When officials at the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust put out a call for Islanders to collaborate on an Island-wide trail plan, they quickly learned how important trails are to a wide spectrum of Vashon residents.

Beth Bordner, the Land Trust’s operations manager who is heading up the project, said that over the past few months representatives from about 20 Island groups have helped the land trust brainstorm what future trails on Vashon should look like.

Hikers and nature lovers want trails blazed into previously undeveloped natural areas.

Equestrians and joggers would like to see more long trails connecting their favorite parts of the Island.

Parents would love safe paths for their children to walk to and from school.

Representatives from the Island’s senior centers requested more paved paths for the elderly and disabled to enjoy.

Others wanted to see paths connecting different neighborhoods to Vashon Town, and everyone, it seemed, would like to see the Island’s current patchwork of trails be connected into a more intentional and cohesive trail system.

Bordner said the Vashon-Maury Island Trail Plan — which will come before the board of the Vashon Park District in the next couple of months and eventually go before the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council — does not dictate where and when trails will be built, but is a resource for future trail development on the Island.

The plan will not only identify desired connection points for trails, but will give guidelines as to how different types of trails should be built.

For example, one popular trail suggestion called the Town Loop Trail would connect Island Center Forest with Fisher Pond and then continue to Cove Road and back to town.

Bordner said a number of similar connection points will be laid out in the plan, almost like a wish list of Island trails.

“It might be that the equestrians decide they want to have better access to the Lost Lake area and they take that on as a project,” Bordner said. “(They can) use this plan to say, ‘Oh look, the Island-wide trail plan shows this would connect in with a future trail in Paradise Valley.’”

Bordner said the land trust is currently drafting the plan based on the input it received from the various stakeholders during several brainstorming meetings. Ultimately, they hope to see the plan referenced in the 2012 King County Comprehensive Plan, she said.

Marie Bradley, leader of the Rock Riders 4-H horse club, attended the meetings as a representative of Vashon’s equestrian community. She said she was impressed at how well the various trail-users with different goals worked together toward a common purpose.

“It’s nice to feel like you’re fashioning your community to be the way you want it to be, with a broad base of input,” she said.

Kevin Kim-Murphy, who heads up the Vashon Island Ultra Run and was also involved in developing the trail plan, said he left the meetings with a new realization of how many Islanders could be affected by improved trails on Vashon.

He said a similar trail plan was implemented in Ballard, and while some residents were initially hesitant to see new trails in their neighborhoods, the trails ultimately became invaluable to the community.

“Pretty soon they said, ‘Hey, this is great community access. … Isn’t it amazing we have this resource?’” Kim-Murphy said. “I see Vashon as having that potential.”

Bordner hopes the plan will also open up opportunities for Vashon residents and visitors to see previously unexplored areas of the Island, as it also identifies natural areas where new trails could be built.

For example, she said, many Islanders were thrilled when the land trust recently built a two-mile trail along Shinglemill Creek to Fern Cove.

“They said, ‘I had no idea what that part of the Island is like because I never had access to it,’” Bordner said, adding that other areas owned by the land trust present similar opportunities for trail construction.

“We think there’s a potential for having substantial hiking opportunities on the Island. … We are aware of spots on the Island that actually do provide more of a removed natural experience,” she said.

Simply creating the plan won’t get trails built, Bordner said, but she hopes the plan will encourage various groups — be it the equestrians or scouting clubs — to continue constructing trails.

“Parts of it may come quickly, parts of it may take years, and parts of it may never happen,” she said.

In addition, Bordner said, a clearly defined plan for trails on Vashon may help the land trust garner state or county grants for trail construction.

“The first question that funders tend to ask is is this part of a master plan, because they want to know they are funding something under a planned, broad scope,” she said.

Kim-Murphy, too, hopes the Vashon-Maury Island Trail Plan will not only raise awareness for existing trails on Vashon, but also prompt user groups to create a more interconnected trail system for people from all walks of life to enjoy.

“Will it inspire people to do that?” he said. “Gosh, I hope so.”