Should we look for Bigfoot in Whatcom’s mountains after WSDOT’s reported sightings?
So, if the Washington State Department of Transportation social media accounts are to be believed — and why wouldn’t they? — Bigfoot is real and on walkabout in the mountain passes of the Cascades this winter. And he suddenly seems to be awfully photogenic.
On Wednesday, Jan. 22, the department’s @WSDOT_East Twitter account proclaimed “Sasquatch spotted!!!” and provided photographic evidence of “something strange on our Sherman Pass/SR 20 webcam.” Granted, the photos were grainy and from far away — as most Sasquatch photos tend to be — but it was proof of something.
“If you look closely by the tree on the left there looks to be something ... might be Sasquatch ... We will leave that up to you!” the post went on to read.
A day later, WSDOT’s @SnoqualmiePass account posted video, also of questionable quality, and claimed that it saw Bigfoot using a wildlife crossing over Interstate 90 just east of Snoqualmie Pass. The post said, “I think Bigfoot is making the rounds across our mountain passes.”
OK, so maybe something is going on up there.
But before you don your tinfoil hats, load up the car with your binoculars, cameras and winter-weather gear and head up to Mt. Baker Ski Area to see if maybe Sasquatch has made his or her way up to the North Cascades, there’s something you should be aware of — Whatcom County has been proclaimed a Sasquatch Protection and Refuge Area.
Has been for nearly three decades now.
In June of 1991, Al Magnuson, presented the Whatcom County Council with 260 signatures of residents concerned with the safety of Bigfoot and anyone dressing in a Sasquatch costume at the first Bigfoot and Baker Festival, according to The Bellingham Herald’s archives.
The council’s response was Resolution No. 92-043, which states:
“WHEREAS, legend, purported recent findings and spoor suggest that Bigfoot may exist; and
“WHEREAS, if such a creature exists, it is inadequately protected and in danger of death or injury;
“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Whatcom County Council that, Whatcom County is hereby declared a Sasquatch protection and refuge area, and all citizens are asked to recognize said status.
“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, this resolution shall be effective immediately.
“APPROVED this 9th day of June, 1991.”
The resolution was signed by chairman Daniel M. Warner and was officially introduced June 9, 1992.
What does violating Bigfoot’s protection mean? The resolution doesn’t say, but the county is a refuge area, nonetheless.
Skamania County just northeast of Portland, Oregon, actually beat Whatcom County to the punch by more than two decades and was a bit specific with the consequences with an ordinance passed in 1969, proclaiming “any premeditated, willful and wanton slaying of any such creature” a felony punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 and up to five years in prison.
Whether WSDOT’s tweets were enough to convince you or not, that’s reason enough to leave Bigfoot alone, especially in Whatcom and Skamania counties.
