Eighteen projects to expand recreational areas and conserve wildlife habitat and working areas in Kitsap County, valued at $13,426,253, have been requested by local communities for state Recreation and Conservation Funding Board approval.

The projects in Kitsap County are part of 349 projects totaling $211 million the funding board has evaluated and ranked prior to sending them on to the state Legislature and Gov. Jay Inslee for funding consideration, according to the state Recreation and Conservation Office.

Leading the list of Kitsap projects is a grant request of $2,448,994 by the Bainbridge Island Land Trust to buy more than 61 acres of privately held forest to expand the Gazzam Nature Preserve area, creating 545 acres of protected and contiguous forest, wetland, lake and shoreline habitats.

The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe would use two grants totaling $2 million to buy the development rights on 20 acres, including four acres of tidelands, at Port Gamble Bay. Another grant request, this one for $1,831,729, is to expand the Stavis Natural Resources Conservation Area to protect forests along Boyce Creek and the west forks of Harding and Seabeck Creeks.

The board accepts grant applications every other year and has added a new policy this year that makes funding more accessible for communities in need.

Funding comes through five different grant programs: the Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account; Boating Infrastructure Grant; Land and Water Conservation Fund; Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program; and Youth Athletic Facilities.

“We adjusted some of our scoring in two grant programs to prioritize in undersized and lower-income communities or projects that promote healthy lifestyles in communities with certain poor health indicators,” said Kaleen Cottingham, director of the Recreation and Conservation Office.

About 18 percent of the applicants were able to benefit from the new reduced match policy.

“These investments benefit everyone,” Cottingham said. “The best time to invest in outdoor recreation is right now. Our population is growing, and land and development prices are going nowhere but up.”

The director said that preserving and protecting natural areas conserves habitat for fish and other wildlife, protects clean air and water, and reduces pollution.

Other Kitsap grant requests and project fund amounts are:

Bainbridge Island

• Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park and Recreation District request to buy the 16.63 acres known as the Sakai property for a park, $1 million, and $500,000 to renovate Battle Point Park KidsUp Playground.

Bremerton

• Improve Warren Avenue Playfield, City of Bremerton, $350,000;
• Renovate the Kitsap Lake fishing dock and park, City of Bremerton, $438,200;
• Renovate Warren Avenue Playfield, City of Bremerton, $500,000.

Kitsap County – Misc.

• Conserve Salmonberry Creek and wetland, Great Peninsula Conservancy, buy 97 acres of upper Salmonberry Creek in Kitsap County, $260,000;
• Enhance Lower Big Beef Creek, Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, buy 297 acres of land in the creek’s watershed, $1,572,330;
• Expand Illahee Preserve Heritage Park, Kitsap County Parks and Recreation Department, buy 16.7 acres to add to the 572-acre park, $595,000.
• Expand South Kitsap Regional Park, Kitsap County Parks and Recreation Department, improvements to the park, $200,000;
• Improve Long Lake Park, Kitsap County Parks and Recreation Department, remove and relocate and replace outdated playground equipment, $125,000;
• Install synthetic turf on Lobe Field 1, Kitsap County Parks and Recreation Department, $500,000;
• Replace the Island Lake Park playground equipment and pathways, Kitsap County Parks and Recreation Department, $75,000;
• Build trails in Green Mountain State Forest, Washington Department of Natural Resources, develop 14 miles of trail in the state forest, about 18 miles southwest of the Silverdale-Bremerton area, $320,000.

Poulsbo

• Develop Rotary Morrow Community Park, City of Poulsbo, $400,000;
• Create access to Lake Tahuya, Department of Fish and Wildlife, develop a water access site on Lake Yahuya, the third largest lake in Kitsap County, $310,000.