The Friends of Blanchard Mountain 

News Archive

Survey: Open space is worth saving

Ralph Schwartz Skagit Valley Herald July 20, 2007 - 11:02 AM       Matt Wallis Darrell West of Bayview walks his dogs this morning on the Padilla Bay Shore Trail off Baybiew-Edison Road.

A recent survey of county residents strongly suggests that people want to set aside open space and develop trails to get to those spaces. The survey was less clear about how they’d like to pay for it. A consultant hired by Skagit County and the Skagit Council of Governments is developing a plan to piece together a system of trails and green spaces from Deception Pass to the Cascade crest. The emphasis is on urban growth areas, those spaces surrounding cities that are on the verge of development. The concept is designed to get people from the cross-county trails into the urban business centers, and in turn, from their homes in the cities into the countryside, consultant Tom Beckwith said. As the county’s population grows and farmlands are converted into housing tracts, the 200 registered voters who participated in the survey sent a clear message: Preserve open spaces. Of those surveyed, 74 percent wanted to preserve working farmland. Smaller majorities favored preserving forests, wildlife habitat, scenic landscapes and historical landmarks. A trail system that extended through the urban growth areas was supported by 64 percent. In general, conservation proposals mentioned in the survey received 50 to better than 70 percent approval. The survey’s margin of error was 8 percent. “We don’t get surveys where we get those kinds of results consistently,” Beckwith told Skagit Council of Government members Wednesday. Complete survey results should be on the Skagit County Web site by today. Results will be presented to the county commissioners in their hearing room at 10 a.m. Monday. Five funding options presented in the survey received little or no support. About half of those surveyed said they would agree to a 0.1 percent sales tax increase to pay for conservation, restoration, enhancement and management of open spaces and trail systems countywide. Less than half supported a real estate excise tax, a fuel tax or a vehicle license fee. About 59 percent said they would pay at least some property tax for the proposal, with the mean figure being $89 per year. Support for a new sales or property tax was so marginal that approval of a ballot measure would hinge on whether those who said they were undecided about the new taxes could be convinced to vote yes, according to a survey summary. Armed with the survey results, the Council of Governments and the county must decide what to do next. A final planning documentis due next month, according to a project timeline. The project doesn’t aim to develop trails or open spaces from scratch, but rather seeks to build on existing projects, such as the proposed Coast Millennium Trail linking Skagit and Whatcom counties, said Jeroldine Hallberg, a senior planner with the county planning department. Nor would the system interfere with development in urban growth areas. It would use land not fit for development, such as stream corridors and floodplains, Beckwith said. Still, he said, there is a sense of urgency to get the system in place before development fills the urban growth areas. “People feel threatened and they feel a sense that if they don’t act, the lands won’t be publicly accessible,” Beckwith said. County Commissioner Sharon Dillon expressed a similar concern when commissioners heard a report on the concept at a June 5 meeting. “Once you have the houses there, they (the homeowners) don’t want the trails to come afterward,” Dillon said. • Ralph Schwartz can be reached at 360-416-2138 or rschwartz@skagitvalleyherald.com.

Argus- Blanchard Editorial 7/26/06 - Tony Flynn

There's only one chance to get it right with Blanchard Mountain

From its peak, visitors to Oyster Dome atop Blanchard Mountain can gaze with wonderment and awe at some of the most spectacular sunset scenery anywhere on earth ‹ the kind of views they make into postcards. 

From that same vantage point, however, others see a different view, one ofmoney to fund schools by the cutting of conifers.

 Blanchard Mountain was established as a trust land back in 1936 after owners of the looming western Chuckanuts hillside, seen just a few miles west of Burlington, scalped the mountain of trees and couldn't think of anything to do with what was left over. They turned it over to the state, which in turn designated the site as trust land, to be reforested and perpetually logged to provide funds for school districts attached to its boundaries, as well as the county.

 One of those districts that receives money from the trust land each year is the Burlington-Edison School District, which receives enough money to make up about 2 percent of the district's $30 annual budget. It is separated into two accounts ‹ one that provides funds for district purchases ($138,000 last year) and another to help pay off the district's debt service ($117,000 in 2006). As you can see, in the big picture it isn't a lot of money compared to $30 million.

 Various spots on the site are logged on a rotating basis about every 20 years. This allows other parts of the forest time enough for a new generation of Douglas fir, spruce and cedar to grow to harvestable size.Thus far it has been harvested four times since it became trust land, plus in 1969 was ravaged by a lightning strike forest fire. Now the state says it's time for a fifth cutting and this is where it has suddenly gotten contentious. 

