Blanchard Agreement stands in recent ruling
Jun 03, 2010
The state Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's decision, reinstating a collaborative forestry agreement for managing Blanchard Mountain in Whatcom County.
Pileated woodpeckers are among the many residents of Blanchard Mountain. Photo copyright Paul Bannick
The state Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's decision requiring the state Department of Natural Resources to do an environmental impact statement for its plan for Blanchard Mountain. The court supported DNR's view that management strategies based on recommendations developed by a group of Skagit County citizens and conservationists did not need an environmental impact statement to be legitimate.
In reversing the lower court's ruling, the appeals court noted that the environmental impacts of the DNR plan needed to be considered along with the "existing use" of Blanchard as trust land.
In May 2009, the Washington State Board of Natural Resources voted to buy and protect from development 80 acres of private land on the south slope of Blanchard. It was the first purchase fleshing out the landmark Blanchard Mountain Agreement, that protects the heart of Blanchard Mountain while promising funding to protect forests from pavement and subdivision at the foot of the mountain.
