From Stark
A much-discussed plan to transfer state land around Lake Whatcom to Whatcom County for management as park land is back on the agenda of the state’s Board of Natural Resources on Monday, Oct. 10 in Olympia.
Mitch Friedman, executive director of Conservation Northwest, says a busload of environmentalists will be heading to the capital for the 9 a.m. meeting.
The critical vote on this transfer will be cast by the Whatcom County Council, but before that can happen, the state board must approve a complex intra-state transfer of the land among various categories of state management, to lay the legal groundwork for the transfer of nearly 9,000 acres to the county.
The state board first addressed the matter at a June 7, 2011 meeting. At that time, the board voted unanimously to postpone the matter for further study, after representatives of timber companies joined Mount Baker school superintendent Richard Gantman in questioning the economic impact of the loss of timberlands. The state manages its timberlands to, among other things, provide revenue to school districts and a supply of logs for local mills.
Here are the minutes from that meeting.
Friedman said it makes more sense to set aside land that drains into the city’s drinking water supply.
“It’s one of the most cost-efficient things we can do to benefit the lake,” Friedman said.
This story by Jared Paben outlines the potential costs to the county, and also notes that both County Executive candidates take a dim view of the transfer.
Anyway you look at it, this is a very bad idea. We cannot fund education now. This land is to be managed forever to maintain income in a responsible maner! Every time Mitch is involved it is NOT in the best interest of the majority and usually means more tax or fees or land off limits.
Why don’t the busload just concentrate on cleaning up the superfund site that is doing more harm to the lake than logging ever has? Oh yeah, that’s more complicated and protests are more fun than the real hard work for the environmental dilettantes we have here.
Thanks Mitch (and Conservation NW) for finding the most economical and common sense way to protect our resevoir.
Clean drinking water is not a partisan issue.
Oh yeah Friedman, we need to spend a couple of million taxpayers dollars “to set aside land that drains into the city’s drinking water supply” and keep those Asian clams satisfied and prolific. That lake is no more a satisfactory “reservoir” than my fish pond. When are all these money bags going to get out of our pockets.
Stupid is as stupid does !!
Are you people insane? What kind of economic prosperity do you expect if we do not have a safe and stable water supply? Just wait and see how high your taxes will be raised when the Asian clams cause algae blooms that clog the water treatment filters and it becomes even more expensive to clean and restore the Lake. DNR forest practices do not protect forested watersheds, and we need to take control over our most important natural resource. Thank you, Mitch, for leading the way in protecting our water.
A ‘busload of environmentalists”?
What an odd phrase.
It seems calculated for ridicule.
The economic potential value of the watershed is easily probably worth more than a billion dollars as a civic reservoir and it only makes economic sense to protect the drinking water supply from further degradation.
Many people in Bellingham plainly ignorant of protection of reservoirs or public health and like to demonstrate that fact. Lakewhatcom.org is a good place to get informed.
Kudos to Mitch Friedman for keeping on top of this important project.
Notwithstanding all the hype, as protection for Lake Whatcom goes, this is less than a half measure.
Again and again, the obvious threat to the reservoir has been determined to be residential development, not forestry.
Those that promote this park, with all its associated use of the lake, sat on their hands when Bellingham made a noble effort to get Ecology to enforce laws that would have ended subdivision and development around the lake.
A busload of environmentalists indeed; on a feel good trip of mythical ineffectiveness.
The boat left the ramp on the reservoir charade long ago. And as Greg says a lot of hand sitting went on as the Hertz, Douglas and other administrations allowed development that self righteous pontificators like Paxton live in., sold the bulk of our precious flushing and bathing water to industry (flushing the actual best thing for the lake–take longer showers and baths) and allowed a half arsed council to assert that the best way to clean up a superfund site is to bury it. And to underscore the hypocrisy, a lot of folks who consider themselves righteous environmentalist still haul their kayaks up on their aging Volvos, (cars the number one source of pollution choking the lake) and still take their dogs out to urinate and defecate in the parks and on the north shore trail, let their kids pee in Bloedel and the creek at Whatcom Falls, (closest abominations to the water plant) and send then out to Firwood or Lakewood, some even golf at another abomination, the golf course at SV.
