Progress Report on Activities
A number of forestry, fish, and wildlife management actions have been implemented over recent years. Many are associated with the tasks included in the Jointly adopted Work Plans but others may be implemented by one or more jurisdictions. This section provides an overview of some of the actions undertaken, with in some cases, links to other sites for additional information.
2005 - 2009 Work Plan Actions:
Two activities are identified and progress on them can be viewed at "2005 Forestry, Fish, and Wildlife Progress Report."
2000 - 2004 Work Plan Actions:
- Forestry Advisory Forum - The Lake Whatcom Forestry Advisory forum was established in 1989. Its purpose is to promote forest practices in the watershed over residential development, while working to ensure that forest management practices preserve water quality. The Forum also offers a place to exchange information on forest practices and discuss forestry issues.
Prior to 2000, the Forestry Advisory Forum had no formal membership, funding, or regulatory authority. In August 2000, the Forum was designated a subcommittee of the Lake Whatcom Management Committee, the interjurisdictional group that directs the management of the Lake . The Management Committee benefits from the Forum members' combined centuries of forestry experience. The Forestry Forum met on a quarterly basis to assist citizens' preparation of forest practices applications for submission to the Department of Natural Resources.
- Lake Whatcom DNR Landscape Planning Committee -The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) developed a long-range landscape management plan for approximately 15,700 acres of forested state trust lands in and adjacent to the Lake Whatcom watershed. The DNR worked with the Lake Whatcom DNR Landscape Planning Committee and others to address water quality, public safety, and other issues as they apply to DNR-managed lands around the lake.
In the fall of 2001, the public offered comments that helped define the scope, or areas of interest, to be included in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). DNR and the committee used these comments to develop five different management strategies that were presented and analyzed in a Preliminary Draft Environmental Impact Statement (PDEIS) published in September 2002.
Following the PDEIS, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was published in September 2003. A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and addendum to the DEIS was published in January 2004. In November 2004, the DNR Board of Natural Resources passed a resolution that adopted the FEIS preferred alternative for the Lake Whatcom Landscape Management Plan Pilot Project.
For more information about this process and links to the documents, visit the Washington State Department of Natural Resources website at http://www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/agency/whatcom/index.html.
- Whatcom County Culvert Inventory - The identification of fish barriers is part of the culvert inventory project. This project assessed barriers to fish migration in Whatcom County using an assessment protocol developed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and will create a prioritized ranking for correction based on the potential gain in fish habitat and production. To achieve this mission, the project will:
- Accurately identify and map culverts, drainage structures that are potential barriers to salmonid passage.
- Measure spawning and rearing habitat for salmonids upstream of identified barriers on high priority stream reaches.
Through this effort, Whatcom County has inventoried approximately 30 culverts in the Lake Whatcom watershed along Blue Canyon Road, South Bay Road, Lake Whatcom Boulevard, Lake Louise Road, North Shore Road, and Y Road. Five culverts in the watershed have been corrected.
** Salmonids found in the Lake Whatcom watershed include kokanee and cutthroat trout.
