Bellingham adds another 40 acres to the thousands purchased to protect its drinking water

Bellingham is preserving more than 40 acres of forest around Lake Whatcom, part of its 20-year policy of buying land in the watershed to prevent development .

One site is above Northshore Road and the other is on the south end of the lake, which is the drinking water source for about 100,000 people in Bellingham and Whatcom County.

“Both of these purchases help improve water quality in Lake Whatcom by preserving forested land around the lake,” Public Works Department spokeswoman Stefanie Cilinceon told The Bellingham Herald in an email.

City Council president Dan Hammill announced the deal at the end of the Monday’s meeting. Council members approved both deals unanimously.

The deal brings the total number of acres protected by the Lake Whatcom Land Acquisition and Preservation Program to approximately 2,815 acres, Cilinceon said:

▪ A 4-acre property off Donald Avenue on the northeast end of the lake from William and Duane Schenck and Barry Collman for $340,000. This property is 100% forested with substantial evergreen tree cover, Cilinceon said.

▪ A 40.79-acre parcel off Park Road from Dennis and Maureen Handel for $205,000. This property consists of undeveloped forested land with some open fields.

“An unnamed, seasonal creek runs down the steep slopes on the west end of the property, which eventually flows into Anderson Creek , a lowland stream that feeds into Lake Whatcom. Anderson Creek provides spawning habitat for a variety of fish, including native kokanee and cutthroat trout,” Cilinceon said.

The city completed a restoration project along Anderson Creek in 2021 to improve habitat and water quality by removing an abandoned creosote-treated bridge and adding native plants, she said.