The Sheriff’s patrol is clueless about the 300 foot no wake zone, often violating it themselves, wake boarders are doing even more erosive damage thanks to the raised lake levels, endlessly going back and forth while towed miscreants groove on blaring rap music and the drivers behave like ignorant yahoos,
and bikers make up for their personal inadequacies of prowess by obnoxiously filling the canyon with unmuffled and high polluting Hawgs.
The lake is simply not a reservoir, not even a good choice for one, and those who delude themselves
into thinking so are well…delusional.
Wendy and Tim; A study of water sources for Seattle,Tacoma, Everett and many other “local” cities shows the futility of attempts to “purify” lakes with considerable build out on and above their shorelines. Lakes as reservoirs are S-E-C-U-R-E-D, generally fenced and patrolled, ie:NO public access!! Fortunately, Whatcom County is well suited to the placement of several “created” reservoirs that should have been constructed years ago. Our many prior elected officials and their cronies failed to view the future of our potable water
supply as secondary to their next election bid. Today’s fiasco is the Kremen/ Crawford Irrational Park aka
the $291,000 (only a start) Re-conveyance. If it isn’t dumped it will forever be known as the grandest White Elephant boondoggle ever foisted on the taxpayers of the county.And Kremen and Crawford will have satisfied their desire to be memorialized no matter the cost to their constituents. Once again, stupid is as stupid does!!
Thank you to Mitch and all the environmentalists here in Whatcom who have worked so hard to protect Lake Whatcom and prevent from 30 miles of additional roads and logging impacts in our watershed. This is a great plan that we can’t afford not to support. Not only does it protect our drinking water, we get a huge forest preserve for future generations to enjoy. This is a great opportunity!
You can be an environmentalist and still oppose this supposed cure and the nonsense about this being a reservoir. Just not a radical environmentalist. But lets toss a lot of feel good money at imagined logging, name it after Friedman. Name all the new trails cut for each of the rados, Badgett gulch, McShane High Ridge, Paxton Glade, Beddill Loop, Weimer Cutback, McGinnis Point, on and on…..meanwhile real cures go wanting….but hey what we would we do if we didn’t have a windmill to keep jousting with…..
Hey Shaun, you forgot the Kemen and Crawford Lookouts on each side of the lake so they each can view and take the adulation of all the environmental nerds as they clamor to build more trails that would all be inaccessible to seniors and the handicap. And, of course we’ll have dozens of potties conveniently located in the event the nerds need immediate use. Oh, I forgot now, NO ROADS. Now that is a great park. No roads,no horses, no bikes, no motorized vehicles SO , NO POTTIES !!?? That’s OK with the nerds though,all that stuff will just wash into the lake and feed the Asian clams. Way to go Wendy, Tim and now joined by Frances, enjoy your stay in Olympia and consider making it permanent
Being an environmentalist doesn’t make you a nerd Ted. And the like it or leave jab is beneath the conversation. Clearly they are honest, sincere and committed, I just sometimes vehemently disagree with some of their conclusions and ideas and the reservoir mind meld charade.
But though I love to take my little boat down to the south end, tie up and swim in the warmer, shallower water..and not spend hours sailing there on my sailboat, I am about fed up with a lot of the morons who drag screaming kids around on tubes, fill their wakeboard bladders to make bigger waves and obnoxiously board to loud music only they want to hear. I wish we could charge a healthy day use fee to anyone coming in at Bloedel or South Bay or Wildwood, including an inspection at the ramps by volunteers looking for grasses and clams, and a yearly fee for all homeowners on each power boat
with greater than an 8 horse.
