As Last Chance Grade Crumbles, Caltrans Considers Two Solutions: Save the Redwoods League
This is a press release from Save the Redwoods League:
In Northern California, the famed coastal Highway 101 winds through some of the world’s last ancient coast redwood forest. For decades, a 3.5-mile section of the highway between Eureka and Crescent City, known as Last Chance Grade, has been plagued by landslides and frequent closures, with no viable alternate routes for the local community, commerce or tourism. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has been working with local stakeholders for 10 years on a solution. Tragically, their final two roadway alternatives will have substantial impacts on nearby old-growth redwood forest.
The remaining alternatives are 1) an end-to-end re-engineering of the section of 101 crossing the Last Chance Grade slide, or 2) building a 1.1-mile tunnel under Redwood National and State Parks to bypass the landslide zone. These roadway alternatives are among the least environmentally harmful solutions for the long-term restoration of Last Chance Grade, and Caltrans published a detailed assessment of each in its draft Environmental Impact Report in December 2023.
While other route alternatives could have resulted in far more destructive impacts, both remaining plans will still involve removing 129 to 144 large, old trees, including dozens of old-growth redwood trees up to 8.9 feet in diameter. Regrettably, land that will be affected or removed includes parkland that Save the Redwoods League helped protect, the Traditional Cultural Landscape, recreational trails, habitat for marbled murrelets and northern spotted owls and wetland habitat.
With scarcely 5% of California’s original old-growth redwoods still surviving, Save the Redwoods League is deeply saddened by any further loss of ancient redwood forest, especially in areas that the League, our supporters and partners fought hard to protect. Old-growth redwoods are irreplaceable, and it is difficult to imagine what mitigation efforts would be adequate to make up for any further loss of this globally unique ancient forest.
Caltrans has indicated that it is committed to mitigate the environmental impacts of the highway construction project. As they proceed with either alternative, we must ensure that meaningful actions and significant investments are made toward redwood forest land protection, restoration and stewardship.
Save the Redwoods League has been engaged in Congressman Huffman’s Stakeholder Working Group for Last Chance Grade since 2015 to assess roadway alternatives, environmental impacts and mitigation. We remain committed to making science-based recommendations to Caltrans to define and secure a solution and maximal mitigation outcome.
Learn more about Last Chance Grade.
In Northern California, the famed coastal Highway 101 winds through some of the world’s last ancient coast redwood forest. For decades, a 3.5-mile section of the highway between Eureka and Crescent City, known as Last Chance Grade, has been plagued by landslides and frequent closures, with no viable alternate routes for the local community, commerce or tourism. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has been working with local stakeholders for 10 years on a solution. Tragically, their final two roadway alternatives will have substantial impacts on nearby old-growth redwood forest.
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Oh well Save the Redwoods League. Humanity takes precedence over any of your concerns. Besides, you guys are in San Francisco, so this is not even an inconvenience for your daily travels. For those who live up here, it is a vital lifeline. Stop talking and get constructing.
They are based in the Bay Area for fundraising reasons. They care deeply about (our) Redwood forests, and have purchased, then donated & saved more old growth Redwood forest land than any other source. Last Chance Grade was (obviously) ill-conceived originally, and now needs to be fixed, but hopefully not at the cost of well over 100 irreplaceable trees. Your simplistic viewpoint (“Humanity takes precedence over any of your concerns”). echos the mindset of the original settlers who destroyed so much of this incredible continent in the name of (selfish) “Humanity”.
While the Save the Redwoods League does some good work, their history is one of limited preservation. The League was founded by three prominent promoters of eugenics. The original intent of the League was to limit preservation to a screen of trees along the Redwood Highway and a few small camping groves. They opposed every iteration of a Redwood National Park. Look up Madison Grant, one of the founders, Hitler was a fan of his.
Trees are a renewable resource. Get over it go plant a tree.
I’m glad you think you can live 500 to over a 1000 years to witness their replacement. That attitude is what is causing 60% of animals and plants to become extinct. Then humans will disappear also because we have destroyed the ability to grow any type of food!
If only the tinman had a brain, he could have fashioned an outrigger to sail by the stars. Oh well. Save the redwoods is based in The City. That is where they have been since the 1980$, at a minimum. Right in the narrow street, skyscraper highhhh, glass houses of the City’s financial district straight out of the Minority Report. Cmonnnn mannnn.
Nothing lives forever. Nothing Ironic how an organisation founded by racists cares more for artificially extending the lives of a tree rather than expanding human potential. It’s thanks to you tree hugging urban gauchiste intelligentsia that every fire season gets worse for those of us living in the mountains. Grab a chainsaw clear out the under brush and let’s get back to sustainable logging
Humanity? Yes you have been so good to this planet and it’s other inhabitants. Humanity needs it’s Safeway trucks to get to CC. Humanity is the PROBLEM here, believing, in spite of all evidence, that humanity’s needs take precidence. Can you hear what you are saying? You are ridiculous
They can come over 199 then. They already do.
There is an alternate inland route that would bypass the old growth . It would take longer (maybe). It would cost $$$$$$$$ that California does not have or is not willing to invest for the small local population. There is however a pretty hefty amount of $$$$ for contractors to build fixes that break off after a few years and head downhill for the ocean. Job Security. It’s totally the California way.
When was at a Caltrans presentation several routes inland were mooted. The more coastal ones all had areas of landslides. When asked we were told the inland routes probably did to but had not been fully surveyed. You save money and the environment by staying on the original route with more armoring and a bridge or two.
