of time and their expertise, assuring that the core of the trail plan would be ready when it was needed.
2005-2008: A Project is Born
The story of the development of the Great Shasta Rail trail began in Burney when a member of the Board of Directors of Save Burney Falls (a local nonprofit) noticed that the owner of the McCloud Railroad had filed paperwork requesting permission for abandonment of four sections of the railroad right-of-way, including the corridor between Burney and McCloud. The railroad’s June 27, 2005 filing was with the Surface Transportation Board (STB), a federal regulatory agency that oversees U.S. railroad rate and service disputes. Tasked with reviewing proposed railroad abandonments, the STB retains jurisdiction over these rights-of-way until it approves final abandonment of any such corridor. These actions set in motion the eventual removal of the rails and ties between Pilgrim Creek Road (just outside of McCloud) and Burney. It also set the stage for the eventual designation of Shasta Land Trust as the holder of “Notice of Interim Trail Use” (Trail Manager) and purchaser of the entire corridor. The Great Shasta Rail Trail Association is now the holder of “Notice of Interim Trail Use” (Trail Manager) and owner of the corridor.
Save Burney Falls (SBF) effectively halted the abandonment process when it submitted to the STB a “trail use request” in November 2005 and started negotiations with the railroad owner for the purchase of the eight-mile portion of the rail line that could take hikers and bicyclists from Burney to the McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park. SBF, while negotiating for the purchase of the property, worked to obtain community support of the proposed trail, an effort that was supported by the Shasta County Health Department, the Burney Chamber of Commerce, and a large number of individual contributors.
The railroad owner, however, was not interested in selling only eight miles of an 80-mile corridor. Owners of adjacent property declined to enter into negotiations to sell their (future) interests and the project was stymied.
2009: Core Team Forms
A gathering to talk about the SBF proposed Rail-T- Trail project, as well as the larger railroad corridor, drew representatives of organizations from throughout the region, including the Executive Director of Lassen Trails and Trust. He had worked on rail to trail projects and suggested utilizing the tool of “rail banking” to acquire the entire corridor between Burney and McCloud. The group of organizations that became the “Core Team” supported combining the proposals of SBF (trail to the Park) and McCloud Local First Network (trail from McCloud to the SB trail) and began work on the project that would become the Great Shasta Rail Trail.
Core Team members (representatives of Shasta Land Trust, Save Burney Falls, Volcanic Legacy Community Partnership, and McCloud Local First Network) set to work developing strategies for purchase negotiation and dealing with rail banking, grant applications, and garnering community support for the project.
2010: Letter of Intent to Sell is Signed and National Park Service Commits Assistance
The Core Team began negotiating with the railroad owner to determine the details of a purchase by Shasta Land Trust of the railroad property. The railroad signed a “letter of intent” to sell and the Core Team began fundraising, grant proposal writing, and extensive planning related to converting a railroad corridor into a public recreation trail. A grant from the McConnell Fund of the Shasta Regional Community Foundation made possible the crucial “due diligence” efforts to prepare for the purchase of the 80-mile property. The title search was more complex than originally imagined, requiring hundreds of hours of sifting through more than 100 years of title history consisting of thousands of documents related to the title of the long narrow property.
Late in the year the Core Team received news that the Great Shasta Rail Trail was accepted as one of 26 projects to receive community assistance from the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (NPS RTCA). This grant of technical assistance was key in the Core Team’s development of a trail concept plan. NPS RTCA lead twelve monthly meeting with representatives of up to 35 organizations. Each organization and individual contributed their particular expertise in trail planning and management. The “Trail Concept Plan” resulted from the efforts of that group. That document is a guide for trail development through and past 2019.
In early 2010 the Core began field condition surveys of the McCloud Railway rail bed between McCloud and Burney the behest of the McCloud Railway. Those surveys examined drainage issues and the locations of culverts at to understand maintenance concerns that would need to be addressed upon purchase of the property.
In cooperation with Geographic Information System (GIS) classes from Shasta College in Redding Global Positioning System (GPS) field surveys were conducted locating individual culverts, sizes and condition. Combined with a prior GPS survey (2006) by the McCloud Fire Safe Council locating the center line of the existing track, road crossings, visible drainage structures, and other points of interest, a base GIS was developed for planning of the maintenance, replacement, and rehabilitation of the property. This is a continuing project as more culverts have been found over the years (369 currently located in the field against 247 in the railroad track inventories).
