In the past 20 years, I have lived on both sides of Lake Whatcom, east and west. I am writing in the hope that the county council will complete the final transfer of the 8,700 acres in the Lake Whatcom Watershed from the Department of Natural Resources to county parklands. When I walk the Lookout Mountain trails and visit the waterfalls in Sudden Valley, I think more of the county's residents should know what is out here. The Stimpson Trail is already incredibly popular.

I don't see how the profit of selective logging can outweigh the draw of tourism in the long run, and I do know first-hand the dangers of logging steep terrain. Although I didn't live on Lake Whatcom in 1983, I was there in 1990, which was a big storm year, and I remember the S.W.A.T. team that came to my door warning me that I might need to evacuate. That was seven years after the logging road and the original damage!

The hard part of this deal has already been done and people have come up with very creative solutions - the compensation of the Mount Baker School District by the Whatcom Land Trust.

I spent my childhood in Northern California where lessons like this were writ large by development fiascos like Lake Tahoe versus protected reservoirs that were open for recreation such as Lake Berryessa and Shasta Lake. Let's see this through for the benefit of everyone.

Kate Trueblood

Bellingham