05/30/2026
*NAD Restoration Project | 2026 Mid-Year Update*
It has been a big year at NAD Park, and we want to share what your community has been building together. Kris just posted this video on our YT channel ( https://youtu.be/E9RVXPrIzKE ) discussing some of the work we have been doing, but here is the full breakdown.
*Volunteer Hours & Community Investment*
We have invested over 328 volunteer hours on the ground this year. That effort has been matched by an incredible outpouring of support: over $500 from raised funds, $500 in donated construction materials, and a generous $532 gifted to the project by the Rise of the Sleeping Dragon Tournament run by Jennifer Czuprynski. Thank you to Jenni and everyone who has contributed time, tools, and treasure. Day to day our core group "The Boom Squad" is out there picking up trash and blowing debris off tee pads so you can have a more comfortable and safe experience during your round.
*Native Planting & Habitat Restoration*
We purchased and planted 250 native plants across the course as part of our ongoing effort to restore NAD Park's ecological health. These plantings serve two active roles: restoring areas trampled by foot traffic, and strategically placing dense, evergreen plants to create natural barriers that keep discs from sailing deep into the forest, so you spend more time playing and less time searching. Temporary fencing and interpretive signage protect the new planting areas and help players navigate around them while the plants establish. Permanent fencing and redirected trail systems guide foot traffic away from the most sensitive soils, protecting root zones and reducing compaction and erosion where it matters most.
*The Hole 6 Fairway*
In partnership with the female platoon of the Washington Youth Challenge Academy, we spread 150 yards of mulch across the Hole 6 fairway. With nearly 30 wheelbarrows lent by our disc golf community for the day, that fairway is now approximately 80% complete. Watching cadets and disc golfers work side by side on this one was really something special. We are looking forward to working with them again for two more work days this summer.
*New Trail Infrastructure*
Early this year, trees were felled and others fell naturally on the west and southwest side of the park around Holes 14 and 15. We cleared the debris and repurposed the limbs to help draft a new trail system through the area. These trails are currently in development along some of the most erosion-prone slopes on the course, giving players a clear, safe, and sustainable path down the hill while protecting the terrain that makes this park worth playing.
*Playing With the Land, Not Against It*
We are developing new ways to help players engage with the restoration work happening around them that are brand new in the world of disc golf. We think these concepts could help newer players have a better time on the course while protecting the understory of forested courses and even more open courses. The concept we are piloting is called "*Free Relief/OB*".
Free Relief: players can take a drop to the closest fairway no closer to the basket with no added stroke, keeping the round moving while protecting the land. Essentially it's OB without the added stroke.
This differs from the PDGA's definition of _relief_ where a player must move back on line with the basket. More advanced players are encouraged to treat those same areas as out of bounds, adding a technical layer to their round. This idea is growing into a broader course boundary system we are developing collaboratively with City of Bremerton - Parks & Recreation and the West Sound Disc Golf Association.
*Looking Ahead*
Our partnerships with the City of Bremerton Parks Department and the WSDGA have never been stronger or more formalized. Together we are working toward shared goals: sustainable course design, a new footbridge over the seasonal stream crossing, a new course kiosk closer to Hole 1 to welcome and orient visitors, and continued reinforcement of the tee pads on the red layout to reduce erosion and continue building one of NAD's most beloved new features. In fact, *we will be reinforcing the Hole 13 tee pad on June 13th*, and later this summer we will be reclaiming a section of the Hole 2 fairway while carefully protecting the most sensitive saturated soils in that area.
The NAD Restoration Project has also spent countless hours behind the scenes dreaming and scheming, turning those ideas into funded proposals, formal agreements, and the kind of collaborative relationships that make long-term stewardship possible. The NAD Restoration Project is part of an active, growing conversation with ecological course designers across North America, brainstorming ways to implement ideas that are genuinely new to this sport. Together we are pushing disc golf course design toward something more thoughtful, more sustainable, and more connected to the land it plays on. This is your park, your community, and your course at the forefront of that conversation. NAD Park is where those ideas are taking shape.
Thank you to every volunteer, donor, partner, and player who has made this year possible. This park belongs to all of us, and we are just getting started.
If you would like to be part of our efforts in the park, if you want to be part of The Boom Squad, please email our Project Lead [email protected]
As we move into 2026 there have been questions about what is happening with the NAD Restoration Projects efforts at the park. So in this video we answer your...