I’d also like to give some training to the Deputiesrs on jet skis and in that oversized monstrosity to learn to judge 300 feet from the shore and enforce the no wake zone. They only allow you to delineate 150 ft from the shore with buoys and most think that is the no wake zone, when in fact it is twice that. This the best thing they could do for lake erosion and boating safety and would be far better than the joy riding they usually do while missing all kinds of shenanigans like boats passing too close to each other or to kayaks and canoes, excessive speed and the crap that goes on at night at the south end when the same obnoxious boarders get out there in the middle of the night, racing around without lights, and blasting music that can be heard two miles away as if someone turned the stereo up loud in the living room. Several calls a year have done nothing about that because the deputies only work day hours. Except a few calls near the end of the summer apparently caused a patrol boat to show up at dusk this year, but it was after labor day and most had put their boats away. Too little, way too late.
Whoa there. Thoughtful critics are insane? Lake Whatcom should never have been declared a reservoir in the first place. LOTS of lakes serve useful purposes throughout the world, and water treatment assures the purity of the potable water used. The drama that has been drummed up — and the pain the citizens of this county have been put through since 1992 — is abyssmal.
The designation of Lake Whatcom as a reservoir needs serious reconsideration. And Bellingham Water Department? Merely DO YOUR JOB. The rest of you, get a life.
Being concerned about the health of the lake is admirable,but there is no threat to water quality, that is handled by the treatment plant. And moving the intake to nearly 400 foot deep basin three assures good water that needs little treatment for the better part of a century. The problem is basin one where all the supposed green mayors who have trails and parks named after them allowed a horrid amount of development. Unfortunately very few enviros put their money where their mouths were back then, except one who nearly went bankrupt and left town in disgust at the big talk and little substantial support of all the pseudo greens who now seem determined to delude themselves about their past ineffectiveness challenging the development in court for real results.
Instead they supported fools like homeschooling Moms with tenuous grasps on reality. Old rotten grapes.
Many greens still can’t figure out how to bridge the gap with homeowners, preferring instead the tired old safe divisions that make them feel good about their abject ineffectiveness.
And then you have the tired old likes of the pro property rights crowd wing nuts who are equally challenged by their knee jerk prejudices and ignorance.
And not a single leader in sight at the county level and a tired, should be retired, professional politician
obfuscator being supported by the tired old deluded greens to unseat a much needed moderate mayor. If Linville is elected, we will see nothing but the same old idiotic divisions for another term. Pathetic…..
For those that never go to the front page, my letter to the DNR Board this A.M.
The creation of a Lake Whatcom Forest Preserve is not a “best use” scenario as proposed by the Whatcom County executive and Parks Dept. The present managing agency of the trust lands involved, namely the DNR has provided excellent stewardship of said properties. The DNR has the experience, expertise, staffing, equipment and has and continues to acquire the technological know how to best serve and protect the public interests in these properties. Transfer to Whatcom County would not accomplish any viable community recreational or water quality gain that is not a part of the equation now.
The Whatcom County Parks Dept. (WCPD) presently has approximately 36 trails, parks and miscellaneous parcels to care for with available taxpayer dollars.The additional funds necessary to purchase, develop as the WCPD envisions, maintain, staff, etc. will require a greater load on county taxpayers with no better park system than is available now.
The announcement of the proposed 237,000 acres to be added to No. Cascade National Park /American Alps Legacy Proposal would encompass considerable recreational area in Whatcom County negating the expense to create more.
Finally, the ConservationNW claim regarding their “polling” gambit is fallacious at best. There was no media coverage or any attempt by them to publicize a “poll” other than possibly in their own ranks. (Friedman claims that “recent polling showing 74% in support throughout Whatcom County”. This is a real “who, what and when ” question that will probably never get an answer??? )
Even though I am on a well in the county, as a lake watershed resident I too would be happy to pay an additional $7. Per month for lake protection projects. Too bad there isn’t some mechanism at the county.