Landmark recommendations reached for Blanchard Mountain

Press

An historic collaborative agreement was recently reached for forest management of Blanchard Mountain, the southernmost tip of the Chuckanut Mountain range and the only place where the Cascades touch the sea.

This parcel of public lands forest managed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a uniquely spectacular one, well loved for its beauty, mature forests, and recreational opportunities. It's surrounded by lands that either have been converted to development or are at great risk of conversion.

The DNR had for years slated to clearcut much of the mountain, crisscrossing its core forest with miles of logging roads. Those plans met fierce resistance from conservationists, recreation enthusiasts, and the broader community alike. The Commissioner of Public Lands decided last spring to convene a  group of diverse interests, including Conservation Northwest, called the Blanchard Strategies Group, and charged it with developing a set of recommendations for the future of Blanchard's forests.

Learn more at a Q & A on the Blanchard agreement

Blanchard Strategies Group agreement

The outcome of the agreement surprised most, and includes a protected 1,600-acre roadless core containing a majority of the trail systems, the lakes and cliffs on the mountain's top, and a linkage to Larrabee State Park. Also receiving protection under existing rules are habitat for rare plants and animals, streamside forests, and slopes highly visible from Chuckanut Drive and other viewpoints. 

This core is 1,300 acres more than the DNR wanted to give up and 1,000 acres less than what conservationists have been fighting for the last 10 years. It was a painful agreement all around. But in the eyes of the conservationists, the Blanchard Strategies Group agreement made up for that by finding unexpected common ground around the idea of expanding state ownership in the area.

When compromise is conservation

Finding compromises such as the Blanchard Strategies Group agreement is key to keeping habitat in place over the next century. Grouping land allocations into a large swath of public ownership in the Chuckanuts is an important step to keeping the forests intact and stopping the encroaching development.

Next steps

Over the last several months, the Blanchard Strategies Group and the public encouraged the state legislature to appropriate in the 2007 budget at least $5 million towards the overall goal of $12.5 million over five years. Most of these funds would go toward the acquisition of timberlands adjacent to Blanchard Mountain, which DNR will manage to produce revenue for the trusts, while the remaining amount will go toward the DNR costs.

In April 2007 the Washington State budget passed with $4 million in the Capital Budget Bill to purchase lands in the Chuckanuts adjacent to Blanchard Mountain.

Cascadia Weekly, January 31, 2007 (1.5 mb)

From the Whatcom Watch, March 2007

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 14, 2007