Digital Subscription

tool name

close
tool goes here

Council to mull recreation options for major Lake Whatcom land transfer

RALPH SCHWARTZ; THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Published: Jan. 13, 2013 at 1:00 a.m. PST — Updated: Jan. 11, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. PST
0 comments

A plan to convert commercial timberland around Lake Whatcom to old-growth forest and hiking trails will be scrutinized at the first of three meetings on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

The topic of this first meeting, starting at 9:30 a.m. at Whatcom County Council chambers, 311 Grand Ave., Bellingham, is the potential park's recreation plan. Council's discussion will be based on a preliminary park plan sketched out years ago. In 2008, the park was envisioned as low-impact, with walking, biking and horseback trails, and possibly overnight camping.

The meetings were planned after council members in September delayed a vote on the transfer of 8,844 acres of land from state to county control, for use as a park. The council is divided on the plan. Some see it as a boon for recreation and conservation of Lake Whatcom's water quality. Others would prefer the land stay under state control, to continue generating timber jobs and revenues for schools and other taxing districts. The state manages the land for commercial timber harvesting.

Also on the table at the meeting will be an alternate proposal to keep the land in state hands and work with the Department of Natural Resources on a recreation plan.

Dates have not been set for the other two meetings, which will address a forestry management plan and a budget for the proposed park.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here

We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.

SPORTS
SOUTH SOUND
BLOGS
CONTESTS

Similar stories

  • Recreation plan discussion becomes referendum on Lake Whatcom land transfer

    The topic at a Whatcom County Council meeting Tuesday morning, Feb. 26, was not whether the county should take over 8,844 acres of state-managed timberland around Lake Whatcom and turn it into a park.

    But to reconvey or not to reconvey was the question on the minds of many of those attending the meeting, which was really a discussion about how the state plans recreation sites on forest lands.

    The council is considering whether to reconvey, or transfer, the acreage on the western and eastern flanks of the Lake Whatcom watershed from state to county control. A vote for the reconveyance is effectively a vote in favor of a county park, and it could come as early as the March 12 council meeting.

  • County's plan still unclear for proposed park on Lake Whatcom

    BELLINGHAM - Some on the Whatcom County Council had more questions than answers after a meeting Tuesday, Jan. 15, about a county park that would be developed on nearly 9,000 acres of what is now state timberland around Lake Whatcom.

    The council's preferences for recreation on the slopes west and east of the lake remain unclear, and county Executive Jack Louws asked that the topic be addressed at the beginning of a second meeting on the proposed park, on Jan. 29, when council is scheduled to talk about forest management.

    A third informational meeting, on the park budget, will be held in February, before a final council vote on transferring 8,844 acres of timberland from the state to the county. That vote is likely two or three months away, Louws said.

  • Officials: Lake Whatcom not best fit for state recreation plan

    As Whatcom County officials debate whether a county park or a state recreation plan will work better on the forestlands around Lake Whatcom, signs suggest the state would look elsewhere in the county to site trails for hikers, bicycles and all-terrain vehicles.

    This means that if locals and tourists want a new trail system and campsites on 8,844 acres around the lake, they probably are relying on the County Council to approve the county park.

    An official from the state Department of Natural Resources, which now manages that land, said it hasn't assessed possible recreation sites in the county and hasn't made any decisions.

  • County council still divided on Lake Whatcom land transfer

    BELLINGHAM - Judging from past votes and statements by Whatcom County Council members, there are probably enough votes to approve the transfer of 8,844 acres of state-managed timberland around Lake Whatcom to the county, for use as a park.

    But council member Barbara Brenner, who opposed the land transfer in a key preliminary vote in May 2012, continued to fight the proposed park at a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 29, coming up with alternative plans and urging that park opposition receive a hearing.

    In any case, a vote on the land transfer, or reconveyance, isn't imminent. Council member Bill Knutzen, another opponent, is likely to call for a fourth park planning meeting before the vote. Initially, three meetings were scheduled.

  • County to debate forest management at proposed Lake Whatcom park

    If Whatcom County is to take ownership of land around Lake Whatcom, officials must decide how to manage the thousands of acres of forest.

    County Council members will meet Tuesday, Jan. 29, to discuss forestry management on 8,844 acres of commercial timberland now under state control. The council is considering whether to approve a transfer of that land to the county, for use as a park. The meeting, the second of three to discuss plans for the proposed park, starts at 9:40 a.m. at the county courthouse, 311 Grand Ave., Bellingham.

    The preferred forest plan in the early stages of planning for the land transfer, or reconveyance, was to allow the trees to revert to an old-growth condition, county Parks and Recreation Director Mike McFarlane said. The county could opt to thin the forest, to encourage more diversity of tree species, or call on the state Department of Natural Resources to continue to manage the land in limited areas for timber harvesting.