One of ‘most beautiful coastal areas’ in fast-growing part of Whatcom to be protected
A $915,000 federal grant will be used to help buy and protect nearly 55 acres of coastal wetland habitat, and the fish and wildlife that depend on it, along California Creek.
Whatcom Land Trust is partnering with the state Department of Ecology on the conservation project.
The grant will go toward the total cost of $1.3 million to buy four pieces of land, including 6,500 feet of shoreline, along the creek that is a major tributary to Drayton Harbor near Blaine, according to the Whatcom Land Trust.
The project was among seven in Washington state to receive a total of $5 million in National Coastal Wetlands Conservation grants through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
One of the properties that make up the nearly 55 acres has been bought. The Whatcom Land Trust is working to buy the other three, which are further upstream
Why does it matter?
“The mudflats and tidal marshes along California Creek provide vital critical habitat to breeding, migrating and rearing salmonid species and fall within a regionally significant area for birds,” according to a project summary for the grant.
“The wetlands will provide foraging and rearing habitat for a diversity of coastal dependent and migratory shorebirds, waterfowl and passerine species, including for example black oystercatchers, greater yellowlegs and red-necked grebe,” the summary reads.
Those acres will double the land that the Whatcom Land Trust already has acquired along California Creek — a total of 52.5 acres at the mouth of the creek where it empties into Drayton Harbor.
Roughly 12.5 acres of the existing land already owned by the Whatcom Land Trust has been set aside for the future California Creek Estuary Park.
The park is a shared project with Blaine-Birch Bay Park & Recreation District 2, which has received two state Recreation and Conservation grants totaling $757,400 for the project.
The district hopes to open the park in 2023 with a kayak launch, trails for hiking and biking, a parking lot and restroom. It is expected to one day become a link between Birch Bay State Park and Peace Arch Park.
“This partnership with the Whatcom Land Trust has given an opportunity to the Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District to preserve this estuary and provide recreational opportunities for Whatcom County residents and visitors,” said Ted Morris, the district’s director, in a release.
All the properties are within 1.5 miles of the mouth of California Creek, according to Alex Jeffers, conservation manager for Whatcom Land Trust.
Together, they will protect nearly “100 acres of wetland, coastal inlet, estuary and forest habitat directly impacting the health of Drayton Harbor,” Jeffers said.
The project also will improve water quality.
A stewardship plan will be developed for the nearly 55 acres after the acquisition, one that will permanently protect one of the “most beautiful coastal areas in one of Whatcom County’s fastest growing communities,” the land trust said.
