The Friends of the East Jefferson Trails Connections are hearing from another corner of Puget Sound, as they continue to work toward connecting a Puget Sound-to-Pacific network, from the ferry docks on Bainbridge Island, Kingston and Port Townsend to the Pacific Coast in La Push.

Barb Trafton, trails director at the Bainbridge Island Parks and Trails Foundation, will speak to the group and the public at the Finnriver Farm and Cidery at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 8.

Trafton has led her foundation in helping to build more than 11 miles of trails on Bainbridge Island, and her work has drawn praise from Merrily Mount, spokesperson for the Friends of the East Jefferson Trails Connections, who’s also worked on the Larry Scott Trail, Olympic Discovery Trail and Peninsula Trails Coalition.

Mount said the Bainbridge Island Parks and Trails Foundation (BIPTF) “strives to be a nimble problem-solver” in supporting the expansion of public trails on the island, as well as in connecting to North Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties, plus Seattle via the Washington State Ferries.

“Barb will share the BIPTF’s vision and practices in leading the acquisition of trail easements, engaging in funding, constructing trails and providing updates about trail-related advocacy,” Mount said.

The BIPTF joined the Peninsula Trails Coalition and the North Kitsap Trails Association in creating the Puget Sound to Pacific Collaborative which envisioned and facilitated the successful $16.13 million RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) grant of 2023.

The grant funds planning and design for 100 miles of gaps in the Olympic Discovery Trail and the Sound-to-Olympics Trail, aiming for a completed and connected 200-mile network, along the designated Great American Rail Trail route, from Washington, D.C., to the Washington coast.

“We all need each other, now more than ever,” Mount said. “We can do this together.”