Something to Protest About

I believe reopening the Skunk Train tunnel is not just a good idea it’s absolutely necessary for the future of our little town.

I want to be clear right up front: I have no affiliation with the Skunk Train. I don’t work for them, and I don’t have any financial interest in whether that tunnel opens or stays closed. I’m just a cowboy who loves this town, lives in this town, and wants to see Fort Bragg finally reach its full potential not just for myself, but for my kids, my neighbors, and the people who want to stay here and build their lives.

After watching so many protests and rallies lately, I can’t help but wonder: why aren’t we organizing and protesting for the things that could actually make a real, immediate difference right here in our own community? We march, we post, we yell about far-off issues in Washington or Sacramento we can’t control, while the future of Fort Bragg is sitting right in front of us, waiting for us to step up.

As President Obama said: "The easiest way to make lasting change is through grassroots action and community engagement." This isn’t about partisan politics or abstract debates. This is local. We can fix this together by showing up, speaking up, and refusing to let a few loud voices drown out the common-sense solutions that can help Fort Bragg thrive.

Now, I know the Coastal Commission’s March 2024 report raised real concerns. The report notes that the train travels 40 miles with 381 curves, through terrain prone to tree falls, landslides, and tunnel collapses. If a derailment happens near the Noyo River or Pudding Creek, fuel or cargo could spill into sensitive waterways putting both our environment and drinking water at risk (CCC 2024).

But here’s where the conversation goes off the rails: we act like the Skunk Train is the only thing posing risk to this area, while ignoring a much larger, much more immediate danger that rolls through our mountains every single day, semi-trucks on our roads, especially Highway 20.

Anyone who’s driven Highway 20 knows this road is a death trap: narrow, steep, winding, and full of blind corners. Fully loaded semis haul fuel, aggregates, municipal waste, and hazardous materials beside families, tourists, and delivery vans daily. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are over 500,000 truck crashes every year, with around 5,000 fatalities annually (NHTSA 2023). Meanwhile, the Federal Railroad Administration reports about 1,000 to 1,500 train derailments per year most minor, low-speed incidents in yards or switching areas (FRA 2023).

The difference is clear: semi crashes on Highway 20 usually don’t make headlines, but a single train derailment becomes a national news cycle. Meanwhile, we’re risking spills, fuel leaks, and accidents daily with no major outrage.

Reopening the tunnel would take an immediate load off that highway. One fully loaded train can replace at least ten semi-truck loads each way, meaning twenty fewer big rigs making that dangerous round trip every single day. That equals twenty fewer chances for rollovers, spills, jackknifes, and fatalities plus fewer gallons of diesel burned, less pavement damage, and reduced risk to drivers and our environment.

The environmental bonus doesn’t stop there. Freight rail uses about one-third the fuel per ton-mile compared to trucks (DOE 2023). Take those rigs off Highway 20, and you’re instantly cutting diesel exhaust, reducing road erosion, and keeping brake-pad debris, oil drips, and tire runoff out of our waterways.

But there’s another piece often overlooked, the economic picture. The Skunk Train isn’t just a freight line; it’s our biggest year‑round paying tourist attraction. A 2022 economic impact report found the Skunk Train and its railbikes brought over $67 million into our local economy between 2016–2021, sparking advertising, lodging, dining, and more (Skunk Train, 2022). Roughly 42 percent of visitors came here just to ride it, and 80 percent spent nights in Fort Bragg generating thousands of room nights and sustaining local jobs (Skunk Train, 2022).

More visitors means more revenue, more jobs, and stronger tax support for public services especially important during the slow winter months. Reopening the tunnel boosts economic stability, job security, and long‑term resilience in a community that needs it.

If we’re going to block the tunnel because of environmental concerns, then we should block the semis too, since they’re already doing daily damage. Or better yet, let’s go full extreme: close ALL the highways, outlaw trucking, and deliver everything by crab boat or Amazon drone. Obviously absurd…but that’s how inconsistent this conversation has become.

Transportation is never risk‑free. The question is: which system offers a smarter, more sustainable path forward? A properly maintained Skunk Train tunnel with modern safety protocols, environmental oversight, and community input offers a safer, greener, and more economically sound future for Fort Bragg than continuing to pump endless semi-truck traffic through a dangerous mountain highway.

This is why I’m speaking up. I’m not affiliated with the railroad I’m just a Fort Bragg local who’s tired of seeing fear, selective outrage, and bad math kill our opportunities for progress.

If you care about safety, cleaner air, good jobs, and Fort Bragg’s longterm health, I urge you to email our city leaders. Show them that the rest of us support a balanced solution grounded in facts, foresight, and community care.

Take five minutes and send a message now:

bos@co.mendocino.ca.us and cityclerk@fortbraggca.gov

Subject: Support Reopening the Skunk Train Tunnel

References

California Coastal Commission. Tunnel Project Report, March 2024 (CCC 2024).

NHTSA. Annual Truck Crash Data, 2023 (NHTSA 2023).

FRA. Rail Safety Incident Summary, 2023 (FRA 2023).

U.S. DOE. Transportation Energy Data Book, 2023 (DOE 2023).

Skunk Train. Economic Impact Report, 2016–2021, released February 2022 (Skunk Train, 2022).