In the News Archives | Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation

Kitsap Sun: Trail planning begins for Bainbridge Island’s Lost Valley, a link in a cross-island rout

Kitsap Sun: Trail planning begins for Bainbridge Island’s Lost Valley, a link in a cross-island rout

Published in the Kitsap Sun, Nov. 24, 2021:

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND – Tromping through a hidden section of forested property near the head of Eagle Harbor, Connie Waddington reflected on her first visit to Lost Valley about 20 years ago. Then, she’d been a member of the city’s Open Space Commission tasked with determining how to spend funds from an $8 million bond measure approved by voters in 2001.

She remembered thinking: “Woah, who knew this was here?”

“We’ve all driven around Eagle Harbor and all of those places and here’s this beautiful place that nobody had any idea existed,” Waddington said.

Lee Cross, a member of the commission, told the Sun in 2004, “You have a feeling that you’re in this sort of lost world, and a dinosaur could stick his head around the corner. You have no sense at all that within a relatively short distance there are quite a few […]

Kitsap Sun: Trail planning begins for Bainbridge Island’s Lost Valley, a link in a cross-island routDouglas2021-12-07T09:34:54-08:00

Bainbridge Island Review: Mt. bike solution: $1M donation

Bainbridge Island Review: Mt. bike solution: $1M donation

Published in the Bainbridge Island Review, May 20, 2021:

The war of the words is over.

The battle over Grand Forest North between mountain bikers and naturalists has ended in a do-over — thanks to a $1 million anonymous donation.

Nature lovers who wanted to leave Grand Forest North in its pristine natural setting and mountain bike enthusiasts who wanted to build trails there had been fighting a war of words for a few months.

“She was aware of the conversation and wanted to help,” said Dan Hamlin, parks services division director of the Bainbridge Island Metro Parks and Recreation District.

To help with a solution, she donated $1 million to buy a 10-acre parcel adjacent to Strawberry Hill Park to the west. The only other stipulations made by the anonymous donor is that the nearby dog park be expanded, and it remain a park forever. READ THE STORY

Bainbridge Island Review: Mt. bike solution: $1M donationDouglas2021-12-07T09:40:22-08:00

Kitsap Sun: Goats chew the way clear for new STO Trail segment

Kitsap Sun: Goats chew the way clear for new STO Trail segment

Published in the Kitsap Sun, May 14, 2021

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND – The herd of goats sits contentedly in the sun, appetites temporarily whetted, workers taking some time off the job. Vehicles motor by on Highway 305, and the temporary residents of the nearby greenbelt tangled by blackberry vines, ivy and other greenery, bleat and shuffle around, jockeying for just the right spot. A protective dog barks from inside the fence at visitors as they stop to peer in at the unusual workforce.

The Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation brought in the goats to munch away at the northeast corner of Highway 305 and High School Road through the Vashon Island-based business Rent-a-Ruminant, which sets herds of goats on properties as an “eco-friendly, green and sustainable approach to vegetation management.”

For six days, they’re working at the site to clear the way for the newest section of the Sound to Olympics Trail. […]

Kitsap Sun: Goats chew the way clear for new STO Trail segmentDouglas2021-12-07T09:37:15-08:00