Line’s End?
Higgins’s proposition — he stresses that he speaks only for himself, not the Harbor District at large — is that the authority may be better off abandoning at least some of its Humboldt County right-of-way in exchange for debt forgiveness. The authority has put off any plans to reopen the full length of the line for the foreseeable future, given that the remote stretch of track between northern Humboldt and Willits — the so-called “Eel River Canyon” section — is in such a state of disrepair that no funding sources can be located to pay for its renovation. With that section closed, the justification for the authority
Higgins said Monday that he imagined the Harbor District would be better poised to put the Humboldt County to use. He envisioned the district working closely with groups such as the Timber Heritage Association, which wants to run a historic tourist train around Humboldt Bay, and with trail advocates who want to build an intercity walking and biking path. Unburdened by debt, he said, the Harbor District could reinvent the transportation corridor for the 21st century.
“How do we deal with death?” Higgins asked. “The Tibetians, they laugh. They say, ‘You’re born, you die and then you come back.’”
Reached Monday, Humboldt County Supervisor Clif Clendenen acknowleged that the authority is in dire straights, but he stopped just short of endorsing Higgins’ vision. “There’s certainly a lot of challenges for the authority, but I think to say that we’re going to part it out for the junkyard would be premature,” he said.
But Clendenen said that he and others on the authority’s board of directors were looking at other mechanisms through which the northern Humboldt section of the line might be put to more immediate use. Clendenen said that the thought the authority might want to essentially rent out the right-of-way to some body representing trail advocates, or the tourist train, or both.
“I think it would be quite reasonable, in a shorter time frame — 10 years, 20 years — to lease a section that we have no immediate use for,” he said.
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44th Annual Kinetic Grand Championship Race
STAFF PICK / events, art, outdoors, sports, for kids, free / 9 a.m.-6 p.m. A 3-day, 42-mile kinetic sculpture race over land, sand, mud and water! LeMans start at the Noon Whistle on the Arcata Plaza. Follow the race through Manila, Eureka and into Ferndale on Memorial Day for the Glorious Finish. kineticgrandchampionship.com. 889-3024.
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STAFF PICK / events / 8 p.m. Arcata Theatre Lounge, 1036 G St. Student designed and produced clothing. Fundraiser for Arcata Arts Institute. $35/$25 students. artsinstitute.net. 822-1220.
Woodside Preschool's Rummage/Bake Sale
events / 8 a.m.-noon. Woodside Preschool, 900 Hodgson St, Eureka. www.woodsidepreschool.com. 445-9132.
Lanphere Dunes Restoration
STAFF PICK / outdoors / 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet at Pacific Union School. Help remove non-native invasives at the Lanphere Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Tools and gloves provided, wear work clothes and bring water. Carpool to the protected site. 444-1397.
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THREE Comments
Comment / By Susan Fox / Nov. 28, 2009, 7:47 p.m.
What Higgins said. Just do it.
Comment / By Shannon Smith / Nov. 29, 2009, 8:12 p.m.
Get rid of NCRA. All they do is suck money for themselves. Let NWP Co. run it, and look for a new route to any rail line to get the loads out. There will never be a route down the canyon that will last as long as Mother Nature has a say so.
Comment / By Gerald W. Fitsimmons / Dec. 3, 2009, 12:53 p.m.
Eureka must have a railroad connection to the outside world… The NCRA may have old ideas and issues to conquer, however, they are believers that a transport connection can be solvent. There are new ideas concerning the direction of rehabilitation for the eel river right of way. These new ideas spawn hope that in the future, a solid connection with NWP will be found and new commerce will commence in the way of shippers and traffic. Closing the NCRA out…. is not the way out. A better solution is in the offing that brings hope to a stronger North Coast economy. It is essential, and must be adhered to… for the future of the port… and of the North Coast.