BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Hundreds of acres of land near Lake Whatcom are being acquired by the City of Bellingham to protect Bellingham’s main water source.
At their meeting on Monday night, city council voted to approve the purchase of 754 acres on the southeast end of Lake Whatcom.
“Years in the making, this purchase is a major step forward in protecting one of our community’s most valuable assets, strengthening our ability to continue providing clean, safe drinking water,” said Mayor Kim Lund.
The property is being purchased from local timber company Nielsen Brothers, Inc. for over $3.6 million. It hasn’t been used for logging operations in several decades. Watershed fees from utility bills will be used to fund the purchase, which is expected to close in mid-February.
The land acquisition is a part of the ongoing Lake Whatcom Land Acquisition and Preservation Program. Over 3,500 acres have been purchased by the City of Bellingham since 2001 to protect the watershed as well as the wildlife and ecosystem around it.
Bellingham-based nonprofit Whatcom Million Trees Project (WMTP) facilitated the acquisition by bringing the parties together in 2021. According to WMTP founder and Executive Director Michael Feerer, the forests in the newly acquired land will have the ability to mature into older growth to benefit the watershed and help stabilize the steep slopes that surround the lake.
