SACRAMENTO—The Assembly passed a bill Thursday that would designate the Ma-le’l Dunes on the Humboldt Coast as the “Senator Wesley Chesbro Coastal Trail.”

The Ma-le’l Dunes are located west of the City of Arcata and are part of the 1,600 coastal dune system of the north and south spit of the Humboldt Bay. Although the bill could be signed into law this year, the trail would not bear Chesbro’s name until he has completed his public service to the state of California.

“This is a fitting tribute to a dear friend of Humboldt County, the North Coast, and to me personally,” said Berg, D-Eureka. “Naming a part of the Dunes after Wesley Chesbro is an appropriate recognition of his life-long environmental work including the passage of Proposition 84, which he framed and secured its successful passage.”

Chesbro represented the North Coast region in the State Senate from 1998 to 2006. He authored legislation to direct the State Coastal Conservancy to develop a California Coastal Trail action plan to be completed by 2008. Chesbro currently serves on the Integrated Waste Management Board, and previously was a Humboldt County supervisor and an Arcata City Council member. He has been a resident of Humboldt County for 28 years.

Assembly Bill 1568 must be approved in the Senate before the governor can sign it into law.