Now, in the day when those first owners cut down the virgin stand of old growth trees no one hiked the hills for fun and recreation. They already got plenty of  "recreation" working their jobs or tilling their fields, minding the livestock, walking to town to buy groceries or to mail a letter ‹ you get the idea. And for fun they had the grange dances on Saturday night. Why in the world would anyone want to go walking up on Blanchard Mountain on purpose if they weren't getting paid? 

Today things are way different. People who work their 40 hours a week or are maybe retired from a lifetime of 40-hour weeks like to get away from the hubub of their lives and return to nature ‹ and one of the most popular places for those who enjoy a long hike on quiet, secluded and densly forested trails with world-class views is Blanchard Mountain. Folks come from all over the region to use this site to relax, to rekindle something deep within their souls that makes a person truly feel good about being alive.

 When these folks noticed signs popping up about the state's logging plans, they mobilized and began a letter writing campaign and established a loosely  formed group opposed to the logging of the mountain. Through their efforts a dialogue has been opened up with the state about Blanchard Mountain'sfuture.

 So where does it go from here? 

In an age where the funding of education (or more accurately, paying teachers more) tops every legislative session it's unpopular to go against anything  that cuts out money for schools ‹ even if it is just cents on the dollar.

On the other hand, we also live in an age where people see a value in the forest, lands and natural resources that have too long now been taken for granted.

 Harvesting Blanchard Mountain for a small financial gain at the expense of a  forest that cannot be replicated isn't illegal, but it could be immoral. The land was put into trust because its original owners didn't want to be strapped with taxes on what they perceived to be useless land. Imagine the financial windfall their families would have realized today if they wouldhave held onto the land and now sold it to the state as a park.  

Every once in a while an opportunity comes along to make a difference that will last generations. This is one such moment for those deciding the fate of Blanchard Mountain and I encourage them to err on the side of preservation. Hey, if things change and there is an urgent need for money those trees will still be there later for another debate.

 There is no 20/20 perfect hindsight when it comes to cutting down a stand of trees. They're gone for good, along with the supporting habitat, wildlife and soul-refreshing scenery.

June 22, 2006

Argus

By Stephanie Kosonen Chief News Reporter

MOUNT VERNON  A handful of people gathered Monday in a Mount Vernon conference room to talk about the economic, social and environmental qualities possessed by the unique forest that covers Blanchard Mountain. They made numerous lists, highlighting items they believe the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) should prioritize when it adopts a new management plan for the mountain.

And they did it with the DNR's blessing.

The Blanchard Forest Strategies Group was created by the DNR for just that purpose and is made up of foresters, conservationists and recreationalists who must find as much common ground as possible when talking about Blanchard's values. The DNR can use the group's recommendations when forming a management plan for the mountain, but is not required to do so.The nine-member group lacked one member on Monday who represents a group that opposes logging there. The empty seat at the table was reserved for Eron Berg, president of the Friends of Blanchard Mountain. Two members of the Friends sat in the audience, however, hoping their group's cause would not be lost.

Monday was the group's third meeting, after forming last month. On July 10 they will pick up where they left off. The Blanchard forest is a state trust land the DNR manages for timber, in order to provide revenue to the county, the Burlington-Edison School District and the Port.

But the mountain is also quite popular for recreationalists, and is unique because its trees are naturally regenerated, unlike the majority of tree stands in the county, which are "tree farms" with little biodiversity. Blanchard is also home to 18 threatened species and an endangered bird, the marbled murrelet.

At the group's first meeting, members were given a list of ground rules, which included one item that didn't sit well with the Friends. It said one of the strategy group's goals would be to keep the forest designated as a "working forest," meaning to keep logging it. Berg, however, requested that other options be open to discussion.

The Friends of Blanchard Mountain's mission is to place the mountain into what is called a "trust land transfer" ‹ meaning ownership of the land would be traded for land that is already in the "tree farm" status. One of the criteria for any solution the group comes up with is that it must meet the interests of all parties involved.

 In the trust land transfer model, the Friends say, nobody loses. Recreation can continue, habitat remains untouched, and logging revenues continue. Despite the absence of Berg on Monday, the strategies group put the land transfer option on the board. Group member Will Hamilton said he thought it  was a reasonable option. Having played a key role in creating a management plan for Turtleback Mountain, on Orcas Island, he is familiar with the various interests of timber, aesthetics and recreation.

Hamilton said his orders were to manage the mountain "with integrity," meaning not to create an eyesore out of Turtleback. It required thinking outside the box, he said, adding that a "thinking outside the box" option ought to be added to the Blanchard strategy group's list. Specifically, he said Blanchard could be put into a recreational trust option, like the trust land transfer idea.

"That's a bold, innovative, perhaps wild idea," Hamilton said. "But I think it can be done." Audible relief was heard from Friends in the audience, who had expressed dismay at their representative's absence from the brainstorming session.

