Brown Sludge

The Katy Trail In Danger

January 4th, 2006

A farm-road viewed from the Katy Trail near Defiance, MO

Here in Missouri, the Katy Trail stands as one of the most unique and beautiful state parks ever built. It stretches for 225 miles across the state – from St. Charles not far from the Illinois border – all the way to Clinton – not far from the Kansas border.

Once a railway line for the MKT (Missouri-Kansas-Texas) route – it was converted to a trail through millions of dollars in donations from philanthropist Edward D. Jones and a clever federal law which allows for “railbanking”.

As thousands of bicyclists and hikers flocked to the trail a remarkable thing happened. Small rural communities that were once decimated and on the verge of becoming ghost-towns - mostly due to Corporate America’s brutal assault on manufacturing jobs in the U.S. - suddenly found themselves becoming tourist Meccas and thriving once again as bicycler’s and hikers found their way to the quaint and welcoming small towns. Businesses along the trail are thriving. It’s a success on a scale unequaled in any other state.

I have cycled every inch of it’s 225 miles, and I can tell you first hand that it’s one of the most beautiful and breathtaking rides you will ever take.

The quiet hours I spend there bicycling with my family and those I love hold some of the most special memories I will ever carry.

The quiet hours I spend bicycling there by myself are the only thing that keep my body fit and my soul at peace.

To borrow a phrase from “Schindler’s List” - the trail is an absolute good.

But now, thanks to Missouri’s Republican Gov. Matt Blunt and the railroad corporation Union Pacific – the entire trail is in danger of being obliterated.

In one of the most cynical and shortsighted political moves in recent Missouri history – Blunt has allowed his director of the Department of Natural Resources to wave the state’s right to the use of a critical bridge that lies along the Katy Trail near Booneville – opening up a loophole that will allow Union Pacific to reclaim that bridge – and use it to reduce it’s costs on another bridge it wants to build elsewhere.

Once that bridge has been reclaimed – the contiguous trail will be severed – putting it’s compliance status with the federal law that created it in question – and creating a legal chain reaction which could jeopardize the entire state park.

This spectacular green 225 mile lifeline showcasing Missouri’s rich natural beauty and cultural heritage (much of the trail follows Lewis and Clark’s historic original route along the Mississippi river) and bringing much needed customers to the wineries and restaurants and B&B’s along it’s length will be wiped off the map so that Corporate America can save some money on the scrap metal.

Missouri’s Attorney General Jay Nixon and a few environmental groups have filed suit to stop this tragedy, but nobody can say for sure yet what impact those lawsuits will have, if any.

Nixon (a Democrat) has even gone as far as vowing to run for Governor in 2008 – in order to put a stop to this debacle.

I’m making a vow too.

It’s not enough to Talk the Talk.
You gotta Walk the Walk.

The Walk:

• I vow that even though I typically consider myself a conservative, and a Republican, I intend to volunteer for Jay Nixon’s election campaign, and work as hard as I possibly can to unseat Matt Blunt from office in 2008. Even if that means stuffing envelopes and doing canvassing work for a Dem.
• I vow to volunteer as many hours as I possibly can to the local environmental organization (Missouri’s Great Rivers Environmental Law Center) that is spearheading “friend of the court” efforts here.
• I vow to never again vote a straight Republican ticket – and to be very careful of who I vote for in the future – regardless of their party affiliation.
• I vow to write to every Republican in the state legislature that will listen – and explain to them that this is the sort of thing that erodes the party base – and makes people on the Right look BAD – and to assure them that anyone who supports this horrible decision will suffer at the ballot box during the next election cycle.

You can read a more about it here :

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/13238107.htm

And in the St. Louis Post Dispatch On Line (which doesn’t carry permalinks because it wants you to PAY to view old material)

The folks at Trailnet do important work for bicyclists in Missouri too.

The Brown Sludge Monster is trying to eat The Katy Trail. It must not succeed.

I’ll be updating this entry often.

I promise.

Update :

A kind reader pointed me to the Missouri Bike Federation and they’re advocacy and activities on behalf of the Katy Trail. Thank you Ranj Niere. Much appreciated. www.mobikefed.org.

Entry Filed under: Bicycle Sludge, The Right Has It Wrong