A new Kubota mini-excavator for trail building and maintenance has been bought by Bainbridge Island Metro Parks & Recreation District, supported by a $25,000 grant from the BI Parks & Trails Foundation.

“Trail building can be pretty labor intensive, requiring whole crews of summer park staff and volunteers,” said Mary Meier, foundation executive director. “Supporting the park district with new equipment like this will increase their trail-building capacity while ensuring environmentally sensitive practices islanders want to see.”

The foundation will launch a major fundraising campaign in spring 2023, with a goal of expanding the mileage, connectivity and access of public trails islandwide.BI now has some 48 miles of public trails. The foundation, city and park district are also collaborating to plan the next six miles of the Sound to Olympics Trail, from Winslow to the Agate Passage Bridge.

A new survey by the state Recreation and Conservation Office found that 79 percent of respondents want more public trails for recreation, health benefits and connection to the outdoors. A study commissioned by the WA RCO found that trails contribute more than $8.2 billion to the state economy each year and support 81,000 Washington jobs. Spending related to trails use accounts for 1.45 percent of the state Gross Domestic Product — 11 times more than commercial logging and seven times more than brewing.

The mini-excavator is the second piece of trail-building machinery funded by the foundation for the park district. A 2018 foundation grant supported purchase of a PierTech “anchor-auger” system, used to sink steel pilings for boardwalk construction in environmentally sensitive areas. That has been used to build boardwalks at Sakai Park and Hawley Cove Park, along with a small footbridge on the Old Mill Trail near IslandWood.