Sections of Sacramento River Rail Trail to be temporarily closed for project work
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REDDING, Calif. – Sections of the Sacramento River Rail Trail and Middle Creek Trail near Redding will be temporarily closed this month, while Bureau of Land Management crews build fuel breaks and remove potentially hazardous trees along the trail. Each closure will be in place for about 10 days. Trail sections will be closed sequentially as project work is completed.
The closures will be in place while work is underway from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, beginning Monday, Nov. 8, and continuing into early December. The trails will be fully open during weekends.
“These temporary closures are needed to protect public safety, while our crews cut down fire-damaged trees, cut and pile tree boughs and brush, and use heavy machines to crush, or masticate, small trees and brush,” said Jennifer Mata, manager of the BLM’s Redding Field Office. “Removing these overstocked fuels and creating shaded fuel breaks will reduce the chances of catastrophic wildfire, providing protection for trail uses and the communities that border these recreation corridors.”
The first project segment extends along the Sacramento River Rail Trail from the Keswick Dam Trailhead to the Rock Creek Trailhead. The second closure segment affects the Middle Creek Trail from the junction with the Sacramento River Rail Trail to Iron Mountain Road. The final segment is on the Middle Creek Trail from Iron Mountain Road to the junction with State Route 299. Signs will be in place at each closure.
Mata said work will cover about 75 acres along six miles of trails, all of which were impacted by the 2018 Carr Fire.
The project is consistent with the BLM’s support of President Biden’s “America the Beautiful” conservation vision that builds upon local and regionally designed approaches to conserving lands and waters that matter most to communities and the nation.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.