The group will work with the list of options they created on Monday to find which ones might work for meshing environmental, economic and social interests. The group's consultant, John Howell of the Cedar River Group, said individual members need to think not just about their own interests, but also try to solve for the interests of the other stakeholders. "When we find a solution, we will find a solution that hasn't yet been proposed. If it were easy, we wouldn't be here," he said before Monday's meeting. "We need to understand each other's interests well enough before we start jumping to solutions."

April 25, 2006

Panel to address Blanchard Mountain  

By JAMES GELUSO Staff Writer

January 12, 2006-

Plan to aid timber industry proposed

SVH -02-12-06

By JAMES GELUSO Staff Writer

  As Paul Kriegel sees it, forestry is a hard business, and government has made it harder.

 The national forest lands are almost entirely off-limits to cutting. And on privately owned lands, rules that prohibit cutting trees near streams have taken thousands of acres out of production.

   "Whatever you want us to leave, we'll leave it," Kriegel said. "Just pay us for it."

   Meanwhile, landowners say it's hard to turn away the lure of easy money when people want to buy patches of forest land not for timber production, but to build a house deep in the woods.

   But the foresters, aware of the county's tight budgets, aren't asking the county for money.

   They're asking for something that they say won't cost the county, but will pay off just as well - development rights.

   Others are less enthusiastic.

   Ellen Gray, the North Sound policy director for the land-use advocacy group Futurewise, said she is skeptical of the concept.

   "The idea of paying foresters not to destroy streams and wetlands is a very expensive approach," she said. "It should be a requirement, not a commodity for sale."

   Kriegel, who works for Bellinghambased Mount Baker Plywood, sits on Skagit County's 12-member Forest Advisory Board, a group of loggers, landowners and businesspeople assembled to give the county advice on how to regulate privately owned forests.

   It's important to keep timber in production, Kriegel said. Loggers need to have a sawmill available nearby so they can log. And since a given acre of land will be harvested only once every 40 to 70 years, the sawmill needs to have many loggers out there.

   With the county revising its comprehensive plan, the document that governs land use in the county, the board presented two key proposals members say will help them maintain a healthy timber industry. One policy would allow foresters to be compensated in development rights for land they can't harvest on because of environmental restrictions. The other would give the foresters the right to build more homes on the edges of forest lands in exchange for keeping more land in permanent timber production.

   The county planning department has put both proposals on what it calls "Track B," meaning that they will be discussed during meetings and hearings this spring and summer, but the county doesn't plan on considering them for adoption this year.

   "There are still questions about how the policy could be put into practice," said Guy McNally, the planner working on forest land policies. "We don't fully understand the implications. Perhaps public opinion and comment can enlighten us."

   The big question, he said, is exactly how much development would result from the programs.

 Compensation program   

 Foresters, just like farmers, have had to leave large swaths of land alone, mainly near streams to help with salmon recovery. The difference, Kriegel pointed out, is that while there are federal, state and local programs available to pay for the land that farmers lose, foresters so far have been left to fend for themselves.

   So Kriegel came up with an idea for what he calls the Compensatory Incentive Program, or CIP.

   Basically, the county would compensate timber owners for the value of the timber they have to leave behind, not with cash but with a development right. That right could be moved from forest lands to other areas in the county with rural residential zoning and used to increase the number of houses that would be allowed there.

   The program could also be used to permanently extinguish development rights on parcels of forest lands. Currently, most parcels of forest land that are near existing development come with the right to build one house.

   For example, a timber company could own an 80-acre parcel, but only be allowed to harvest timber from 60 acres. Legally, the company would be able to build one house there, subject to other restrictions. The company could extinguish the building right on the lot, to get one transferrable development right, plus one more for the value of the 20 acres of timber it's leaving behind. Those two rights could be transferred to a 20-acre parcel in a rural residential area. Combined with the right already on the receiving lot, those rights would allow a builder to sell three homes where before it could only sell one.

   There are restrictions on how the new right could be used. The value of the timber and the land would be comparable. A right generated because a forester lost $60,000 worth of timber couldn't be used to build a house on a $500,000 piece of land, for example. There would be limits on how many rights could be transferred to a given area, and the right could only be used to build homes in clusters, tight formations designed to limit the length of road and utilities and maximize the amount of open space.

   "It's a way to help landowners for takings without writing a check," Kriegel said.

   The county is already paying farmers to extinguish development rights on farmland, but the foresters don't expect to get the same benefit, Kriegel said.

   "We also are working with the reality that there's no money," he noted.

   The county commissioners, in a short briefing about the proposal last month, were skeptical.

