Whatcom County funds this forest purchase for selective logging, watershed protection
Whatcom County is helping to buy the first part of the planned Stewart Mountain Community Forest, a 5,500-acre tract above the South Fork Valley in hopes of protecting the watershed while allowing limited commercial logging and eventual public access.
A community forest is land that is owned and managed by several organizations or agencies, with the goal of restoring the environment and generating income — a win-win for both conservationists and timber interests.
“(The forest was) identified years ago as an opportunity to protect and restore salmon habitat. We are now in the process of creating a community engagement plan with the help of the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program,” according to the Stewart Mountain Community Forest website.
It’s a new way of looking at forest management, said Gabe Epperson, executive director of the Whatcom Land Trust.
“Because this is a large forest above the South Fork Valley, how it’s managed over time can really improve the water quality and quantity,” Epperson told The Bellingham Herald.
Epperson said the goal is to allow selective harvesting that helps larger trees grow healthier and reduces wildfire risk, helping create a reliable flow of water for salmon, and at the same time providing steady employment in the local timber industry.
“I think there’s room for building bridges between competing interests,” he said. “You can have better environmental outcomes. We think this is one of those. With a lighter touch, it will provide regular jobs throughout the year.”
Whatcom Land Trust will be the principal owner after the purchase of a 550-acre “Phase 1” tract is completed this summer, said Chris Elder, a planner in the Whatcom County Public Works Department, who discussed the project in a May 10 presentation to the Whatcom County Council.
Whatcom County will hold a conservation easement that allows logging but prevents residential or commercial development.
Council members voted 5-2 at their June 7 meeting to spend $1.5 million from its Conservation Futures Fund on the Phase 1 purchase, with council members Tyler Byrd and Ben Elenbaas dissenting.
Total sale price of the first phase is $2.345 million.
Some $300,000 will come from Evergreen Land Trust with a grant from the Whatcom Community Foundation, and the rest will come from the Whatcom Land Trust.
Another partner in the community forest acquisition is the Nooksack Indian Tribe, because the site is part of its ancestral homeland.
Stewart Mountain is the forested peak that rises above the northern and eastern shore of Lake Whatcom, and stretches to the south fork of the Nooksack River on the mountain’s eastern flank.
It consists of mostly second- and third-growth Douglas fir, western red cedar, alder and big-leaf maple, with several creeks that cut through steep canyons and feed the Nooksack River’s south fork.
It’s home to a host of wild animals, from cougar and black bear to bobcat, elk and some rare bird species.
Of the 550-acre Phase 1 site, some 250 acres of wetland areas along creeks and steep canyon slopes will be protected, and 300 acres of forest will be managed for timber harvesting.
Whatcom Land Trust has been working toward the sale of the entire 5,500-acre site for five years, according to documents attached to the funding measure.
Epperson said the county and the land trust have a verbal agreement with the current owner to buy the remaining land at an estimated value of between $14 million and $15 million.
Timber sales could generate some of that money, and the National Park Service offers grants for community forest purchases.
“One of the components of that conservation easement is the requirement that any funds generated through active timber management are simply reinvested into the property,” Elder told the council on May 10.
Elenbaas said he voted against the Phase 1 purchase because he opposes a reduction in timber-producing lands.
“I’d oppose it if it was ag land, so I can’t see supporting it as timberland,” Elenbaas said.
This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
