Opinion - Our View

POSTED: Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009

South Fork Park great idea for entire county

We hope citizens of the South Fork valley will soon come to terms with plans to build a county park in their area. A new destination park in the valley is a great idea for all Whatcom County residents.

Since the park has been planned for several years, we hope the county can move forward with completing the necessary improvements as soon as financially feasible.

Some neighbors of the planned South Fork Park have complained, even going as far as to demand no park at all be constructed. They formed a group in July calling themselves the "South Fork Heritage Association" and submitted a list of concerns to the county parks department. Among their concerns are increased noise, traffic and pollution.

Members say they do not consider their concerns to be a case of "not-in-my-backyard."

Fair enough. But others have embraced the idea that the 890 acres the county has put together in the area is a great place for a park.

County officials have been talking about a South Fork park for more than a decade now. The county bought the 106-acre Nesset Farm in 1998. The farm is a historic pioneer homestead first settled in the 1880s. That property would be linked to other land the county also has in the area, including the Overby and Galbraith farms.

All three parcels border the south fork of the Nooksack River off of Mosquito Lake Road. The park would be larger than Hovander Homestead Park near Ferndale.

The new park would offer some unique opportunities in a part of county that currently does not have a general purpose park. Officials are planning separate trails for hiking and horses, picnic shelters and more.

The county should do what it can to address concerns about public safety and littering and such brought forward by neighbors. But the park should be built for the benefit of the entire county, even if a handful of neighbors don't want it to be.