   Most of the land that timber owners can't harvest from is due to the Forests and Fish Agreement, which was negotiated between the state and the timber industry in 2001.

   "Timber has made an agreement, and now they're looking to the county to pick up the tab," County Commissioner Ken Dahlstedt said. "I think they need to look to the state."

 Bonus lots   

The foresters also want to increase the number of homes along the edges of forests, as a way of preserving timber uses. So they've proposed what they call "bonus density."

   Kriegel said the foresters are worried about what's happening in "secondary forest," a band of zoning a quarter-mile wide that comes between the "industrial forest" and residential areas.

   In secondary forest, developers are allowed to build up to one home per 20 acres. What's happening, Kriegel said, is that 80-acre forestry parcels are divided into four 20-acre lots, with one home a piece. All 80 acres then become forest land that is somebody's backyard, and never harvested again.

   What the foresters are proposing is clustering, and a bonus of 50 percent. That would mean that six houses get built on 6 acres in one corner of the 80-acre tract, on the side of the zone away from the industrial forest. The remaining 74 acres would be required to be managed as commercial timberland, including harvest.

   Under the current law, the landowner could only build a cluster of four homes. Given the choice of selling four 1-acre lots or four 20-acre lots, most landowners would choose the latter because it will generate more money. If landowners are allowed to sell six 1-acre lots instead, then that's more of an incentive.

   "The beauty of the bonus system is, once that parcel is locked in, it stays that way," Kriegel said.

   The bonus density proposal got mixed reviews from the county commissioners. Commissioner Ted Anderson, who has worked in the timber industry and whose district includes the majority of the county's forest lands, supports the concept. But Dahlstedt, whose district also includes timberlands, had reservations.

   "A lot of people who own resource lands would like to have more development, but it seems to be contrary to what we're working for," he said.

   Futurewise's Gray said the bonus doesn't really help protect forests. She said it would allow, if all secondary-forest lands were built, an additional 1,000 homes along the forest fringe beyond the 2,000 already allowed.

   "Protecting forests by allowing more houses in forest lands doesn't make sense, unless you want to grow rooftops rather than trees," she said.

   There's already an incentive for landowners to cluster homes in the corner, and that's the cost savings of building shorter roads and water lines, she said.

January 27, 2006-  Trillium seeks Galbraith area study

Corporation suggests growth could extend into that vicinith

 AUBREY COHEN
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Expanding Bellingham around Galbraith Mountain would help protect more sensitive areas of the county, according to Trillium Corp. officials.

The developer has asked the Whatcom County Council to make about 2,400 acres of forestry land east of Yew Street Road an urban growth study area, meaning the officials would consider it for future city expansion. Trillium wants the county to allow one home per 10 acres in the meantime.

Trillium founder David Syre has spent 25 to 30 years acquiring land in the area, company project manager Mauri Ingram said. “It rounds out the existing city limits.”

The area also has good access to Interstate 5 at the North Lake Samish exit and could access the city through Samish Way and Yew Street Road, she said.

In the application, Trillium officials said the proposal would allow city expansion away from farmland and floodplains and the proposal does not include any land in the Lake Whatcom watershed. They said the land makes up 0.9 percent of the county’s nonfederal forestry acres and could yield 1.3 percent of the county’s total timber harvest, based on 2002 figures.

Designating the area for long-term city growth, beyond 20 years, also would alleviate concerns of city residents about too much dense redevelopment of their neighborhoods, Ingram said. “It’s sort of a pressure valve.”

Trillium officials envision a mix of homes and other uses, Ingram said. “It’s really premature for us to go into detail because we need to determine if the county’s willing to have this conversation.”
Galbraith is a popular area for mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding.

“We really see it as an opportunity to enhance the trails that exist, add really an impressive system of new trails over the years,” Ingram said.

Whatcom Independent Mountain Pedalers President Mark Peterson is familiar with Trillium’s development goals, although he has not seen specific plans.

“From my understanding they actually hope to maintain and even enhance the mountain biking opportunities on Galbraith Mountain and that whole area,” he said. “You would have to assume that at some point some sort of development would impact that area.”
Interim Bellingham Planning Director Greg Aucutt said city officials have not looked into expanding into Galbraith and he hoped the county would not consider the proposal this year.

Officials are still trying to decide where to put projected growth for the next 20 years, Aucutt said. “Let’s finish the work that we’re doing now.”

