Bellingham’s latest efforts to protect blue heron rookery ‘a long time coming’
In a deal that capped a decade or more of efforts to protect a great blue heron rookery on Bellingham’s south side, the City Council voted unanimously Monday, March 28, to buy land near the nesting site.
Monday’s action follows the November 2021 purchase of a smaller nearby site and creates a total 1.72-acre parcel costing $1.08 million.
Together, the two parcels on the north side of the Edgemoor neighborhood will provide a buffer for the wooded nesting site between homes and the city’s Post Point wastewater treatment plant, where the city is planning a $220 million project to replace its aging incinerators.
For budgetary purposes, the acquisition cost will be split among the city’s General Fund and the Greenways IV levy, along with a $100,000 contribution from the Whatcom Land Trust.
“This has been a long time coming,” Councilman Michael Lilliquist said.
Efforts to buy the two pieces of undeveloped land at 20 Shorewood Drive and 8 Shorewood Drive have been underway since the administration of former Mayor Kelli Linville, Lilliquist said.
Councilwoman Lisa Anderson said it took a “team effort” of city officials and private residents working together over several years to complete the deal.
“I’m really proud of this moment and what everyone was able to accomplish,” Anderson said.
Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood called it an “exciting” opportunity.
“It’s the end of a considerable amount of effort, negotiation and work,” Fleetwood said Monday.
Residents have sought protections for the site since the Post Point Heron colony was first documented in 2000, one year after a group of herons abandoned their nesting colony along Chuckanut Drive during construction of the Blue Heron Estates, according to a 2018 monitoring report prepared for the city of Bellingham.
Great blue herons return to Post Point to nest in the trees and raise their young over six to seven months, beginning in February or March and continuing to August, according to The Bellingham Herald’s previous reporting.
In 2008, the birds inexplicably left the colony, deserting their young and eggs.
There had been 17 nests occupied by breeding pairs that year — down from a peak of 37 in 2006 — but no young survived, according to the annual monitoring report.
Declines also were seen in other heron colonies across Puget Sound.
Nationwide, heron numbers are rising and the majestic birds are listed as a species of least concern.
But great blue herons are considered a priority species by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, according to a statement announcing the land purchase from the city of Bellingham.
In addition, Bellingham residents and city officials have made protecting the colony a priority since at least 2004, when the City Council committed to conservation and protection measures, the statement said.
Monitoring of the site began in 2005, along with efforts to keep visitors away from the site, especially during nesting season.
Monday’s City Council vote allows city officials to move ahead with final purchase negotiations.
It was unknown when the deal will close, city of Bellingham spokeswoman Janice Keller told The Herald.
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 10:36 AM.