Another old route was the Simpson ‘Klamath to Korbel’ route. Company abandoned it when the cost of the bridge over the Klamath was factored in.
https://lastchancegrade.com/
Your six paragraph statement basically says nothing except, “we want to save all the redwoods we can”. No kidding, we all do. Why even put out a statement with no substance?
Cut it right through the redwoods, most of of highways do anyways. Stop wasting time and get it done.
Take the ‘tunnel money’ (billion) and go for the ‘Bypass Richardson Grove’ project. CalTrans should have all the engineering and drawings.
Well, somewhere… er… maybe ?
These “activists” can’t even see the forest through the trees.
There are THREE options. Third one is leave the road where it is.
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I betcha about a $100 million expenditure ‘clearing and stabilizing’ the hillside above the road would work just fine.
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CalTrans should have done that during the recent re-construction. Should have closed the road from 9pm to 6am. Witness the huge ‘anti-slide’ projects on Hwy 299, (French Gulch) and Hwy 36 (Dubkella). I know it can be done.
The original road grade has been pretty well stabilized, they spent a fortune on it. That grade will probably last another 50 years.
CalTrans is ignoring that. Have no ‘reasonable’ idea why. I think they want a huge tunnel with 24 hour ventilation and lights… and a 24 hour maintenance station to go with it.
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Go figure.
Uninformed bs. They’ve already spent several hundred million over the years, trying to stabilize the area above and below the roadway. Retaining walls they build, to hold up the roadway, lie in crushed layers below. The main reason? This entire mountain is falling into the erosive ocean. I am, frankly, surprised that they’ve decided a tunnel will last, even with a permanent maintenance presence there.
NOPE. I’m not talking about retaining walls. I’m talking about a re-structuring of the mountainside.
Key difference, is restructuring Last Chance has the disadvantage of nothing but beach 700 feet below it.
Well… as does that slide… Trinity River is 70′ below.
CalTrans spent $25 million on ‘re-engineering’ that hillside. I figure that $100 million would take care of Last Chance… for a long time.
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Go figure.
It’s time to tell Huffman and save the redwoods league get out of the way quit your whining these people are going to get people killed while they ring their hands about a couple of trees
Considering that we’ve only loved about 3% of the old growth redwoods remaining on Earth, there’s absolutely no moral person who can recommend cutting down more of them in order to save money.
3% even at 8.9 feet diameter, I don’t think so.
Lives will be saved.
Maybe they could use Elon Musk’s tunnel boring machine!!
How about we just set up permanent ocean going ferry service in both directions?
How about after CalTrans hires loggers to cut the old growth out of the right of way of the new road or tunnel, the government give the logs to the Yurok and Tolowa. They can make a fleet of ocean going canoes for their tribe and teach their youth about canoe construction. A win for all!
Be a cold day in hell that would come into existence. Not at that section. That’s a death wish. I’ve ridden ferrys in different places for many years and it will be a colder day yet before I’d ride a ferry on that route. It can be a beautiful sunny day and still have 25 foot waves and sneaker waves from somewhere else.
You know in a thousand years every inch of the state, federal and local parks will be the home to old growth redwoods. It’s not like the days of old where loggers are going to clear cut redwood forest again. People around here just want to be able to freely drive to and from the Crescent City are. Having to remove redwood for this will have no impact on our precious redwoods. Give it a rest. Lets work on Save the Humans League.
Heck yeah. Logging all the Old growth redwood would pay for the bypass.
Sarcasm!!!
payed for the Newton B. Drury bybass
The only thing the humans need saving from is themselves
Read Ghost Forest by Greg King to see how benevolent Save the Redwoods League is. I’ve lived here 30 years and never knew the truth. It’s a good read for anyone living up here to know the true history of timber companies and corporate interests. Save the Redwoods leaders (owners and higher ups of timber and other corporations) blocked efforts to actually save significant portions of land and used government purchases to sell back land they stole through the homesteading act to make “protected areas”.
I don’t get what service the league actually provides today. Taxpayers are still getting robbed. The tract of land behind McKinleyville that just got sold for 3.8 million from Green diamond was all land that was taken illegally from the act and transferred hands between timber companies many times before green diamond cashed in.
head shake ,and walks away slowly
8.9 feet is old growth ?
In diameter, yeah. Sure, there are a few other conifers that can approach ten feet or so, like Sitka Spruce, and old valley redwoods like at RNP or Humboldt Redwoods can easily beat 9 feet, but still, 8.9 feet are big trees. Like LBJ Grove, these are more upland, mixed forests.
Keep in mind every time the power goes out at the tunnel in San Mateo county, devil’s slide, on Highway 1 they close the road. Any small traffic incident,they close it.Fan or light malfunction they close it. I know because I lived there. They are guaranteed to do the same at last chance grade. Billions of dollars and 30 years before it’s done. The tunnel will definitely be more unreliable than the road we have now .
what about a huge culvert- like tunnel, cars could drive through the tunnel and the mudslide can go over the top of culvert???
I think everybody should get naked and hug the trees until Cal Trans goes away. Worked at Richardson Grove! And then we can create new jobs- in the pack mule business!
People’s safety is more important, than a dam tree. Kid’s education and welfare is more than important than a dam tree. Those trees can be used for building, siding, Etc. the state needs to open there minds and pull together for the good reason of our welfare!
It amazes me they refuse to use the existing road route used through the old Miller Rellim property from the intersection of 101 at Wilson Creek and exiting onto 101 at approximately the Scenic Overlook just outside Crescent City not even up the mountain into the “Park” yet.
My grandfather started coming North in 1949 and told me in 1976 when I moved here that nothing had changed, that the road had been having problems and continually being repaired the entire time. It’s obvious Logic Never Prevails.