Advocacy
Focus Areas
Eyes on Whatcom
One of the ways to stay abreast of current environmental issues in Whatcom County is to routinely monitor local agency agendas for environmental issues. Although this is a "reactive" approach, having more eyes monitoring helps to show elected officials what we support, are concerned about, or oppose.
Water Resources
Climate change is dramatically affecting streamflows throughout the Nooksack River watershed. In particular, summer flows are declining, which harms fish and other wildlife. These summer declines are nearly certain to continue for the next few decades, limiting the amounts of water available for wildlife, farms, homes, and industry. WEC encourages implementation of projects to reduce this supply/demand imbalance. Such projects would store winter water for summer use, find new supplies, improve water-use efficiency, and improve forestry practices.
Growth Management
Whatcom County and all the cities are updating their comprehensive plans in 2025 as required by the Growth Management Act. Local governments are required to implement their comprehensive plans through adoption of development regulations and capital budget decisions.
Green Spaces & Greenways
People living, working and visiting Whatcom County appreciate our green spaces and greenways. Several county and city programs are focused on purchasing or conserving these areas. Examples include Bellingham's Greenways Levy and Lake Whatcom Land Acquisition and Preservation Program. In Whatcom County, Conservation Future Funds help purchase development rights in agricultural areas.
Forest Lands
Forests play a crucial role in sustaining human life and the planet's ecosystem. Forests are important in climate control and stabilization (including temperature control), carbon sequestration, air purification and production of oxygen, watershed functioning including soil moisture retention, flood control, and water supply. Forests are particularly important in mitigating and offsetting the impacts of climate change as well as providing important functions in watershed hydrology. There should be a shift in forest management to more effectively address all the important services that our forests provide us.
Local Elections
The Whatcom Environmental Council is a Washington State nonprofit corporation with an application pending with the IRS to be a 501(c)(4). We are allowed to advocate for issues and candidates.
Eyes on Whatcom
We monitor local agency agendas for issues we believe might affect the environment. Some local agencies have excellent ways to sign up for notices and alerts, while other local agencies have no systems in place or are spotty in their use. All local agency boards and councils are subject to the "Open Public Meetings Act" and many have ways to watch or participate remotely.
Monitoring agendas is needed, but it is is a "reactive" approach that often leads to short timelines to review and comment on an issue. Below, you can find some of the ways that you can monitor a local agency. If you wish to be notified about issues we have identified in our monitoring, please be sure to Sign Up.
Whatcom County
We are monitoring the Whatcom County Council and Whatcom County Planning Commission. For development projects, we also monitor the Hearing Examiner agendas.
Whatcom County provides an opportunity to subscribe to numerous council and committee notices. Go to https://www.whatcomcounty.us/list.aspx to sign up.
Bellingham
We are monitoring the City of Bellingham, including City Council and Planning Commission. See the Hearing Examiner for public hearings on development projects. The City has an interactive map of development projects and posts Planning's development notices here.
Bellingham's Comprehensive Plan update is found at this link.
Port of Bellingham
We are monitoring the Port of Bellingham. Port Commission meeting agendas can be found at this link.
Ferndale
We are monitoring the City of Ferndale, including City Council and Planning Commission.
Ferndale has a webpage called "What's Being Built in My Neighborhood?", which includes an interactive map of development projects.
Public notices are posted at this link.
Whatcom P.U.D.
We are monitoring the Whatcom P.U.D. The PUD is a community-based water and electric utility.
Lynden
We are monitoring the City of Lynden, including City Council and Planning Commission.
Other Agencies
We are also monitoring the Northwest Clean Air Agency and the Whatcom Conservation District.
Growth Management
Focus Areas
Growth Projections
The WEC believes Whatcom County should plan for the most likely growth, which is what is known as the "OFM medium" or "OFM middle". The capacity of our environment to handle new growth, such as water resources, must be shown.
We will not take a position on allocations of growth to urban and rural areas until the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is provided and input accepted in early spring 2025.
Forest Lands
Growth Management requires the designation and conservation of forest lands of long-term commercial significance.
Recent amendments to GMA require the Parks Element to do an evaluation of tree canopy coverage within urban growth areas, and the Land Use Element to designate urban and community forests in urban growth areas. These elements help address climate change and resilience.
Urban Growth Areas
UGAs are where urban growth is encouraged. But while accommodating urban growth, we must also protect and enhance the environment.
Changes to UGA boundaries are starting to be proposed. The WEC has not taken a position on any UGA changes at this time but anticipates doing so as necessary.
Agricultural Lands
Growth Management requires the designation and conservation of agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance.
The Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan, and the Agricultural Strategic Plan, identify "a minimum of 100,000 acres of land area available for agricultural use to maintain the necessary land base to support an economically viable agricultural industry." Whatcom County has not designated 100,000 acres, and multiple threats to agriculture place additional challenges to supporting agriculture.
Open Space
As Whatcom county and our cities grow, preserving open space becomes even more important.
Open space can be in urban or rural areas, or in our resource lands (agricultural and forestry). Open space can be useful for recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, trails, access to natural areas and water, and connection of critical areas.
Open space corridors are required by GMA to be located within and between Urban Growth Areas.
Infill & Housing
Infill development is where growth goes in areas that already have roads, trails, parks and public facilities. Studies show that infill development can improve environmental quality over greenfield development.
The WEC recognizes the need to provide affordable housing, particularly to those earning less than median income. While not focused specifically on housing policy, the WEC supports housing policy that protects and enhances the environment.
Climate
Recent amendments to GMA require the county and cities to adopt a climate change and resiliency element that is designed to result in reductions in overall greenhouse gas emissions and enhance resiliency to and avoid adverse impact of climate change.
Other amendments require an inventory of green infrastructure, which means a wide array of natural assets and built structures within a UGA, including parks and other areas with protected tree canopy.
Water Resources
Growth Management requires the protection of surface water and groundwater resources. Unfortunately, 2018 amendments allow a county or city to rely on or refer to applicable minimum instream flow rules adopted by the State, even when instream flow rules are outdated or fail to protect resources, such as water for fish.
Initiatives and Development
Petrogas West
9/4/24
The Whatcom Environmental Council joined with 11 other environmental groups to provide comments on Petrogas West's major project application including 31 projects that were previously implemented without the necessary permits. Our comment letter can be reviewed at the link below.
Lake Whatcom Work Plan
8/25/24
The Whatcom Environmental Council reviewed the draft 2025 - 2029 Work Plan for the Lake Whatcom Management Plan, which is meant to protect the drinking water source for nearly half the people in Whatcom County. Our seven pages of comments can be found at the link below.
Silver Beach Rezone
5/30/24
The Bellingham City Council reconsidered High Density Residential zoning in the Lake Whatcom Watershed. The WEC recommended the City adopt a Residential, Low Density Designation. Read our original letter here and our updated letter below.