2011: Fundraising Continues and ESA Completed
A second grant from the Shasta Regional Community Foundation enabled contracting with Vestra Resources for the Environmental Site Assessment of the rail corridor. A study of the railroad’s operations records, personal communications with former employees, coupled with testing of suspicious sites yielded a detailed report that named several sites where grease and fuels used in railroad operations needed to be appropriately cleaned up. Those sites were cleaned and the hazardous waste was disposed in 2013.
The Grassroots Fund of the Rose Foundation awarded a grant to develop public outreach materials for the developing trail. Tracy Tuttle Design developed the logo and designed a brochure that became the foundation for the “look and feel” of the project’s outreach materials. An important communication tool, the initial web site, was developed by NorCal Planet Web Design.
The Core Team continued to collaborate on other grant applications in 2011, and late in the year submitted an application to the California Department of Transportation’s Environmental Mitigation Fund (EEMP) for the majority of funding needed to purchase the property. Community members in Shasta and Siskiyou County also generously contributed donations to support the acquisition.
2012: Grant for Acquisition Funds Awarded and Planning Team Forms
In March of 2012, the California Transportation Commission awarded an EEMP grant to Shasta Land Trust for the purchase of the railroad right-of-way.
Staff from the RTCA program of NPS worked with the Core Team to develop a plan to recruit participants and collaborate with a new team called the Planning Team. Volunteers who joined the Planning Team committed to work together to develop a concept plan for the trail, propose site improvements and any use restrictions. More than 35 organizations and individuals were invited to the March 16, 2012 kick-off meeting. Invitees included land management agencies, tribal representatives, trail user groups, and key community interests with a major stake in the trail project’s outcomes. The Planning Team met monthly for a year to develop the Vision, Goals and Guidelines, and Opportunities and Challenges that are presented in the Trail Concept Plan.
A formal Purchase and Sale Agreement was signed by the railroad and Shasta Land Trust on March 29, 2012. This agreement established the purchase price for the trail and established the other terms of the deal, including identifying tasks that must be completed before the purchase could be completed. Title was transferred June 29 2013.
More Core Team grant writing yielded funds to support detailed engineering inspections of the proposed trail’s bridges and culverts and restoration / replace costs to support preparation of the trail concept plan. The National Scenic Byways Program granted the majority of funds and was supported by a smaller grant from the Shasta Resource Advisory Committee (advisory to the USDA Forest Service).
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy provided guidance to the Planning Team’s efforts by writing a report which provided recommendations regarding general road crossing and safety, enhanced with specific recommendations focusing on the two at grade crossings of State Highway 89.
In coordination with the Core Team, the River Exchange, a non-profit organization located in Dunsmuir, California, received a grant from Bella Vista Foundation a portion of which went to assess the condition of stream crossings and drainage structures along the McCloud Railway within the McCloud River drainage and develop plans to restore degraded water courses.
2013: Landscape Architects Lend a Hand and Great Shasta Rail Trail Association Is Formed
Staff for the NPS RTCA recruited support for the project from the San Francisco and Sacramento chapters of the American Society of Landscape Architects. In February, Planning Team members journeyed to Sacramento for an all-day workshop with twelve professional landscape architects who volunteered to create some conceptual drawings to kick-start the trail infrastructure design process. Manny of the resulting drawings are featured in the Trail Concept Plan.
While Shasta Land Trust was willing to facilitate the purchase of the right-of-way, a trail management entity was needed to hold title to the property over the long term and manage it as a public recreation trail. The Board of Directors of Save Burney Falls offered to appoint new trail-focused Board members to their organization and add management of the property as a public trail to the organization’s purpose. The transition went smoothly and the “Great Shasta Rail Trail Association” (GSRTA) was formed June 28, 2013 with four members of the Core Team serving as Board members of the GSRTA to assure continuity.
In late 2013, Shasta Land Trust and the railroad signed an amendment to the Purchase and Sale Agreement, reducing the purchase price of the right-of-way in exchange for the GSRTA taking on tasks that were originally assigned to the railroad prior to transfer of the property. The new purchase price was within the amount of funding Shasta Land Trust and the Core Team had raised for acquisition through grants, fundraisers, and private donations.
2014: Engineering studies funded, signs purchased and installed, 1st Bike-toberfest
McCloud Local First Network and the McCloud Chamber of Commerce joined forces to design and present Bike-toberfest. This one-day festival invited bicyclist to enjoy group rides along scenic routes – one for road bikes (featuring views of Mt. Shasta) and one for mountain bikes (featuring the GSRT and a portion of the Upper McCloud River Trail). Proceeds from the event were shared by the Chamber and GSRTA.
VLCP obtained a Scenic Byway grant for engineering inspection, enhanced by a smaller grants from the Shasta-Trinity and Klamath Forests. The Shasta-Trinity also supported purchase and installation of signs.
