Don't miss these important events!

• Oct. 29, Wed. 7 p.m. 2nd Sound to Olympics Trail design meeting
On Wednesday 7 p.m. at Bainbridge City Hall, help choose the design of Phase II of the Sound to Olympics Trail! You're invited to the second of three community meetings on the STO between Winslow Way and High School Road along SR 305, which will be constructed in 2015. Three design alternatives will be presented and comments taken to help develop a final design. Key questions include: 1) which side of the highway the STO will be located north of Vineyard Lane; 2) best location for a future pedestrian and bicycle bridge across the highway in what is now a mile long "super-block" and 3) best design choices for accessibility where there are slopes. Based on citizen comments, one recommended design will be developed for a final community meeting on Nov. 12. Help make what's built embody community desires!

• Nov. 1, Port Gamble Shoreline Park REI/GPC Stewardship Day, Saturday, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m.
Plant trees at Kitsap County's new Port Gamble Shoreline Park - the first land purchased through the Kitsap Forest & Bay Project. Go home with a Get Dirty T-shirt from REI. We'll start the day by removing invasive plants, and then plant the red cedar saplings. Bring your gloves, shovels, clippers and sturdy shoes. Enjoy the shoreline, the views, some great snacks and great company! Details and directions. RSVP: kate@greatpeninsula.org or (360) 373-3500. Sponsored by REI, Kitsap County Parks, and Great Peninsula Conservancy.

• Nov. 12* , Wed. 7 p.m. Final Sound to Olympics Trail design meeting
On Wednesday, Nov. 12 7 p.m. at Bainbridge City Hall, help finalize the design for Phase II of the Sound to Olympics Trail. This is the last of three community meetings to determine the design of the S.T.O. between Winslow Way and High School Road along SR 305.
* Date subject to change: more info

• Nov. 15, Friday 6 p.m. Slippery Pig Brewery
Our friends at the Slippery Pig will be launching a rather unique fundraiser for North Kitsap Trails with their very first calendar; "The men of the Slippery Pig". Nobody has seen it yet, but if you're as curious as we are, come on down for a beer and the party!

One of 3 Port Gamble Trails grants ranked for funding

Kitsap County applied for three grants to acquire land for Port Gamble Trails this year. Work began in March and final presentations were made in August. NKTA and volunteers worked hard to help. Thanks again to Kitsap Commissioners Gelder, Streissguth and Garrido, and to Pope Resources who gave us this opportunity.

Our community rallied to help, giving us 26 letters of support! For the final presentations, community members from NKTA, EMBA West Sound, Kitsap Audubon, Kitsap Forest and Bay and the County Parks Board, all traveled to Olympia to show support. But the prize goes our local high school mountain bike teams and coach; seven dedicated teen mountain cyclists, representing EMBA West Sound, met us at 6:30 a.m. to travel to Olympia! Wow, impressive!!

The grant process is highly competitive, one category had 72 projects competing for funding. Recreation and trails projects are especially tough to find grants for--there is simply more money to preserve sensitive habitat; shorelines, riparian corridors and salmon habitat. Projects have now been ranked, and unfortunately just one of our three grants was ranked high enough to expect funding. The Sound to Olympics Trail grant was ranked #1 in the state for both community support and threat (potential of losing the project, if unfunded), but ranked behind two huge projects (together requesting $6 million). We'll know the final outcome mid 2015, after the state budget is approved.

The grant that is ranked the most favorably (area in red on the map), is $500,000 to buy land for a 200 acre Mountain Bike Ride Park. A "Ride Park" is similar to ski runs, with bike runs designed for beginning, intermediate and advanced level riders. Our partners, West Sound Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance plan to invest lots of volunteer hours to turn that dream into reality. Providing the right location for the most active recreation, (further away from sensitive areas) is a goal that many of our partners support. There is also an extra challenge; the federal grant we hoped to provide the required 50% match ($500,000), is unlikely to be funded.

About 3/4 of the Port Gamble trails and land still have no identified funding source. With 534 acres of shoreline park, the County owns about 14% of the 3850 acres. With favorable ranking to buy half of a 200 acre Ride Park, and the expectation of $770K from DOE for land, the County still lacks funds for over 3/4 of the Port Gamble land. The next opportunity to apply for state grants is 2016.

WA State Trails Conference:
Two Kitsap Presentations!

Kitsap was well represented at the State Trails Conference last weekend. NKTA and EMBA West Sound chapter teamed up to present on the Port Gamble Trails; Trails to transform a community. Visit Kitsap, NKTA and the National Park Service teamed up to present on Water Trails. The two day conference provided lots of learning and networking opportunities, and it was great to have so much interest in our Kitsap projects. Eight of us from Kitsap attended the conference, including Kitsap's volunteer coordinator Lori Raymaker.