The Eastlake Sammamish Trail may finally be paved in Issaquah, after the state House proposed spending over $1 million on local parks.

The Issaquah area drew quite a bit of favoritism, winning three of 71 grants.

“Your community scored well, because you live in a beautiful place,” said Joanna Grist, executive director of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition.

Albeit energizing for WWRC, the House’s budget won’t be set in stone until the senate agrees and Governor Christine Gregoire signs off.

The $50 million in parks and wildlife grants isn’t expected to change by much, because the money comes from special bonds and not from the general fund, which is facing a multi-billion dollar deficit.

The economy still has gotten its hold on money for parks. Three years ago the legislature gave the same program about $100 million, Grist said.

“It’s still a victory for parks and recreation,” she said.

In the winter, Gregoire proposed a cherry-picked list for what parks should receive money, but the House decided to go with WWRC’s competitive ranking system.

The coalition received about 270 grant applications this year, and rated them on use, merits and matching money.

In addition to paving the East Lake Sammamish Trail, money would go toward expanding a small parking lot at the Duthie Hill Park trailhead, a new mountain bike park.

On a busy day, visitors have to park off-site and ride along a busy street to get to the trailhead. This would expand the current lot to 75 parking spots.

State parks would also use a grant to replace a collapsed bridge and build two more on Tiger Mountain trails.

The bridges plus 2 more miles of trails would finally connect the Railroad and Northwest Timber trails. The project ranked first out of the 14 applicants in its category.

Close to the city, Tiger Mountain is a hotspot for Seattle outdoor enthusiasts.

“These projects provide recreation to so many people in the Puget Sound area,” Grist said. “The state needs to continue to invest in these things.”