The Rose Foundation granted funds in general support, assuring the GSRTA would be able to pay organizational bills.
2015: Acquire the Property, Open Segments of Trail, Inspect Infrastructure
In July 2015 title to the rail-banked property was transferred to Shasta Land Trust and the Core Team. And a lot of happy people participated in the September 26 & 27th celebrations of the opening of the trail. Segments opened included “Pilgrim Creek Road to Hambone” and “Burney to Lake Britton”.
Grant writing efforts resulted in the purchase of trail signs, posts and hardware (USDA Forest Service – RAC grant). The Pacific Power Foundation granted funds toward designing trailheads, the Shasta Regional Community Foundation’s Redding Rancheria helped purchase conference call and other office equipment. The Rose Foundation for the Community and the Environment provided funding for much-needed general support. Fundraising efforts including an annual “ask” campaign resulted in many individual donations.
Schlumburger Engineering Consultants completed their inspections and submitted their findings and recommendations to the GSRTA on March 13, 2015. Their report made recommendations for repair or replacement of five small bridges, 70 railroad grade drainage features (culverts), the Highway 89 overcrossing, and the Lake Britton Bridge.
2016: Begin planning management system, repair bridges, routine maintenance
A small team of volunteers had been getting together on a regular basis to do routine trail maintenance – clearing of brush and unclogging culverts. Now known as “The Dirt Team,” those intrepid workers expanded into carpentry, doing sound (but temporary) repairs on two of the 3 small bridges - Mud Creek and Moosehead Creek allowing use by non-motorized users.
A grant from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Doppelt Fund financed the beginnings of the development of a computerized management system. The Shasta-Trinity Forest (USDA Forest Service – RAC grant) granted funds to pay the California Conservation Corps to brush the trail-side – starting at the section near the Bartle trailhead. The GSRTA Board also began a sign plan, designating the placement of signs along the trail. Bridge safety signs were installed.
The SRCF’s Redding Rancheria Community Fund granted funds for office equipment to facilitate online meetings. GSRTA Board members live at both ends of the trail, requiring a 60-mile drive through forests infested with deer (who like to stand on the edge of the road) to attend meetings, so they were grateful for the ability to participate in on-line meetings.
2017: Brush two sections, install bollards
A grant (USDA Forest Service – RAC grant) from the Shasta-Trinity Forest continued trail brushing near Bartle and along part of the Burney line, again employing the California Conservation Corps, with "The Dirt Team" assisting on the Burney line.
The McConnell Foundation’s Burney Fund granted funds to begin the development of the Burney trailhead. Those funds were used to survey the trailhead site in preparation for development.
The McConnell Foundation granted funds toward traffic management measures, resulting in the placement of bollards at strategic sites to limit unauthorized automobile traffic. The Rose Foundation again awarded funds for general support.
2018: First trailhead sign, power equipment
A grant from the Burney Chamber of Commerce facilitated the purchase and installation of the first trailhead identifying sign.
The GSRTA also resolved easement issues with an adjacent land owner and installed bollards to protect the trail thanks to a grant from the McConnell Foundation. In addition, trail identifying signs were installed.
2019: Trail brushing, trail brushing, grant writing
The Rose Foundation continued its support of the GSRTA with a genera support grant. The 2017 grant (USDA Forest Service – RAC grant) from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest to clear and brush in the Bartle area was satisfied by the California Conservation Corps, as the CCC crew had been reassigned to state wide fire support activities in previous years.
A Domestic Grant and agreement between the GSRTA and the Lassen National Forest was signed for vegetation management, repair of eroded sections of the trail and Trailhead enhancement using a combination of California Conservation Corps crew, Forest Service crew and GSRTA "The Dirt Team" volunteers.
GSRTA Board members began planning writing grants to rehabilitate the Lake Britton Bridge and the Highway 89 overcrossing, including gathering public ideas for rehabbing the bridges.
2020; Dry Creek Bridge replacement funded
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy notified the GSRTA that their application for funding to replace Dry Creek Bridge was approved. Work on engineering design and environmental requirements began in the fall. It is expected that the new bridge will be installed in the summer of 2021.
An agreement between the GSRTA and the Shasta Trinity National Forest made provisions for vegetation management and the development and sharing of environmental data to benefit both the Forest and the 33 miles of trail along within the National Forest Boundary.
Board members are developing information needed to write grant applications for the Lake Britton Bridge and the Highway 89 overpass continued. Repairing the trail between the Burney Trailhead and Cayton Trailhead and planning the Burney Trailhead infrastructure projects may be added to the project.