NORTH COAST, Calif. — State Sen. Mike McGuire on Thursday thanked Gov. Newsom for his signing of SB 69, the Great Redwood Trail Act.

“With Big Coal trying to do an end run on the North Coast, the State of California is standing strong for the Great Redwood Trail. We won’t be intimidated, we’re certainly not going to back down. We will win this fight against Big Coal and the signing of SB 69 today is a massive step forward,” said McGuire.

He added, “I’m grateful to the governor for signing this historic legislation that will once and for all, close down the defunct and bankrupt North Coast Railroad Authority and transition the organization into a world class trails agency.”

The bill puts the organization, the funding, and the expert staff in place to fight what McGuire said are “midwestern coal barons” and to continue the progress on the Great Redwood Trail.

“We’ll kick off the Trail’s fully funded Master Plan in early 2022 and we couldn’t be more excited,” said McGuire.

Due to the passage and signing of SB 69, NCRA will transition to the Great Redwood Trail Agency on March 1, 2022, and the State Coastal Conservancy will take over oversight and management of the organization no later than July 1, 2022.

The Great Redwood Trail Agency’s mission is to master plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain the Great Redwood Trail.

They will begin the community outreach and master planning process the first part of the new year.