550 acres saved, 4,950 to go. Community group moves to protect eco-sensitive Whatcom land
A 550-acre purchase made by the Whatcom Land Trust on Nov. 4 is the first step in buying 5,500 acres for the Stewart Mountain Community Forest project. The project is a collaboration between Whatcom organizations with a goal to purchase 5,500 acres of forestland and make it a community forest.
The project came together in 2017 when ownership of Stewart Mountain changed to Stewart Mountain Forest LLC, a subsidiary of Conservation Forestry. Stewart Mountain LLC reached out to the community to identify any important areas that had high conservation values, said Chris Elder, a planner in the Whatcom County Public Works Department, who spoke with The Bellingham Herald Oct. 13.
When it became clear that the 5,500 acres near the end of the south fork of the Nooksack River and east of the mountain was important, the land owner was willing to sell the area to protect it, Elder said. The Stewart Mountain Community Forest project has spent the last few years working to raise money and purchase the acreage. The 550-acre purchase marks the first purchase for the project.
“This particular section of forestland is considered to be one of the most ecologically and geologically sensitive properties on the mountain with a steep grade directly along the South Fork Nooksack River, four salmon-bearing streams, and a stand of 125-year-old Douglas fir and western red cedar,” said the Whatcom Land Trust news release, Thursday, Nov. 3.
This first purchase contains 1.5 miles of direct shoreline along the South Fork Nooksack River, as well as four salmon-bearing tributaries to the South Fork.
The Stewart Mountain Community Forest is a collaborative project involving Whatcom Land Trust, Whatcom County, Nooksack Indian Tribe, Western Washington University and Evergreen Land Trust.
The goal of the project is to “manage the property as a working forest that balances a variety of ecological, economic, and community benefits such as watershed health, improved water quality, increased water quantity, sustainable forestry jobs, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreational access while offsetting the projected impacts of climate change,” according to the group’s website.
Restoring and maintaining old-growth forests, forests that are 150 years or older, can impact nearby water quality and quantity by using less water than younger ones, meaning more water drains into the river.
The Washington State Department of Ecology invested $35 million in 26 high-priority projects across the state in streamflow restoration grants in October. Whatcom County Public Works was awarded over $5.5 million for the Stewart Mountain Community Forest effort.
Alex Jeffers, conservation director with Whatcom Land Trust, said this $5.5 million will help the project, but the total cost of the 5,500 acres will likely be around $13-$16 million.
The 550-acre purchase was made with a $1.5 million grant from Conservation Futures Fund via the County Executive’s office, $300,000 from Evergreen Land Trust via a grant it received from the Whatcom Community Foundation and an additional $550,000 committed by the Whatcom Land Trust. The money was raised in June, and it took until Friday, Nov. 4, to make the official purchase.
“It feels really great to have this grant come through and take this huge step to making this vision a reality, we have been working on it for a long time and we still have a long way to go, but it is definitely an energizing piece of news that we received and it is getting us a lot closer to the final goal,” Jeffers said to The Herald in an interview Oct. 13.
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