High Country News / KFBP

The High Country News features Port Gamble's Kitsap Forest and Bay Project on the front page. The Colorado based magazine provides an interesting perspective on the complex issues that are in play around Port Gamble Bay and the surrounding lands, which affect this project so important to our community. Their website describes the eight page November 26, 2012 feature article, titled "Casting for Common Ground", with the statement, "A timber company tries to do the right thing as a tribe fights for its ancestral lands." High Country News' mission is to produce in-depth journalism to inform and inspire people to act on behalf of the West's land, air and inhabitants.

Kitsap Water Trail gets National Press!

The National Park Service chose Kitsap's Water Trail as Trail of the Month in a national newsletter, saying: "This Pacific Northwest water trail gives boaters access to some spectacular marine life and environments, scenic natural beauty, and historic port towns. The trail was formally dedicated at an annual tourism paddle event this summer following release of a trails map showing routes and access points to the county's nearly 300 miles of shoreline. The National Park Service worked with the North Kitsap Trails Association to develop a trails plan that was approved by the County Commissioners in late 2011. Grab your paddle and hit the trail!"

Give a Gift of Trails!

Consider giving your favorite outdoor enthusiast, mud-spattered mountain-biking niece, dog walking auntie, intrepid winter-time kayaking spouse, or even yourself, a NKTA membership for Christmas! It is also a great time of year to give NKTA a gift - please include NKTA on your end-of-year donation list! Have a safe holiday season and a Happy 2013!

Hood Canal Bridge Bike Safety Improvements

The Washington Dept. of Transportation is constructing safety improvements for cyclists on the Hood Canal Bridge. This is a bicycle safety project that Senator Christine Rolfes championed for several years, to improve this vital regional bicycle link. This route is the connection between NKTA's planned Sound to Olympics Trail and the Olympic Discovery Trail in Clallam and Jefferson Counties. Cyclists will want to be aware that there is no shoulder on either side in the work zone. The 3 foot wide metal plates on the grated sections of the bridge are being removed and elastomeric concrete poured to fill the grating--providing a 4 1/2 foot wide riding surface. This is a significant improvement over the existing condition.

The North Kitsap Trails Association, West Sound Cycle Club, Pt. Townsend Bicycle Association, and Squeaky Wheels leaders worked in concert through the Bicycle Alliance of Washington with Washington State Department of Transportation managers to find an optimum solution for safety hazards on the bridge. More Info

Great Progress Building BI Waypoint Park

The new Bainbridge Island Waypoint Park (on the SW corner of Winslow Way and SR 305) has shown highly visible progress in recent weeks. Most of the concrete work is done. Bainbridge Parks staff and volunteers, including garden writer Ann Lovejoy, have been delivering and installing primarily native plants.

The first section of a long, serpentine stone wall has been constructed as a model. Since it will take careful fitting to the cinder block already in place, completing the full length will take about a month. The design of the stone wall was tweaked to allow enough width for the short section of the Sound to Olympics (regional) Trail along the outer edge of the park. Waypoint Park will be finished early in the spring.

A preliminary design was developed for an additional section of the Sound To Olympics Trail and on-road bike lanes connecting the rest of the way down to the ferry terminal, and a grant submitted by the City of Bainbridge Island to WSDOT could design and build this complementary project as soon as 2014.

It is fitting that the boulders in the park were donated by a Kingston resident, and cement work is being done by an Indianola man. Waypoint Park will be not only a gateway to Bainbridge Island, but also to the whole of Kitsap County and beyond. The STO will eventually connect with the Olympic Discovery Trail on the Olympic Peninsula. More Info.

News

Links