Press Releases:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
11/06/2008
CONTACTS:
Katie Test, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
202.974.5152 (office)
katie@railstotrails.org

California Trail Receives National Recognition
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Names Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail to Hall of Fame

Washington, D.C. –Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has named the Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail as the eighth inductee to the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame. The California trail is featured in Rails to Trails magazine and on RTC's Web site, complete with photos and a detailed ride-along description of its scenic views and important community connections.

The 24.5-mile Bizz Johnson Trail is the longest, and some would say the most scenic, rail-trail in California. The trail route leads through dense, high-country woodlands and the Susan River Canyon, and it incorporates trestles, tunnels and two trail museums along the way from Susanville to Westwood. 

"I was very excited to hear of the award," says Stan Bales, an outdoor recreation planner with the Bureau of Land Management. "I'm hopeful the award will help our community [since] the trail has been a wonderful resource for our county, and now as a destination for visitors."

The Bizz Johnson Trail is a multi-use path shared by bicyclists, walkers, joggers, fishers, cross-country skiers and equestrians. In the beginning, it was part of the old Fernley and Lassen Railroad branch line that had carried lumber and sometimes passengers from 1914 to 1956. Plans are now developing for the Bizz Johnson to become a longer trail and make connections to other local pathways. 

"The Bizz Johnson trail is part of a much longer railroad grade," says Bales. "We hope to extend that railroad grade and connect the 25 miles of the Bizz Johnson Trail with the 86-mile Modoc line, which the Lassen Land and Trails Trust acquired this September. It will be tremendous."

RTC's Rail-Trail Hall of Fame was established in 2007 to honor outstanding rail-trails. There are currently 1,500 open rail-trails, and approximately 750 more in development. Hall of Fame inductees are selected based on merits such as scenic value, high use, trail and trailside amenities, historical significance, excellence in management and maintenance of facility, community connections and geographic distribution.

Past trails that have received the designation include the Elroy-Sparta Trail in Wisconsin, the Illinois Prairie Path in Illinois, the Minuteman Bikeway in Massachusetts, the Burke-Gilman Trail in Washington, the Katy Trail State Park in Missouri, the Pinellas Trail in Florida, and the Great Allegheny Passage in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

For a complete list of the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame designations and stories, visit RTC's Web site at www.railstotrails.org

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a nonprofit organization with more than 100,000 members, is the nation's largest trails organization dedicated to connecting people and communities by creating a nationwide network of public trails, many from former rail lines and connecting corridors. Founded in 1986, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's national office is located in Washington, D.C., with regional offices in California, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information visit www.railstotrails.org.