Browsing through Blanchard July 24, 2005 Lynn Lennox, a sixth-generation resident of Blanchard, arranges flowers for an outdoor wedding at the Blanchard Chapel, built in 1911. Lennox said couples from the Seattle area come to Blanchard to be married because of the sense of history and tradition, plus the beautiful view of Samish Bay and Blanchard Mountain. Story by Randy Trick, Photos by Frank Varga of the Skagit Valley Herald ‘Nowhere in the middle of everywhere': Pride and regret mesh for Blanchard residents In front of the Blanchard Community Center is a worn, wooden bulletin board. On it are details about renting the community hall, fliers for a foot race at an oyster farm up the road a few miles and a to-do list of chores that need to be completed at the community center. In the middle of the board is a photocopied picture no bigger than an index card. The staples holding it to the wood are rusted, the orange corrosion creeping onto the paper. The picture shows an Independence Day parade through a crowded downtown Blanchard. Rows of men in dark suits and women in dresses line the sidewalk in front of wood-paneled storefronts. Above the photo is a typed quote attributed to Joanne Prentice, who lived in Blanchard for 59 years before moving in 2003 to a retirement home in Burlington. Prentice writes: "Blanchard is nowhere in the middle of everywhere." The photo and the quote express a sentiment in Blanchard of both pride and regret. At the north end of the community, old pilings sprouting from the salt flats where Colony Creek drains into the Samish Bay are a reminder that Blanchard was a bustling center of trade when the parade was photographed in 1913. The pilings are all that is left of a sawmill that cut most of its lumber from the hillside, until trees became too hard to reach. But the pool hall in the photo does not exist anymore, nor do the other storefronts along the main street. The mill that provided income for the town of about 1,000 at the time has long been closed and torn down. The original clear-cuts have scabbed over with a second-generation of trees. But while its population has plummeted from its heyday almost a century ago, Blanchard has soldiered through, offering a sort of anonymous oasis for raising families without disappearing into the backwoods of Skagit County. Frank Pratt, 89, and his wife Berniece, 88, dedicate their free time to their garden, a meticulously kept corner of Blanchard. Frank Pratt, who grew up in Blanchard, is among the oldest residents of the community and one of few who remember the Blanchard sawmill before it closed in 1924. The community has hung onto its identity largely thanks to the people of Blanchard, all 50 of them. They are described by Prentice as kind, loving and "a little bit outlaws, and a little bit eccentric." Blanchard's historian Prentice, now 77, kept boxes of old photos of Blanchard when she moved, and she hopes she can find a way to pass along the history of the town. She hopes people will remember the town's quirks. She mentions the "hippies" living in a commune up Colony Road who used to visit Blanchard's general store and drink tea with Prentice. Big Bob was a town character who lived in a house in such disrepair that it looked like it could crumple to the ground in a stiff breeze, Prentice said. Blanchard had its own bootlegger, of course. It also was the site of a 1927 murder of a Portuguese laborer. On the lighter side, Blanchard hosted a champagne breakfast for Joanne and Al Prentice on their 50th wedding anniversary, and toasted its own centennial birthday with an extravagant town festival in 1985. "It's hard to tell anybody how a place can be special," Prentice said. "I think there are good places in the world, and Blanchard is one of them." Nostalgic marriage site On a Friday evening in Blanchard, Lynn Lennox arranged flowers on the lawn of the Blanchard Chapel, built in 1911. The next day, a couple from Kent were to be married, and, as the church's caretaker, Lennox had to arrange the outdoor seating, lights and flowers. She prepared for a service indoors as well, since ominous clouds were building overhead and clinging to the top of Blanchard Mountain, the landform that would show up in the background of all the wedding pictures the next day. Lennox has cared for the chapel since the Methodists sold it to her five years ago. During the summers, Lennox hosts