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Lake Whatcom Reservoir Your Bellingham Drinking Water DNR-South Page speak to us: tig@lakewhatcom.org

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The southern end of Lookout Mountain, on the south-west shore of Lake Whatcom, is mostly "owned" (controlled) by DNR, the State Department of Natural Resources. This is the section outside of Sudden Valley, and has very little urbanization, but is prime for logging. Topography here is steep, so erosion is great and fast from any land disturbance like forest roads for logging, heavy-vehicle recreation, logging itself, and urbanization. Some Sudden Valley residents have been outspoken advocates of watershed protection for years. They can cite and point out many places where things have been done wrong (or NOT done when they should have been), regarding just about every human activity imaginable, by land-owners, visitors, construction work and government agencies. Substantial private logging has been going on on the upper sections of Lookout Mountain, and one "harvest" continued in recent years because of an existing contract, grandfathered in, in spite of the clear concerns for the impact of logging on water quality. The state legislature imposed a requirement on the DNR that they not harvest timber in any watershed used for a public potable-water supply, without having an approved operating plan (a "landscape plan") which would show potential environmental harm, and how they would avoid that. The Governor appointed an advisory committee to work on this plan, and included the Sudden Valley citizens who first raised the questions. But, we are still waiting for the final "landscape plan" to be approved for this area. What more, that you would not want in your tap-water, lurks near or in the Reservoir?

The Initiative Group -- Whatcom 360.738.3151 -- tig@lakewhatcom.org

this is the DNR-South page: http://lakewhatcom.org/DNR-South.htm edited  2002.01.19:18    C4A, mgb