BLM Acquires Land to Improve Public Recreation Opportunities Near Sacramento River

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has acquired 275 acres near the Sacramento River that will improve public access to recreation areas and trails north of Redding.

Acquisition of the three parcels between Keswick and Shasta dams will enable the BLM to complete six miles of new trail.  A new three- mile loop from the Walker Mine Road Trailhead and a three-mile trail to Moccasin Creek will cross the newly acquired land, according to Steve Anderson, manager of the BLM Redding Field Office.

“Getting the property into public ownership also improves our ability to protect sensitive cultural and historic resources, improve wildlife habitat, and allow us to better manage fire-prone vegetation and reduce wildfire risk,” Anderson said.

The BLM acquired the parcels in a land exchange with property owner Jaxon Baker who acquired from the BLM about 100 acres within the urban expansion area of the City of Shasta Lake.

Anderson said BLM and its partners will soon begin developing the recreation trail segments on the newly acquired parcels, continuing improvement of a rapidly expanding recreational trail network in the Redding area.

In the past three years the BLM and partners have developed more than 60 miles of new recreational trails in the Sacramento River area, near the Swasey Recreation Area on Redding’s west side, along lower Clear Creek south of Redding, and in the Sacramento River Bend area in southern Shasta and northern Tehama counties.

A major focus has been in the Sacramento River area.  The network includes paved routes along the river within the Redding city limits, the wide path of the Sacramento River Rail Trail on the west side of the river, and the more narrow winding routes including the popular Upper and Lower Ditch Trail, Hornbeck  Trail and FB Trail segments on the east side of the river.

“All of this has happened because of a strong public-private partnership focused on improving the quality of life for our citizens,” Anderson said.  Partners include the City of Redding, U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, McConnell and Redding Foundations, the Rotary Club of Redding and many volunteers.

Northern California District   355 Hemsted Drive, Redding, CA 96002