a couple weddings a week. "People that have a taste for the nostalgic," is how Lennox describes the kind of people from the Seattle area who choose her church for their wedding. Inside the church are early photos of Blanchard, including photos of Lennox's great-great-great grandparents, George and Marie Coble, and every generation since. When vows are finished, Lennox rings the same church bell that has been rung for marriages for decades, she said. As Lennox arranged the outdoor seating for the wedding, in the driveway across the street Rex Houser prepared his boat for a Saturday of crabbing. Only in Blanchard Though the Lennoxes and the Housers have only lived next to each other for about 15 years, their families have been neighbors in Blanchard for three generations. Both Lennox and Houser left Blanchard as young adults, and both came back to start a family. The happenstance that two families could buy houses next to each other and have such history with each other is something that could only happen in Blanchard, Lennox said. Relaxing in his side yard on a weekday evening, Houser lets Chuffy, a small Jack Russell Terrier, run around his feet as he points out a house a block away where his grandfather lived. Houser stretched out his arms as he lounged on a picnic table bench. "My yard is my favorite place in Blanchard," he said. Not much happens in Blanchard to disturb such nostalgic moments. Few cars drive by. Houser doesn't worry about crime, and since the community's septic tanks were replaced five years ago, the water seems cleaner. A breeze blows off Samish Bay, sometimes carrying a whiff of barbecue, Houser said. Thanks to the breeze, Blanchard is almost always 10 degrees cooler than Burlington in the summer. "It's just a nice way of life," Houser said. In 20 years, when his children are his age, Houser said he hopes Blanchard is "just like this, but with new paint." Remembering early times Frank Pratt will turn 90 years old in October. He was one of the children reared in Blanchard when the mill was active and is one of the community's oldest residents. "Every lot had a house on it, and every house had three or four kids," Pratt said. One of those kids was Edward R. Murrow, a pioneer of radio journalism during World War II and of television journalism afterward. When they were growing up together, Murrow, a few years older than Pratt, used to tickle him incessantly, Pratt said, grinning at the memory. Murrow's childhood house is still in Blanchard — Pratt can see it from his well-manicured garden — but many other buildings from the days when the community was bigger have been torn down. The main street, where mill workers and later oyster farmers used to shop, has been turned into the large front yards of homes. Most of the residential neighborhood also has been burned, or torn down, to make room for fields, Pratt said. But the fields are out of place, Prentice said. Blanchard has never been an agricultural community. It is a logging and mill town with no trees left, she said. Logging and mill town The mill, where three railroad lines would knot together, is now a collection of pilings sprouting from the tidelands where Colony Creek mixes with the Samish Bay. Only the Burlington Northern railroad is still used, breaking the evening serenity on a schedule as Amtrak whistles through town. A pair of tide gates keeps Colony Creek within its banks, but creates a bog of gray, salty mud on the edge of the community. Neighbors with rowboats keep them tied to the shore, but otherwise the slough and the old mill site are ignored. They have ceased to be the focal point of Blanchard. As the residents of the small community age and their children leave to find opportunities elsewhere, the people said they are trying to hold on to what makes Blanchard unique. Rex Houser, for example, may not be allowed to have Blanchard listed as his hometown on his driver's license, but he was proud to show that his fishing license showed he was from Blanchard. Lennox, with a hint of defiance in her voice, said she knows the place has gotten smaller, but she does not want the county to think of her community as an extension of Bow. "We lost our zip code in the '70s, but we still write Blanchard on envelopes," Lennox said. "We don't want to be just a road in Bow." Randy Trick can be reached at 360-416-2145 or by e-mail at rtrick@skagitvalleyherald.com.

