New Coastal Trail Resurrects Land That Hasn't Been Conserved For 100 Years Since Advent Of Lumber Companies
Something is happening in Fort Bragg that hasn’t happened in over 100 years. The public has been given access to huge tracts of coastal terrain that have been owned and used by lumber companies since the 1890s. Thanks to over ten million dollars in grant money and a land donation from Georgia-Pacific Lumber Company, over 80 acres of previously inaccessible land has been opened as the new Noyo Headlands Park, including a 4.5-mile stretch of paved walking path known as the Fort Bragg Coastal Trail.
The road that led to the restoration of this incredible natural resource began in the 1870s when the area around an abandoned military post, named after Captain Braxton Bragg, became home to a number of small lumber companies. The vast redwood forests and easy access to the ocean made the town of Fort Bragg ideal for milling and shipping wood down the coast. In 1885 the Fort Bragg Redwood Company was incorporated, merging with Noyo River Lumber Company after six years to form the Union Lumber Company, which would remain until becoming Georgia-Pacific 78 years later.
Fort Bragg continued on its path as a remote lumber town until the catastrophic earthquake of 1906 leveled much of the Northern California coast. The devastation quickly turned to opportunity as reconstruction of major cities, like San Francisco, created a massive demand for lumber, something Fort Bragg and Union Lumber were happy to provide. With this newfound prosperity came a railroad line and the first glimpse of Fort Bragg’s future…tourism.
Flash forward to 2002 when Georgia-Pacific shut down the last part of the mill still operating along the town’s coast and change is in the air. With over 400 acres of oceanfront property being listed as “non-performing” by the lumber giant, state and local visionaries jumped in with a variety of ideas to develop that land into a crown jewel for Fort Bragg. Thirteen years later the commemoration of the Noyo Headlands Park and Phase 1 of the Fort Bragg Coastal Trail marks the first realization of that vision and by all accounts it has been a huge success. According to Sharon Davis, President of the Mendocino Chamber of Commerce, “The popularity of the trail has far exceeded anyone’s expectations. People are continually calling our office for more information on it.”
Phase 1 focused on the development of the eight foot wide paved path winding its way along the jagged headlands of the coastline. In addition to the path itself over 20 acres of land have been restored to their natural state allowing the local wildlife to once again flourish in downtown Fort Bragg. With over 90 species of birds alone, the trail has already become a bird watcher’s paradise but avian hobbyists are often outnumbered by the crowds of whale watchers who come to observe Gray and Humpback whales on their annual migration.
There are still remnants of the lumber companies and Fort Bragg’s origins as you walk along the trail. Glass Beach is the site of the former town dump where years of wind and waves have worn household glass and pottery into smooth, gem-like stones. Old millponds have been rejuvenated as homes for fish, mammals, and amphibians. You can even see the old pilings of the dock at Soldier Bay where boats used to pick up loads of lumber to ship all over the West Coast.
The highlight for many of the locals, however, would be ?tsuchi Point, a small headland named after Fort Bragg’s sister city in Japan that was almost completely destroyed by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. For Davis, who visited Japan as part of the sister city exchange, it is a special place. “The two cities are on the same latitude so when you look straight out from that point you are looking directly at ?tsuchi.”
Phase 2 of the project will focus on a ten-acre area near the old millpond where another half-mile of trail will be added and five additional acres of land restored to its natural state.
But Fort Bragg and the entire Mendocino Country region have much more than new parklands and rich history to offer. Fort Bragg’s second major industry has always been commercial fishing and the area’s cold waters provide the perfect environment for sea life to thrive, including abalone, a rare delicacy. Dungeness crab season brings seafood lovers from all over the world to participate in a local “crab feed”. “Mendo” wines and beers are matched with pots of crab boiled in seawater. Surfers flock to the variety of breaks up and down the coastline, with sandy and rocky ocean floors providing a range of different waves to choose from. Mendocino County is also home to some of the most reputable vineyards in the world with the Anderson Valley appellation at the top of the list.
The long-term strategy of Fort Bragg and the Mendocino Coast is to preserve these natural wonders for all to enjoy. The hope is for the town to procure as much of the coastal property as possible and continue to develop the land not only for the local population but to add appeal to the already blossoming tourist industry that has developed in the region. From lumber to fish to the bucolic wonder of its new trail, Fort Bragg and its inhabitants continue to come into their own