Since spring, the Humboldt Bay trail Fund has raised more than one-third of the $300,000 sought to fill in the gaps along the 13-mile trail stretching from south Eureka, through Old Town along the bay to Arcata, connecting to the Hammond Trail up to McKinleyville. The fund will also help maintain the trail once it’s completed.

Rick Littlefield, the owner of Eureka Natural Foods, wants to see the 20-year old dream of connecting the communities through the trail completed. And he believes community funding is a way to push it across the finish line and fill in the gaps.

Littlefield said Eureka Natural Foods kicked off the fund with a $20,000 donation. It now stands at $128,000. The fund is not only for businesses but also for individual community members.

“It’s good for everybody,” Littlefield said. “Arcata is going to love it and Eureka is going to love it.”

About two-thirds of the donations are from individuals, Littlefield said, and the trail could be overall better for the communities by bringing in more tourism to the area. He said the trail will play a role in some of the first steps toward more eco-tourism in the area which would bring people out of town interested in exploring the North Coast.

“There’s tons of opportunities,” Littlefield said. “But the Humboldt Bay Trail is the anchor.”

The overall trail has seen some hiccups throughout its two decades of becoming a reality, Littlefield said, and there are still some hurdles in the future.

Those include building on marshland and sea level rise because the trail will be located along the bay. But Littlefield is confident and said the trail could actually help and become a preventative measure for sea level rise because it would be easier to raise.

The Humboldt Bay Trail Fund is managed through the Humboldt Area Foundation and which list the purpose of the fund “is to provide support for maintenance and development of a multi-purpose trail around the bay for walking, running, biking and wheeling.”

Littlefield added that the trail will be fully accessible for people in wheelchairs.

Patrick Cleary, executive director for the Humboldt Area Foundation, said the Humboldt Bay Trail Fund is one of the most impressive funds he has seen because of the grassroots core. He said a majority of the support for the trail has come from individual community members which shows how much people want the trail to be finished.

“I have a lot of confidence in the community members and the community as a whole,” Cleary said.

Cleary said the number one reason why community funding is so important is because a project like this would not happen unless it was supported by the local people.

“I am confident this will happen,”Cleary said. “It’s just a matter of when.”

To donate to the fund, go to http://bit.ly/2vaFJLY

Sam Armanino can be reached at 707-441-0509.