Logging Blanchard Mountain shows a lack of vision
While hiking on Blanchard Mountain in Skagit County, I heard they plan to log this wonderful place despite the fact it has only just recovered from previous logging. Blanchard Mountain is now popular with hikers, mountain bikers, and hang gliders, from Seattle to British Columbia. What a shortsighted lack of vision.

I live in Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. In 1979, our forests were threatened by logging and local citizens organized to oppose those plans. When the dust settled after a contentious 15-year battle, our forests in Clayoquot Sound were protected.

Today, instead of a being a derelict town in the wake of hit-and-run logging, Tofino is a major tourist destination with well over a million visitors annually who are drawn here from around the world for the scenic beauty, wildlife viewing and recreational opportunities.

The forests on Blanchard Mountain have recovered to the point where they now provide visitors with a thoroughly pleasant hike and should be saved. Imagine this place in another century when the trees have matured to what some might call "grandeur." Who knows what economic opportunities will result?

As we discovered in Tofino, sometimes trees generate much more wealth when left standing.

Adrian Dorst
Tofino, British Columbia
 

Acting naturally By Tony Flynn, Staff writer May 2005 Matt Wallis / Skagit Valley Publishing Co. Kayakers Dave Neal (left) and Collin Corcoran, both of Big Sky, Montana, paddle away from Washington Park in Anacortes recently. The pair headed to Strawberry Island for a couple of nights of camping. Skagit County's success as a tourism center depends on preserving, protecting and promoting its natural resources As Skagit County continues to move away from its agricultural and forestry roots, now embracing a growing tourism-driven economy, the questions arise about how to encourage a more vibrant, lasting economy dependent upon folks coming here from out of the area? And what is the worst thing that could happen to Skagit County to torpedo that industry? Community leaders familiar with what it takes to drive a strong tourist machine say success may hinge on whether we take advantage of and fully utilize our natural attractions. Conversely, the worst thing that could scuttle Skagit County's magic allure is to allow the natural resources to become scarce or nonexistent. "You can't showcase what isn't there," said Cindy Verge, director of the highly successful Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which just concluded its 22nd consecutive run in April. "Preserving the character of the valley and enhancing what we have here is going to be one of the biggest challenges we will face in the next two decades," Verge said. Building upon that idea, the best thing that could happen to this region to build tourism, in Verge's opinion, is to steadily emphasize the natural wonders that may be of interest to others. For example, driving Chuckanut Drive and enjoying the scenic views of Samish and Padilla bays, fishing in the Skagit River, watching a sunset at Washington Park, walking the Trail of the Sentinels — these are all opportunities that many non-locals have yet to enjoy. "There aren't many places where you can watch an eagle catch a fish in a lake or buy fresh strawberries at a roadside stand or walk through acres of tulips. This area has so much more to explore and so much more that can be done to attract tourists," said Verge. Don Wick, director of the Economic Development Association of Skagit County (EDASC), has the economic improvement of the county in his cross hairs full-time. Most of the clients EDASC does business with are looking for commercial or industrial sites on which to locate. Wick said a majority choose the Skagit Valley over other options because of the quality of life this area offers. Take that away and you lose a big selling point. "I'd say the No. 1 thing that could be done to enhance the tourism industry in Skagit County is to enhance and develop the natural resources already in place," said Wick. The worst thing that could happen, he added, is if those resources aren't protected adequately. Wick also pointed out that, from a practical standpoint, there are outside forces such as the price of gas hitting $5 a gallon, or poor growing seasons for area farmers, that could also have a significant negative impact on tourism. Wick also suggested that perhaps the most detrimental course the county could follow to hinder the growth of tourism would be to stifle creativity. "You look at all the things the community has accomplished while developing a lively, vibrant atmosphere — the preforming arts center, all the festivals we have — and you take away that drive, that creativity I see so much of, and that would have a serious negative outcome as far as the future of tourism on the county," he said. Juli Wilkerson, director the Washington Department of Economic Trade and Community Development, visited the county in late April. She toured various industrial sites and businesses, and met with municipal leaders. She said Skagit County has "tremendous opportunities" for continued growth and economic success. One area she specifically identified as a strong source of economic stability was tourism. "You have strong community leaders, a rich heritage, and natural resources here that should sustain a viable tourist economy, if it is utilized right," Wilkerson said. For example, Wilkerson pointed to the waterfront in downtown Mount Vernon as an obvious location where enhancement and creative development would attract visitors.

Blanchard ride a great experience

I have been exploring Blanchard Mountain on my mountain bike. I though the public would like to know what I saw and experienced as it can be considered a moderate to advanced place to go explore. We drove through a clear-cut along the road to get to the parking area. From there we rode our bikes past the locked gate on a well-maintained logging road. We saw no signs of recent logging once we left the road, only an occasional discarded cable from long ago and the stumps of past logging efforts. It was quiet, and the trees were large with established ground cover of salal, ferns, wild currant and other shade-growing vegetation.

March 13, 2004

Blanchard Mountain is a sentinel

Blanchard Mountain is a sentinel in the northwest corner of our county. One can walk its trails through forests, by mountain lakes, to towering views unparalleled west of the Cascades. One can even drive up Blanchard Mountain to what is arguably the most awe-inspiring water view in the state.

In 2001, a group of Republican representatives studied the social, ecological and financial values of Blanchard Mountain. This study was paid for equally by the Legislature and by the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance and Sierra Club. Fifty-eight percent of Skagit County residents surveyed opposed logging on Blanchard Mountain even if it means less revenue, and 25 percent think things are fine as they are.

Through the state's trust lands transference program an opportunity exists to protect the most scenic parts of Blanchard Mountain, by substituting more productive, less scenic timberlands to produce revenue. Selective logging below the current roads on the mountain's south and west faces would deter erosion into salmon streams and protect our view of the mountain, while allowing the more timber abundant lower north and east slopes to remain in the timber rotation.

Any revenue loss under such a plan would be negligible for the Burlington-Edison School District. Revenue produced from Blanchard Mountain goes to Department of Natural Resources, the state, the Burlington-Edison School District and the county. It is divided like property tax, except the schools do not get as much and what they get toward maintenance and operation from logging is later subtracted dollar for dollar from what they get from the state.

Corwin Fergus, Bow

March 4, 2005

Blanchard is a recreational treat.

Hang gliding at Blanchard Mountain is a fantastic experience. My routine at Blanchard includes my wife and other visitors. I get dropped off to fly while our friends breathe the fresh air and hike the trails, pick a mushroom or two while enjoying the beauty of the forest and the spectacular view of Skagit County, the Cascade Range and the San Juan Islands. It is a truly inspirational place that draws people from all over the Pacific Northwest.

While flying over Blanchard Mountain it is easy to see how lucky we are in Skagit County to have this special place right in our midst. Blanchard Mountain is unique as it is a naturally regenerated forest, not a tree farm, and it is the only place the Cascades touch the sea.

