POSTED: Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010

Blanchard Mountain could earn status as natural resources conservation area

The upper part of Blanchard Mountain could be designated a 1,600-acre natural resources conservation area as early as this summer - giving permanent protection to an area just south of the Whatcom County line praised for its sweeping views, recreational appeal and wildlife habitat.

In March, the state Department of Natural Resources will begin the process to create the conservation area, which will include defining its boundaries. A public hearing is planned for later this spring.

Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark, who oversees the department, announced Wednesday, Feb. 24, that he wanted to create the conservation area.

The idea is to build on the deal hammered out by the Blanchard Forest Strategies Group in 2007 over management of 4,827 acres of DNR forest trust land. The group, which included representatives from environmental organizations, came up with a plan that had as its key component the protection from logging of a "core" of 1,600 acres of forest at the top of Blanchard Mountain.

The idea was to allow the core to grow into an old forest, and to provide habitat for wildlife and opportunities for recreation. Blanchard Mountain is a favorite destination for hikers, horseback riders and hang-gliders.

Under the Strategies Group compromise, the core would have remained as trust land but would have been managed similar to a natural resources conservation area, according to Aaron Toso, department spokesman.

Trust lands are known as "working forests." In Skagit County, they provide revenue for the county, Burlington-Edison schools and other smaller taxing districts, with most of the money coming from timber sales.

Goldmark wants to keep the other 3,227 acres of the Blanchard trust land as working forest.

To offset revenue lost from setting aside the 1,600 acres, other land in Skagit County will be acquired for timber harvest.

Goldmark's plan received some support from a conservation group that has filed a lawsuit against the original proposal, essentially arguing that 1,600 acres wasn't enough.

"I would call it a baby step forward," said Ken Wilcox, co-founder of Chuckanut Conservancy, one of two groups that filed the lawsuit against DNR, said of the conservation area.

Designation as a conservation area would provide more teeth for protection, he said.

"We've argued from the start that we need a larger protected area, and it needs to be permanent," said Wilcox, the author of hiking books who also is a recreation and environmental consultant.

Chuckanut Conservancy is calling for the protection of 2,800 acres. It was not one of the stakeholders asked to be part of the Blanchard Forest Strategies Group.