“Empowering Communities to Build Healthy Watersheds”

In October a public CRM tour was held in Whatcom County Washington. More than 50 people gathered to network and learn about the hands-on efforts undertaken by a variety of partners working closely together to improve the local watersheds.

The Tenmile Creek watershed includes 65 miles of stream shared by 2,493 landowners; 573 of these properties are within 100’of the streams. The watershed has 25 dairies, 1,100 acres of raspberries, plus blueberries, poultry, seed potato fields and an apple orchard.

Begun in 2001, a program to protect both farming and fish. A neighbor-to-neighbor effort begins with a walk along the creek, either individually with the landowner, or with several neighbors together. Together they find solutions that are win/win for both the landowner and the watershed. This may include planting buffers, cleaning the creek of reed canary grass, getting a cattle crossing built, gutters for a barn, or planting native plants between a grassed yard and the creek.

The Partners: Nooksack Tribe, Lummi Nation, Whatcom County, WSU Extension, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Washington Department of Ecology, Whatcom Conservation District, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association and Whatcom County Agriculture Preservation Committee.

“The Tenmile Creek Watershed Restoration Project is about people, building community and healthy watershed,” says Dorie Belisle, Local Orchardists and Project Manager for the Tenmile Creek Watershed in Whatcom County. “It is about forming relationships with our neighbors – and then forming relationships with those county, state and federal agencies that govern us, the non-profits that have a vision, and the tribes that first called this home.

“The key to solving community natural resource issues is to empower local stakeholders to come together collaboratively and reach agreement on what needs to be done. I am a firm believer that using locally-led, coordinated approaches to resource management is the best answer for enhancing Washington’s natural environment,” says Kelli Linville, State Representative for the 42nd District.

Accomplishments to Date:

• More than 35 landowners have new planting projects on their land,
• Approximately 5 miles (25,000 linear feet) of stream has been planted on both sides with trees & shrubs,
• 4,800 linear feet of stream are in the planning stages for future tree plantings,
• 6 sites have received “large woody debris” for fish habitat,
• 1 site had a fish barrier removed and a bridge put in place,
• 6 monitoring stations were installed on private lands to monitor water quality,
• Community outreach and education has taken the form of presentations, tours, newspaper articles, website development, and creation of the “Tenmile Treasures” quarterly newsletter,
• Students from two local high schools have actively grown native plants for the watershed,
• Local farmers have donated their land, time, and expertise to grow 42,000 seedlings that have been planted along the stream; 6,000 more will be transplanted in 2005.

For more information contact Dorie Belisle  doriebelisle@yahoo.com

Agriculture Has a Bright Future in Whatcom County

By Henry Bierlink, Executive Director, Whatcom County Agriculture Preservation Committee

Coordinated Resource Management fits very well with our vision for the long-term future of Whatcom County farms. We sense that CRM empowers land managers with the rights and responsibilities of holistic resource management decisions. We are demonstrating how we believe this should work in our local landowner-driven pilot projects in the Bertrand and Ten Mile watersheds.

Whatcom County has over 130,000 acres in farms but only 90,000 acres with the protection of agricultural zoning. Farmers cannot afford to compete with development for quality land. Whatcom County farmers bring more than finances and open space to the county. They bring a culture that represents the history of our nation. They need the opportunity to share this culture with the generations to come.

Whatcom County’s Agriculture Preservation Committee has a goal of creating a long-term future for farming in Whatcom County. This organization represents numerous third and fourth generation farmers who strongly desire for their children and grandchildren the opportunity to remain part of the Whatcom County farm legacy. We see three areas that will need constant attention if we are to realize our goal:

1. Responsible Stewardship of the Resources Entrusted to us -- We can provide quality habitat for fish and upland wildlife and do so without negatively affecting our need to make wise use of the land and water resources available to us.
2. A Farmland Base to support a critical mass of ag services -- We have worked to develop clear and consistent land use laws, market driven farmland protection programs, and other tools to help us win this battle.
3. Economic Vitality for our farms -- Despite our love of farming we cannot continue to do it at a loss. We seek community support for our efforts to promote locally grown food, explore new market opportunities, and develop farm businesses that can compete in international markets.