We hope the Department of Natural Resources and the Legislature, together with Skagit County, can find a way to manage Blanchard Mountain and Chuckanut Mountain for recreational uses rather than timber production. The Burlington-Edison School District may not have to suffer any financial loss if everybody is willing to be creative and give Blanchard Mountain over to the people of the area to enjoy now and in the future.

Konrad Kurp Anacortes

February 25, 2005

Most want less logging on Blanchard Mountain.

As a lover of Blanchard Mountain hiking trails and beauty, I really want to see logging slowed on the mountain. It is beginning to look quite bereft of the natural beauty we take for granted in the Northwest, and is starting to take on the look of a desert mountain and hills I see on my trips to California.

I participated as a survey taker in the DNR survey of the mountain in 2001. The findings of this survey, which are posted on the DNR Web site, showed that people valued these things: the mature forest land on Blanchard, the fact that those forests keep the slopes stable and control erosion. We valued diverse wildlife, the scenic views and viewpoints, and the streams, lakes and wetlands. We liked the opportunity for environmental education and the hiking trails. 58% of people wanted less logging on Blanchard, even if it meant less revenue. Only 15% wanted more logging.

It seems apparent that the wishes of the majority of people surveyed are not being listened to, and the 15% that want more logging are getting their way. What's wrong with this picture?

Eileen Andersen, Bow

February 24, 2005

February 17, 2005

Blanchard needs smart land use plan

In a recent Voices of the Valley column Ted Anderson dismisses the idea of conserving part of Blanchard Mountain in Skagit County as irresponsible. Anderson seems to think that the only value of this uniquely beautiful place is as a traditional revenue source. Ted also notes that logging will provide a "perpetual" source of funding, which is false. The accelerated cutting schedule proposed by the DNR will use up the remaining large trees in 10 or 15 years, without appreciable timber to harvest perpetually, the wild beauty gone for the foreseeable future.

Here is an opportunity to make some smart land use decisions for the future and preserve part of Blanchard Mountain as a jewel of natural beauty. We don't need to make every acre of public land with forest on it a tree farm. A forest with diverse wildlife and a tree farm with a 40 year production cycle laced with access roads are two different things.

A way to preserve the remaining forest is with Trust Land Transfer, a state program providing compensation for logging revenue loss.

Anderson further described the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance as "radical." That's code for extremist. What is extreme about people with common interests organizing to publicly advocate their interests?

According to polls most people in the U.S. want preservation of our very few remaining wild areas. It is commendable when citizens work with public land managers to identify areas where special attention is needed to preserve an irreplaceable natural wonder for real perpetuity.

Cris Feringer, Bow

February 12, 2005

I've been hearing about logging on Blanchard Mountain, where it seems like a controversy might be brewing. Here's a suggestion coming from my perspective as an environmental professional figure out if we can log selectively and carefully while preserving ecological values. Logging operations on Blanchard could be extremely careful to retain natural character, prevent erosion, preserve water quality, and preserve threatened plants and animals. What better lesson to teach the schoolchildren? Yes, schools need money — but it's more important to teach our kids to be stewards of this great land for generations to come. (If the land and water "die", we die). Blanchard Mountain could be a model of forest stewardship we can teach our kids by acting as role models. It could be a great educational experience — learning how to balance the desire for money and the need to be wise stewards of the land and water. If we do it right, we could take the kids out into the forest and be proud to show them how these values can coexist.

Steve Hoffman, Bow

December 15, 2004

Help preserve Blanchard Mountain

After reading Mitch Friedman's piece on Blanchard Mountain, (Voices of the Valley) I must admit that he hit the nail right on the head. We Skagitonians should be "paying attention" and make sure we don't lose this gem to the short-term gains of logging this beautiful place.

We Samish Islanders are very lucky as we view this mountain each day and if we wish can hike to the top after a 5-minute drive to the base. More importantly an intact Blanchard Mountain will help check excessive runoff and flooding in the Samish flats and the Samish River.

This place is so special that both Seattle newspapers have done numerous stories on the Blanchard Mountain hike, which you can easily find by doing an Internet search. Outdoor enthusiasts from Seattle and B.C. make the drive to see and hike on this special place and when they are done for the day they visit a local restaurant or maybe one of the oyster farms that are fed clean water from Blanchard Mountain, or stay at a bed and breakfast nearby. We locals, from all over Skagit County, must all do our part to help preserve the beauty of this special place. Please join me in supporting Northwest Ecosystem Alliance efforts to save Blanchard Mountain.

I agree with Mr. Friedman, Blanchard Mountain does belong to all of us!

See my Web site at  www.blanchardmountain.org

Brad Wellman,  Bow

December 9, 2004