California Coastal Trail Committee

The Coastal Trail Project involves producing a map, with routes and key features (trailheads, parking etc), for completing the California Coastal Trail. It is a cooperative undertaking of several State agencies, including State Parks and the Coastal Commission, with the Coastal Conservancy assigned the responsibility as lead agency. Several Coastwalk members (our Steering Committee) also serve on the multi-agency "Working Group" overseeing the project. Coastwalk has received a grant from the Conservancy to hire additional staff and pay necessary expenses for our involvement. Senate Bill 908, passed and signed in October of 2001 provides a mandate for this study. It is anticipated that a continuous Coastal Trail will be in place by 2008!

Getting Started

Coastwalk plans to establish a CCT committee in each county. Over time these committees will evolve into an oversight and stewardship committee responsible for the CCT segment in the county. A primary need at present is to field check routes and gaps, using a GIS unit and camera to log results. Our map person, Rixanne Wehren, is processing the results. We plan to have a volunteers and a staff person to help train and answer questions about the mapping effort and the general committee work. Specific GIS mapping instructions are being developed.

Committee work covers two broad complimentary categories.

1. The trail work

a) Become familiar with actual as well a potential coastal trail routes and
their access points. Describe the trails as to their condition and suitability for designation as the CCT. Determine suitability for the type of use. Remember our primary goal is to create a hiking route with other uses when appropriate. A secondary but important goal is to identify other routes for other uses where hiking is the preferred option.
b) Determine what coastal trails are in planning or construction stages
by local agencies such as municipal parks and state and federal agencies. Examine the coastal access plans of the State's Coastal Commission and Conservancy and local conservancies to see what publicly dedicated lands are available for the trail, and what additional opportunities (such as Offers to Dedicate, OTD's) might exist to provide a continuous trail or improve coastal access. Also evaluate the gaps that are present.

2. Work with other groups/agencies.

a) Review the Land Use Programs (LUPs) of your county and communities in the
coastal region to find out if they incorporate plans for a coastal trail. Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) and LUPs are required by the Coastal Act (1976), but for some jurisdictions they are out of date; indeed, some communities don't have them although required by law. [Such planning documents provide a means of encouraging local jurisdictions to plan for the coastal trail, although their force might be compared to a glacier-steady but very slow.] Find out what specific plans have been put forward for a coastal trail, and compare those plans with models being developed by the Working Group. Determine if planned or built trails form a continuous network.

b) Identify local and statewide groups sympathetic to a trail such as
outdoor recreation (non-profit and commercial), environmental, conservation and tourism businesses. Meet with these groups and their leaders to define areas of common interest and possible cooperative activities.

c) Contact local elected officials and staff in such departments as
Planning, and Recreation and Parks to encourage the development of a trail. Provide those persons with information on the Coastal Trail Project and other support that would favor the trail's realization.

Committee Structure

The committees will be somewhat different in each county depending on trail conditions, interests of members and politics.
1. Each committee should have a coordinator.
2. Meet on a regular basis.
2. Report activities to the CCT statewide coordinator.
3. Look at these immediate activities as the beginning of a long-term
strategy for Coastwalk to be "in charge" of the CCT.
4. Coastwalk provide expense funds for each committee for such things as
mileage, phones, postage and documents. For specific trail projects (in a State Park for repair or construction, for example) Coastwalk could seek grants.

Diplomacy

There are several sensitive issues with which the Coastal Trail Project must deal. Perhaps the most obvious is that of private landowners. SB 908 does make a commitment to their privacy. However, access brings up sensitive issues and fears. Similarly, a few communities have resisted LCP legislation for lack of funds to support it or because of a desire to maintain local autonomy. Finally, other advocacy groups [bike, wheel-chair, conservation] will question if specific aspects of the Coastal Trail Project will be compatible with their priorities. It will be important that those meeting with the public and officials understand the issues and the concerns of others. Use of words such as mandate, impose and requirement might interfere with our larger outreach goals.

Still interested? Contact us for more information by any of the following means: