Chuckanut Conservancy

Coal Trains - Where are they Going? Why Do We Care? Part 3

2011-04-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Many of us care because:
- It will cost the taxpayers money.
- It will cause damage to the environment in the Cherry Point area - including damage to the marine.
- It will dramatically increase railroad traffic in this state and numerous bridges, crossings etc. will have to be built, repaired, replaced, upgraded - most at taxpayer expense.
- The actual net jobs in Whatcom County could decline and actual costs could increase dramatically to the taxpayer.

In 2008 a bill was introduced into the legislature by a local State Senator that would have all of the taxes generated by a super port go directly for paying the infrastructure costs of roads, spur lines, sewer and water mitigation, emergency services and environmental mitigation costs. Senate Bill 6616.

It did not make it out of committee - that time.

So you have to ask yourself.... if it is going to cost taxpayers money, if it is not good for the environment, if net jobs could be a loss, if it could create health issues for children and the large population of retirees nearby, if additional damage could happen in the Salish Sea by the additional hundreds of ships,
if property values decline why would we want to do this?

Especially if they, the Port of Vancouver have already looked at expansion at Roberts Bank and other areas that could meet increased requirements by overseas markets.

And then there is the whole issue of strategic defense of the United States - why does our generation have the right to deplete coal reserves that may be required in a hundred years - when technology may have caught up and dramatically reduced or eliminated the whole issue of the massive carbon footprint of burning coal for energy requirements.

And then there is the moral issue...............

all photographs copyright 2011 by Paul K. Anderson please click on any photo to enlarge.

Coal Trains - Where are they Going? Why Do We Care? Part 2

2011-04-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

Coal Trains - Where are they Going? Why Do We Care? Part 3

2011-04-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

The coal trains that I have shown on this site and that pass through many of Washington's most populated areas - Seattle, Everett, Mt. Vernon, Bellingham, Ferndale and just above the Salish Sea at the base of the Chuckanut Range are headed for a shipping facility just across the border at Roberts Bank.

The super port has been there for 40 years and they have frequently upgraded to more modern technology. But even with all of their efforts, the number one issue that they work on is dust suppression. The coal that they ship is in a crushed granular state - not the large chunks that many of us remember from stories our parents told about rocks that burn.

They ship approximately 24 million tons a year from a roughly 120 acre site. They have typically (per their spokesman) 225 ships a year call at the port.

The proposed site at Cherry Point is going to have a footprint of about 80 acres and a spokesperson for Peabody Coal said they will ship up to 48 million tons of coal.

For those of you that don't know what a coal shipping facility looks like and how it may affect us at Cherry Point and along the train route through the Chuckanuts - here are some images from my recent visit.

all photographs copyright Paul K. Anderson - The Chuckanut Conservancy

Blanchard Mt Fly-In

2011-04-17T00:17:00.000-07:00

Members of the Hang Gliding and Paragliding community are meeting this weekend for their annual fly-in. Take off is from the launch site high on a shoulder of Blanchard Mt and the landing is in Chuckanut Conservancy's Treasurer Thom Wake's front yard.

This is an excellent opportunity for photographers to find good compositions of these pilots. It is also used as a fundraiser for the Chuckanut Conservancy as many of the pilots stop by the booth set up by Thom and Kris Wilkening and generously donate. The pilots and organization are very appreciative of Thom Wake for allowing them to land in his field over the years and Thom generously donates the proceeds of these donations to the Conservancy.

Stop by the table Thom has set up and buy a Chuckanuts map and bumper sticker and donate to a good cause and organization.

All photographs copyright Paul K Anderson 2011

Summer Sunset

2011-04-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Just to the right of center on the horizon is the British Columbia Superport, you can see the cranes for loading the sea containers onto the ships. The West Shore Coal Loading facility already in operation for a number of years is adjacent to the towers seen here from Blanchard Mountain at the south end of the Chuckanuts.

All Photos Copyright Paul K. Anderson 2011
The View from Blanchard Mountain

Here are several images from Ferndale, Washington yesterday afternoon.

Crossing the Nooksack

If this super port goes through what could follow - demands that they can't compete, that they need to double/triple the shipments or they leave. Will the refineries ask to enlarge, will petrochemical plants eventually come in to produce plastic bottles to ship bottled water (water brought in from Canada via pipelines owned by oil companies) to Japan and countries stricken stricken with climate change?

I'm just asking so full discussions can take place.

Better to not open this pandoras box.

Fairhaven at Low Tide

2011-04-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

Coal Train Passing Through Georgia Pacific Site

2011-04-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

Clark's Point - Chuckanut Bay

2011-04-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

Quick snap shot last night while returning from dinner at the Edison.

Samish River at High Levels Again

2011-04-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

For the fourth time this winter the Samish River has risen significantly after prolonged rains. Local residents in the flats below Blanchard Mountain and near the river have been dealing with the flooding. It's a combination of numerous factors - none of them all that easy to fix. Logging, dikes in one area affecting the flood plain in other areas, multiple jurisdictions, heavier rains than normal, climate change, coincidence....

It's not a major event like floods in other parts of the world but it illustrates how our neighbors, friends can be affected by events to which they may not have any control or power over.
Here are a few images from yesterday afternoon along the Samish River.

All photos copyright Paul K. Anderson 2011

The Value of High Places

2011-03-30T04:06:00.000-07:00

For Public Service

2011-03-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

Calvin Collander digs into a special project as he works to become an Eagle Scout.

With friends and members of the Honors Biology program at Sehome High School, over 200 native plants were planted on a steep hillside in Fairhaven Park at the north end of the Chuckanut Range.

Good job Calvin! You and your father Magnus have a right to be proud of what you are accomplishing.

Calvin and Magnus Collander

Students walked back and forth dozens of times between the staging area and project slope.

While Magnus prepares to drop off compost,
Rae Edwards - Bellingham parks volunteer coordinator
engages students on their next activity

Lindsay, Peter, Reed and Mackenzie plant an area of steep slope
to prevent erosion and serve as a water filter protecting the salmon stream below.

Reed and Peter (teammates on the Sehome track team) race back and forth
after getting home at 11 PM from a track meet the previous evening, and attending a workout at the school.

Cherry Point Will Become the Largest Coal Exporting Facility in North America

2011-03-27T02:17:00.000-07:00

One of two coal trains passing thru Fairhaven late Saturday afternoon.

"Our export agreement with the Gateway Pacific Terminal gives us rights to ship 24 million metric tons of coal annually. These volumes are a part of total terminal capacity that will be permitted to move up to 54 million metric tons of all bulk commodities at capacity, including up to 48 million metric tons of coal, depending on market demand and other factors. "

Peabody Coal Company Spokesperson Beth Sutton in her response to one in a series of articles by Eric De Place in The Weekly Score from Sightline Daily. Read it here!

Here is a link to an article in Commodities Now on the explosive demand for more coal in China if the economies of scale can be improved by building a facility on the west coast. In other words by building this facility at Cherry Point it will create and open up a huge market for coal from Wyoming and Montana. The economics aren't there if the coal is shipped out of Houston/Galveston.

So when the spokesperson for Peabody Coal company says "depending on market demand and other factors", she is being a bit misleading implying that this is all market driven and somehow important in the reasoning behind the approval for building/permitting this facility. China will simply buy the coal from Indonesia or Australia if this facility isn't built. Their version of free market forces don't calculate in the cost to the degradation of air quality, water quality, home devaluations, health costs, noise, etc., etc., etc.

According to Eric DePlace, the quality of this coal in btu's produced, is inferior, thus cheaper per metric ton - if you add the cost of shipping through the Panama Canal it will simply make it too expensive and the market will not be there for Wyoming and Montana coal.

So! The economy of scale requires a huge facility on the west coast.The marketing campaign focuses on 24 million tons passing through our town, but by opening this facility to ship coal to China an almost insatiable demand for western coal will be created requiring at the minimum twice the amount passing through the Chuckanuts and Bellingham and more than twice the number of ships coming into the facility than is being advertised in the Bellingham Herald.

Plus we will have to give them tax subsidies and pay for the vast majority of upgrade requirements required by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

And let's be realistic about shipping wheat from this facility - it won't happen it's a deflection by the marketing people. The vast majority of wheat from eastern Washington is barged down the Snake and Columbia River to loading facilities near Portland and further downstream.

The odds that anything but a token amount will ever be shipped out of a facility in Whatcom County are next to nil.

Largest coal shipping facility in North America - are we really that proud of the direction this spectacular county is heading?

all photos copyright Paul K Anderson 2011 please click on any image to enlarge

Will the tourist industry use images like this to attract visitors to Whatcom County?

Burlington Northern Santa Fe locomotives haul up to 150
coal cars through Bellingham

BNSF coal train passes through Fairhaven and
below South Hill

Chuckanut Range viewed between coal cars

Why We Live Here

2011-03-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

Full Moon Over Our Home Ground

Bellingham and Mt Baker at Dusk
copyright Paul K. Anderson 2011

Chuckanut 50K II

2011-03-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

The lower mountain was relatively flat along the Interurban

The day started out dark and cold as runners descended into Arroyo Park and across Chuckanut Creek

Elite runners almost half way into the race and after almost 2000 foot elevation gain still find energy to smile and say thanks for coming out to shoot photos!

After running many successful marathons - the ultra distances lured.

1st place Geoff Roes, Nederland, Colorado

Geoff Roes was hugged by his girlfriend Corel LaForce
after setting a new course record. His time of 3hrs. 41 mins. 51 secs.
beat the old record by 7 minutes 48 seconds.

Michael Smith, 2nd place of Flagstaff, Arizona was greeted at the finish line.

Top 5 mens finishers. Geoff, Michael and Eric Stagg (#2) of Ashland, Oregon broke the old mens record.
Aaron Heidt of Vernon B.C was 4th and 5th was Tim Olson from Ashland, Oregon

Chuckanut 50K

2011-03-20T12:46:00.001-07:00

An amazing group of 300+ runners, including world class competitors, participated in the Chuckanut 50K yesterday on trails and roads within the Chuckanuts.

Please support Fairhaven Runners they are a sponsor of the Chuckanut 50K as well as a leading benefactor to the Chuckanut Conservancy.

More later but here are some of the images from yesterdays competition.

Please click on any image to enlarge.

All photographs are copyright Paul K Anderson 2011

Runners crossed Chuckanut Creek and began the switchbacks up to the Interurban Trail

Early in the race runners were still clustered together but the steep trails quickly dispersed the crowds.

Snow had fallen on the upper elevations allowing Michael Smith, the early race leader from Flagstaff, Arizona, to keep cool on the rugged elevation gains.

Eric Stagg on the right climbs Cleator Rd. with Colorado native Geoff Roes, on the left.
Geoff paced himself early in the race before passing Michael Smith at about the 22 mile mark

Tim Olson of Ashland, Oregon

The elite ladies weren't too far behind near the top of Cleator.

High tech fabrics, watches, hydration systems and tunes helped many of the runners.

Runners ate and drank on the run to keep fueled and hydrated. Numerous check points and aide stations were positioned over the 30.6 mile course.

Some were motivated by friends and family members.

Super Moon 2 over the Salish Sea

2011-03-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

Super Moonset over Lummi Island by copyright Paul K Anderson 2011

One of the advantages of high places like the Chuckanuts is the ability to over look our home grounds. In this photo the "Super" moon sets over the Salish Sea and Lummi Island. Clouds obstructed the moon within minutes after this image was captured a short while ago.

Super Moon over the Salish Sea

2011-03-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

Photographed this morning shortly before moonset.
Copyright Paul K. Anderson 2011

Chuckanut 50K

2011-03-18T05:08:00.000-07:00

One of the iconic events of the year that utilizes the wonderful trails and roads in the Chuckanut Range is the Chuckanut 50K. The event starts at Fairhaven Park this Saturday morning and ends almost 4 hours later for the top runners.

If you get a chance please stop by the Chuckanuts and encourage these athletes on their quest.

Check out the website for the Chuckanut 50K. Who knows maybe this will inspire you to participate in this excellent event in future years.

RACE START: 8AM Fairhaven Park near the north end of Chuckanut Drive.

click on image for a bit larger version.

And while in Fairhaven be sure to stop by one of the iconic businesses nearby - Fairhaven Runners - Steve Roguski and his staff are huge contributors to the Chuckanut Conservancy. They also sponsor many fine events like the Chuckanut 50K, local track teams and local runners!

image from earlier this winter by Paul K Anderson

Logging, Coal Dust and the Progress of Man

2011-03-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

Timber Harvest in the Chuckanut Range by Lee First

Lee First and all our friends over at RE Sources for Sustainable Communities and the North Sound Baykeeper's Team are great to work with, we all love the Pacific Northwest, the Salish Sea, the Cascades and our Home Ground of Whatcom and Skagit Counties!

Lee, a field investigator for North Sound Baykeepers shared this photograph from a recent hike in the Chuckanuts.

Although this timber harvest was on private land, high up on top (as revealed by the spectacular view of the San Juans) it is an indicator of the degradation that this beautiful area is being exposed to from the extractive resources industry.

Soon, the Chuckanuts, Chuckanut Bay, Samish and Bellingham Bays will be exposed to 25 million + tons of coal passing through each year - for decades if action isn't soon taken. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad states on their own website that each coal car, on these 150 car trains, can lose as much as one ton of coal between the mines in Wyoming and Montana and Cherry Point, Washington.

Coal dust and particulates will be deposited along the tracks and in the surrounding landscape of the Skagit River Valley, the Chuckanuts, the oyster beds of Samish Bay, numerous salmon streams, Larrabee State Park, through Edgemore, Fairhaven, Boulevard Park, South Hill, Western Washington University, downtown Bellingham and the neighborhoods heading out to Cherry Point.

Families enjoying an event at Boulevard Park just yards from the BNSF tracks
copyright Paul Anderson 2011

The progress of man can better be measured by safe and healthy families, clean air, clean water and sustainable communities.

Please support the Chuckanut Conservancy.

Mr. Peabody's Coal Train and the Chuckanuts

2011-03-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Copyright Paul K. Anderson
A Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train passes thru Blanchard as it enters
the Chuckanuts.

As many as nine fully loaded coal trains a day will pass through the Chuckanuts and return after unloading according to a plan by SSA Marine to build a $500 million bulk loading shipping terminal at Cherry Point in northern Whatcom County.

Coal would be loaded on freighters bound for China.

Peabody Energy recently announced that it was prepared to export 24 million metric tons of coal per year via the new Gateway Pacific Terminal.

Bob Ferris, executive director of Re-Sources for Sustainable Communities was recently interviewed and quoted for an article in the Bellingham Herald.

ReSources for Sustainable Communities has additional information on their site.

Expect with the terrible earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor disaster in Japan that there will be a huge marketing push for the continued use of coal - and development of this project.

Winter in and around the Chuckanut Range

2011-02-24T11:35:00.000-08:00

Snow Geese turn into the northern breeze to land in a farmers field to feed before nightfall.
Copyright 2011 Paul K Anderson

Tundra Swans head out to the Salish Sea as dark storm clouds approach.
Copyright 2011 Paul K Anderson

Any time is a good time to visit the Chuckanut Range and lands surrounding, but if you are itching to get out and don't want to hike in the snowy, icy conditions drive down to the Samish Delta around Blanchard and Edison, head over towards Samish Island, and then drive over to the Skagit Flats and Fir Island area.

Late yesterday afternoon the raptors, Tundra Swans and Snow Geese were out in full force.

Take a circular route and end up having dinner at one of the fine establishments here and in Fairhaven area of Bellingham after finishing your trip on Chuckanut Drive.

A Bald Eagle is knocked off the carcass of a Snow Goose by a rival.
Copyright Paul K Anderson 2011

Coal Trains Could Alter Quality of Life In the Chuckanut Range

2011-02-14T03:43:00.000-08:00

All photos Copyright Paul K Anderson 2011

Air quality in Bellingham recently has been rated as the best of any city its size in the United States. But an effort by the Wall Street firm of Goldman Sachs could alter that and dramatically affect our quality of life here in the 4th corner.

Our friends over at the North Sound Baykeeper Team sent out this update.

Please click on this link and those inside the Baykeeper link.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks that would carry additional millions of metric tons of coal and pass directly through the cities of Mt. Vernon, Blanchard, along the complete length of the Chuckanut Range and above the oyster beds of Samish Bay, through Bellingham including the neighborhoods of Chuckanut Bay, Edgemore, South Hill, downtown, the waterfront, below the Lettered Streets and over to Cherry Point. The trains will be unloaded, then reloaded onto ships bound for coal fired power plants in China.

Coal dust will be bad. What effects will that have on our residents in the north county, on families, retirees and seniors living near Birch Bay and Semi-ah-moo, Blaine and Lynden?

Why as citizens of Whatcom County are we enabling the Chinese to continue to build and to pollute the atmosphere with their coal burning power plants?

They are taking jobs away from Americans and these will not be replaced by the inflated numbers mentioned by slick public relations handouts or printed so glowingly in the Bellingham Herald.

Dirty jobs. Dirty industry. Why here in this beautiful location of the country? We do not want to become known as the Houston or Galveston of the Northwest. Tourists do not flock there for the beauty of the land.

We spend millions as taxpayers investing in Salmon recovery. This could have an effect on the herring spawning grounds near Cherry Point.

This is not for the defense of our country, it is not to prevent power shortages at home. It is to create profit to be removed from here, for a Wall Street firm and for Warren Buffett.

We are better off spending our money on attracting clean, high tech industry.

And the promoters have the audacity to tell us that we as taxpayers will have to help subsidize improvements for the benefit of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the shipping terminal.

How soon will companies who settled in Bellingham and Whatcom County (specifically for this quality of life) announce that they are looking elsewhere and taking hundreds of jobs with them?

Will the BNSF and the shipping terminal company subsidize the citizens of Whatcom County for declines in salmon, the decline of water and air quality, loss of jobs from companies leaving the area, lowering of property values, for the increased health problems?

No - of course no; after being handed subsidies, they will ask the taxpayers to lower their taxes and fees in the future.

It is not in our best interest to sell off our future for quick profits for companies that have no relationship with this area, so the Chinese can create more jobs at the expense of the American middle class.

Thanks to Matt Krogh and our friends over at the North Sound Baykeepers for this information.

Where the Cascades Meet the Sea

2011-01-30T06:17:00.000-08:00

North Washington State Parks Ranger Amber Forest left the gates open for almost 70 of us as we joined local marine biologist Doug Stark and Beach Naturalist volunteers at Larrabee State Park for a night time tide pool viewing during a winter minus tide. Thanks to ReSources for Sustainable Communities and the North Sound Baykeepers.

The value of the Chuckanut Range goes far beyond the "extraction of natural resources"and developments that can and will happen in the future. It is a classroom for young and old alike. The value of the Chuckanut Range for education, recreation, clean water and air and as a corridor for wildlife will enhance our lives as more and more people live in the Salish Sea watershed.

It is estimated that the 7 million people currently living in the Salish Sea watershed has the potential to nearly double in the next 35-50 years.

This close to the metropolitan areas of Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington the Chuckanuts have a much more important role that needs to be defined for the future.

It is open space.

Please click on any photograph to enlarge it.
All photos copyright Paul K. Anderson 2011

Beach Naturalist Volunteers and Staff from ReSources for Sustainable Communities
and North Sound Baykeepers meet prior to the night time beach walk.

The Vancouver BC to Seattle Amtrak train passes nearby as 70 of us
viewed life on the edge of the Salish Sea.

Moms & Dads, Grandparents, kids, exchange students, couples, friends
all got into the spirit and mystery of the evening - even with the rain.

A new member of our community, recently from Montana,
gets his feet wet in salt water where the Cascades meet the Salish Sea.

The glow of lights of Victoria BC reflect off of the low clouds as a
ReSource trained beach naturalist views a sea star.

Exchange students at Western Washington University listen as a Beach Naturalist
describes the feeding habits of the sea star

"whoa, that was kinda prickly and that gooey stuff that makes it stick to rocks is -
sticky!"

With great enthusiasm marine biologist Doug Stark kept students -young and old - under his spell as he described
life on the edges of the Salish Sea.

Please support:

ReSources for Sustainable Communties

North Sound Baykeepers

The Chuckanut Conservancy

Ringnecked Pheasant

2011-01-23T22:17:00.000-08:00

All photos copyright by Paul K Anderson 2011

The sun and moon were aligning and we were having a "King Tide" here in the 4th Corner. Tides up to three feet higher than the traditional high tides were arriving and possibly causing damage that we might find in the future as the climate warms. This morning fortunately was calm and beaches remained intact, dikes weren't scoured away by the tides. I didn't photograph any damage thankfully but I did find and follow 15 or so Ringneck Pheasants as they fed in early morning light along the banks of the Samish River.

Ringnecked Pheasants are iconic birds for me. Growing up in the mid-west these were the birds of choice for "sportsmen" and I remember how proud I was when my Mom and Grandmother served the family roast pheasant that Sunday evening after I had brought home my first trophy.

Mom had a hat made from the feathers - as it was very stylish for women to wear their best pheasant feather hat at church. I could tell which of my 10 year old buddies had had a good hunt the previous year when their Mom showed up with a new pheasant hat.

Those hats were a distraction for all the young hunters sitting in church. I would gaze at those hats and daydream away whole sermons thinking about the next time Dad was going to take my brother and I and a couple of friends out into the cornfields of eastern Iowa. The preacher may have been talking about loaves and fishes but I was sitting there salivating over the potential for roasted pheasant thigh and mashed potatoes smothered with rich brown country gravy.

Those were happy times and that led me to thinking about the role nature plays in our own happiness. I don't know how to describe that in such a short missive but I know we are fortunate to have places like the Chuckanut Range and the surrounding valleys, farmland, deltas, and waters so close to all of us.

I leave you with this short paragraph from Kathleen Dean Moore's latest book of essays titled:

Wild Comfort - The Solace of Nature.

"The earth offers gift after gift - life and the living of it, light and the return of it, the growing things, the roaring things, fire and nightmares, falling water and the wisdom of friends, forgiveness. My god, the gift of forgiveness, time and the scouring tides. How does one accept gifts as great as these and hold them in the mind?"

Beauty Surrounds Us in the Chuckanut's and Samish Delta

2011-01-17T18:47:00.000-08:00

photographed early Saturday morning 1-15-2011

Great Blue Heron

Adult male Northern Harrier

As I Walk with Beauty As I walk, as I walk
The universe is walking with me
In beauty it walks before me
In beauty it walks behind me
In beauty it walks below me
In beauty it walks above me
Beauty is on every side
As I walk, I walk with Beauty.

Traditional Navajo Prayer

Boys Will Be Boys - Fields Below the Chuckanuts

2011-01-09T22:44:00.000-08:00

Mt.Baker Rising Above the Chuckanut's to Cascades Corridor

2011-01-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

Snow fell overnight in Bellingham in a peculiar pattern. Just north of Bakerview Road there was little if any. On my deck I measured a bit over 5 inches. I decided it was perfect weather for a drive through the Chuckanuts.

To be honest I was envisioning a photograph with an eagle or hawk perched on a post or telephone pole or perhaps the stoic heron with some fresh snow landing on their feathers as I captured the image. Alas, not to be. This close to the Salish Sea it was warm enough to have been mostly rain with just a smattering of snow.

Many don't like to go out and photograph in inclement weather, it's either too dark or too gray, too wet.........

But some of the best photographs can be captured on the cusp of weather, coming in or leaving.

Down here on the Samish Delta just southeast of Edison this morning it was dark, gray, drizzly, snowing and for a brief moment partially clear. Cold, clear, northern air pushed the clouds south just enough to briefly reveal Baker in beautiful early morning light. I didn't have time to set up the tripod and use a longer lens so I hand held and cropped this image to draw in Baker as it poked its summit over the Chuckanut's to Cascades Corridor near Blanchard Mt.

Enjoy, and get out and visit the Chuckanuts, and the small burgs and businesses surrounding it!

A Beautiful Frosty Morning Below the Chuckanuts

2011-01-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

Annual Christmas bird counts were happening on this cold frosty morning. I decided to get up and watch the sunrise over the Cascades warming up the Samish delta below Blanchard Mountain yesterday. The birds put on quite a showing near the small town of Edison.

All photos copyright Paul K. Anderson 2011

Happy New Year's Everyone!

Enjoy the Chuckanuts and the surrounding landscape.

Fog slips in off of the Salish Sea

2010-12-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

Stormy Dusk Over Padilla Bay - A Delicate Balance Between Industry and a National Estuary

2010-12-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

©Paul K. Anderson

Early Evening Lights

2010-12-15T03:23:00.000-08:00

Lights from Samish Island, City of Anacortes and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Olympic Peninsula are seen from the Chuckanut Range as a mid December storms clears.

Clearing December Storm ©Paul K. Anderson

Heavy Rains and the Streams Run High

2010-12-15T03:09:00.000-08:00

Oyster Creek in December ©Paul K. Anderson 12-14-2010

Just a few short weeks ago the creeks and streams flowing out of the Chuckanut Range were flowing at very low levels. Fall rains raised the water levels and Chum Salmon swam upstream and gave it their all for the next generation. Recent cold and snow caused water levels to fluctuate down, up, and down - then the Pineapple Express roared in.

Chuckanut, Oyster and Colony Creeks are at high levels and have been observed carrying a significant level of sediment based on observations of water color.

Compared to Sunday, Oyster Creek has cleared up significantly by Tuesday.

"How We Find the Path"

2010-12-14T02:06:00.000-08:00

The Chuckanuts hide behind dark moisture laden clouds
of the Pineapple Express above Samish Bay near Edison.
©Paul K Anderson

From his poem "How We Find the Path" Washington Poet Robert Sund wrote:

People in the midst of cities are
driven crazy by where
they are and what they
are doing to keep
themselves there.

Where is the way out?
Right there.
But still it isn't easy
for a person to
take the road
out of town.

January 2009 Flooding Along the Samish River

2010-12-12T08:44:00.000-08:00

Editors note: Todays pineapple express and heavy rains are causing flooding on many western Washington streams. Below is a blog post I wrote back in Jan. 2009

The Pacific Northwest has more than its share of rainy, gloomy weather in the winter.

The jet stream changes course, the "Pineapple Express" soars in from the tropics near Hawaii and inches of rain falls in the lowlands and the mountains.

In Jan of 2009, over a 48 hour time frame, 6" of rain fell. In the foothills and lower mountains the rain melted feet of snow pack, all of which contributed to the flooding of western Washington streams.

The snow over the last several weeks insulated and protected small mammals - voles, field mice, from predation by the raptors - hawks and eagles.

Eight American Bald Eagles worked a flooded field swooping down to the water and throwing out their talons at the helpless voles and mice trying to swim to the only high ground - the county roads.

Thousands of acres of blueberry bushes, were covered.

Approaching dusk I drove into the small village of Edison. Warm inviting lights of the Edison Cafe, The Longhorn Saloon, Slough Foods, The Bread Farm, and Farm to Market Bakery shone out onto the wet street inviting neighbors and visitors to stop by and get dry and warm.

All photos ©Paul K. Anderson and were photographed near the Samish River at the base of the Chuckanut Range between I-5 and just west of Farm to Market Road near Edison.

Late Fall Evening Above the Salish Sea

2010-12-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

The Value of High Places ©Paul K. Anderson

Oil Tanker Waiting Near March Point ©Paul K. Anderson

It cleared off late yesterday afternoon so I drove up to the launch site on Blanchard to get away from town. When it does clear this time of year, sunsets over the Salish Sea can be deeply chromatic with saturated reds, yellows, oranges, purples and blues.

Others at the site also appreciated these ecosystem services and values provided by the Chuckanut Range.

Mt. Rainier from The Chuckanut Range. Nikon 200-400 f4 Zoom
©Paul K. Anderson

Light pollution from Victoria, Bellingham, Vancouver reflected by low clouds

©Paul K. Anderson

Salmon Continue to Run Up Chuckanut Creek

2010-11-27T09:36:00.000-08:00

©Paul K. Anderson Salmon and Ferns From Chuckanut Creek

You still have time to see the salmon swimming up Chuckanut Creek. The snowmelt and rain seemed to bring up some larger fish from the Salish Sea and Chuckanut Bay,

From Fairhaven in Bellingham head down Chuckanut Drive and turn left just past the Chuckanut Gallery. There are several parking turnouts within the next 1/2 mile.

Park and walk down the trails into Arroyo Park and hike up or downstream. Might be a good idea to wear proper footgear. Yesterday there was still snow on the trail mixed with plenty of slop and some mud.

There may not be too many days left to observe this natural wonder provided by the Chuckanut Range ecosystem services so grab the kids, grandkids, or your sweetie and visit. It's a Thanksgiving treat!

These images were photographed late yesterday afternoon - Friday November 26th.

©Paul K. Anderson

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

2010-11-25T08:53:00.000-08:00

Chuckanut Creek 11.23.2010 all photos ©Paul K. Anderson

Consider the salmon - if lucky, you return to your birthplace only to spawn once in life and die. As you drift downstream you become wedged between a rock and a hard place, a freeze hits and 1/2 of you is frozen in place where anyone or thing can take a bite out of you. Then some knucklehead photographer comes along and all you can think of is "no, no my other side"

Kinda like life eh?

It's worth it, but it's so much easier with friends!

Frozen salmon deflect stream flow

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you all are surrounded by friends and family.

Icicles formed from spray drippings and snow melt

Regards from your Friends at the Chuckanut Conservancy!

Balmy Summer Evening????

2010-11-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

©Paul K. Anderson

Well it is blowing like crazy outside tonight, frigid, icy and it took almost 3 hours to travel 70 miles. I would like to say I photographed this scene from the Chuckanut Range during a nice warm summer evening - while having a cold beer - but I can't!

This beautiful scene is from last night when it was also bitterly cold - but clear, no snow.

Tonight almost 60 mph gusts, with snow. Tomorrow a disaster awaits I think on I-5 with all the ice.

Snow Fell in the Chuckanut Range

2010-11-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

©Paul K. Anderson

Snow fell in the upper elevations of the Chuckanuts and at all levels down to the Salish Sea in the northern section. Cold air from Canada, possibly because of the Fraser River Valley "effect" allowed more snow to accumulate here in the north.

I've been trying to photograph Chum Salmon along Chuckanut Creek the last several weeks. I've spent an hour here or there but just haven't been able to capture images that portray the iconic dimensions or emotional response that we have towards this species.

Chum Salmon don't have the dramatic beauty of the red hump on the sockeye, nor the flashy brilliance and size of Kings - but what they lack in drama, flash and beauty they make up in quantity.

So early Saturday morning, with very few drivers out on the snowy streets, I slid down my driveway and drove over to Chuckanut Creek.

The creek was flowing at a higher level than just a few days before, snow blanketed the gravel bars, and wind toppled logs laying across the creek. In the pools below these log "dams" salmon rested, trying to gather enough strength for the last yards of their journey.

Carcasses littered the shallows and I saw many on the forest floor on either side of the creek, dragged there by the many birds and small mammals that visit this area. In the stream, nutrients released by these decaying bodies will provide food to the zooplankton and insects that the small salmon fry will feed on in the coming months. Nitrogen gleaned in the north Pacific, will replenish the forest duff and perhaps provide that one spark that will allow a giant 150 foot Douglas Fir to begin life.

As I was hiking back out to the car I saw this small leaf. A small drop of water had frozen on its surface and provided just enough extra weight to pull the leaf off its branch and tumble down to the forest floor - one small contribution to the forest duff and future generations of Douglas Firs, Red Cedar or Hemlock.

Each of us, like this small red alder leaf lying on snow, have the ability to provide for future generations of forest. Each of us, like the undramatic and non-flashy Chum Salmon can provide for future generations of salmon, birds, small mammals, insects and zooplankton that inhabit this ecosystem.

I joined the Chuckanut Conservancy to try and make a small difference, to generate a small spark that will provide for future generations. I joined because I see the need for a safe and healthy ecosystem that can be provided by a special place like the Chuckanuts.

Please join me at the Chuckanut Conservancy. Working together we can make a difference.

www.chuckanutconservancy.org

The View from Blanchard Mt. - Paragliding

2010-11-16T02:54:00.000-08:00

all photos ©Paul Anderson

Early summer brings out green fields and top paragliders to the launch site on the shoulder of Blanchard Mt.

Dawn Bellingham Bay - Quarter Moon & Venus Over the Chuckanut Range

2010-11-15T02:28:00.000-08:00

©Paul Anderson

Chum salmon,Oncorhynchus keta, in Chuckanut Creek

2010-11-14T04:04:00.000-08:00

Editors note: yesterday I stopped by Chuckanut Creek as it ran through Arroyo Park. The stream in south Bellingham runs literally yards in places from the road. Please double click on any photo to enlarge it for better viewing. Enjoy the view.

all photos ©Paul Anderson

Chum salmon return after 3 years to their original birth streams to spawn, die and provide nutrients to the food chain that will sustain their offspring as they emerge from the egg, grow into fry and make their way back down Chuckanut Creek and into the Salish Sea.

The salmon will wait weeks or even months sometimes for rains to raise water levels. Their route took the salmon up riffles and across shallows that sometimes left their bodies 1/2 exposed. A Bald Eagle chattered from a near by tree and carcasses were seen dozens of yards from the stream.

It's important in small shallow streams like this that they are left in their natural states. Debris is important. Fallen trees create pools that provide resting areas. Stands of trees and vegetation along the stream provide protection, preventing silting, keep the stream cooler in warmer weather and slowly releases the water year round.

In some spots viable channels for moving upstream are literally inches wide and meander between boulders, sand and gravel bars, tufts of grasses, shrubs, and downed trees and logs.

The salmon reach the gravel beds and build nests or redds - literally just small depressions in the gravel - before laying eggs and fertilizing. Soon the salmon die and their bodies are used as nutrients for zooplankton and insects that their offspring will feed on as the next generation make their way back to the Salish Sea.

In todays Sunday Seattle Times there is an article about chum salmon returning to Piper Creek and passing through Carkeek Park on Seattle's north side. The Department of Public Works, to prevent excessive flooding and scouring of the stream bed - ruining any chance for salmon recovery- is spending tax money to build retention ponds that will receive runoff from city streets, parking lots and other impermeable surfaces. The forest does that already. It is a classic example of an ecosystem service.

When bad forestry practices and excessive clear cutting takes place in watersheds feeding these streams where salmon protection is required, these free ecosystem services provided by nature is negated and it becomes a free taxpayer subsidy to the forestry industry.

Where would be the fairness be in all of that?

Detritus

2010-11-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago, the first of the fall storm cycles came in from the Pacific.

The winds skirt around the Olympic Mountains, taking the less obstructive way via the Strait of Juan de Fuca, through the San Juan Islands and into Samish, Chuckanut and Bellingham Bays.

Old Big Leaf Maples, Acer macrophyllum, limbs wrapped with epiphytic mosses and lichens, shed their canopy of leaves.

The air explodes into a riot of swirling, spinning yellow that quickly blankets the hillsides and ferns surrounding Oyster Creek.

all photos ©Paul Anderson

The rains that follow fill the shallows of the creek.

Chum salmon,Oncorhynchus keta, patiently waiting out in Samish Bay, swim inland and end their long journey through the north Pacific, 150 yards from the salt water that had been home for the last three years.

Eggs, laid in redds by the worn down hens and fertilized by the grizzled, tattered males settle into the gravel or drift into quiet pools and eddies.

An American dipper, Cinclus mexicanus, the only North American songbird that swims underwater, swims by clutching a salmon egg in its beak. It emerges onto a mid-stream rock, swallows the egg and breaks into its melodious call.

Carcasses of dead and dying salmon litter the shallows, their bodies providing nutrients to the stream community, the oyster beds in the bay, and future generations of salmon.

Other salmon carcasses, pulled from the stream to the adjacent forest floor by small mammals, gulls and eagles decompose providing essential nitrogen to the forest.

Frost further breaks down the leaves into duff.

And the cycle comes full circle. From death emerges life.

From detritus, growth.

A Clear Night in the Chuckanut Range

2010-11-11T03:32:00.000-08:00

Cold, crisp, autumn weather brought out the stars tonight and a great spot to view them was from a perch high in the Chuckanut Range above the city lights and freeway noise.

Look at a night time satellite image of northwest Washington on the eastern shore of the Salish Sea - from Vancouver to Olympia - the only dark area is where I stand.

all photos © Paul Anderson

But as you can see light pollution is affecting the skies on three sides of the Chuckanuts. The glow on the left horizon is from Victoria B.C., the glow on right is from Bellingham, refineries near Ferndale, and from the huge metropolis of Vancouver. B.C.

As more and more Canadians settle next to the border with the U.S. and Mt.Vernon/Burlington encroach nearer the southern edge of the Chuckanuts, light pollution will increase. The first two photographs looking up through the trees were in an easterly direction and towards the North Cascades.

Chuckanut Sandstone

2010-11-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

Hike south from the top and end of Cleator Road you eventually come to a band of cliffs that over look Blanchard Mountain and the valley in between.

At the base of these cliffs are some beautiful examples of layering. Here are several photos from that area.

Great Blue Heron near Edison, Wa.

2010-11-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

all photos © Paul Anderson

I was driving along near Edison and saw a Heron standing in a drainage ditch. Since I had my camera with the 70-200 zoom sitting ready to fire next to me I decided to backup and try and photograph this beautiful bird.

These were 3 of the 6 photos I fired off with 1 hand holding the camera/lens, 1 releasing the shutter, I steered backwards with my knees. 3 photos were blurred.

I processed the raw image in adobe lightroom, desaturated the colors green and yellow so the grass didn't detract from the wings, slightly boosted the orange in the beak and increased the contrast slightly, I also tightly cropped around the bird.

Some Random Thoughts While Flying Over the Chuckanuts

2010-11-06T06:37:00.000-07:00

all photos ©Paul Anderson

Fly over the Chuckanut Range and you will quickly realize:

- what a special place we have just minutes from the I-5 corridor.

- how vulnerable it is to potential development.

- how vulnerable it is to the potential of poor logging practices and processes.

- there are many stakeholders who will have divergent views on any change. These include private property owners (homeowners), businesses, industrial forest landowners, logging companies, State Parks, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), local, county and state government agencies, advocacy groups like the Chuckanut Conservancy, Conservation Northwest, the Sierra Club, The Mountaineers, NCCC, Friends of Blanchard Mountain, also recreational groups -hikers, hang gliders, campers, photographers, horsemen, runners, mountain bikers, restaurant goers, motorists and motorcyclists that use Chuckanut Drive.

The culture and history of the area has an influence and needs to be considered - resource extraction in Skagit County has a proud and long history - it doesn't mean that we agree that it can continue but that history has to be acknowledged, it is ok to be empathetic to the past.

- there will be much frustration in trying to protect an area that we love.

- it is ok to be passionate about special places like this. There will be passion on all sides of this issue.

I also have some ideas on what we can do - I guess continue to do is a better choice of words - as an advocacy group:
- continue to provide timely information to the public about issues, events, meetings, logging etc.
- ensure that the Chuckanut Conservancy is represented on all teams, working groups, etc. even though it can be extremely frustrating and seems to be overwhelmingly a situation of David vs. Goliath - it is what it is.
- continue to build the social network already started that will want to address the DNR and working group with little or short notice about their love of the Chuckanuts and concerns/opinions - respectful articulate discourse will have to be listened to.
- define the goals of what we want as an advocacy group, develop the tactics or actions required to achieve some or many of those goals and articulate specifically to the DNR and Commissioner Goldmark what we as an organization want and will do (or offer to do) to achieve those goals.
- educate the membership and public by identifying stakeholder groups and their issues and what can and cannot be achieved based on previous laws, regulations, commitments.
- work at consensus building.
- define/understand what we can compromise on and what we cannot and articulate that to DNR so they have a clear understanding.
- be prepared and ready to stand up for those areas we feel we cannot compromise on and make proposals - offer alternative solutions. If the solution requires large sums of money and we won't commit or are unable to commit, then it is difficult or unreasonable to take that stand.

Dunlin Migration

2010-11-06T04:50:00.000-07:00

West of Edison and south of the Samish Island road Dunlins rest after a flight that started on the north slope of Alaska.

Local Hawks and Falcons buzz the Dunlins that react with a defensive flight twisting, turning, and alternately flashing their grey and tan backs and their white underwings and bellies.

all photos ©Paul Anderson please double click on photos to enlarge

Last Stands of Any Significant Size of Roadless Woods

2010-10-31T10:06:00.000-07:00

©Paul K. Anderson

In this photograph, Interstate 5 traverses along and through the Chuckanut Range.

In the lower left is Bellingham's Lake Padden Park, further south is Lake Samish. On the left of I-5 is the Lookout Mountain/Galbraith area well known for mountain biking. Extreme upper left is Mt. Baker National Forest. On the lower right to upper right is the Larrabee State Park/Blanchard Mountain/DNR complex - the Chuckanut Range.

The importance of this area, as a reminder, is that this is the only area of any significant size that contains roadless tracts of forest between Vancouver, British Columbia and Olympia, Washington. An area that has a population base of millions of people. The Chuckanut Range also sits directly on the Salish Sea. It is the start of a mostly forested corridor between the Salish Sea and the heart of the North Cascades.

It is not wilderness. Much of it has been harvested several times. But to allow logging to continue would require additional logging roads which would create additional problems over the years for water quality in the area. A fairly recent logging operation on the northeast side of the Blanchard complex caused significant runoff flooding and silting in Lake Samish. There was property damage.

One of the buzz words/phrases used is that it will be a sustainable "working" forest. Sustainable is a moving target. There is no proof that this area can be logged repeatedly and then someday suddenly return back to its earliest status and still provide the other significant ecosystem services if left alone from today on.

There is a working group that defines what tracts will and won't be logged. It is not representative of many people. It is represented by the timber industry, the DNR, government, and one environmental advocacy group. Surveys show that by an overwhelming percentage that people want this area to not be logged, to not be a "working" forest.

Income from timber sales goes to school districts and for public safety but the percentage of their budget these agencies glean from timber sales in the Chuckanuts and on Blanchard is minute.
More money is generated by recreational usage of this area than by any other source.

There is more value in other ecosystem services than the sale of and harvesting of trees.

10/30/2010 Active Logging Operation in the Chuckanut Range

2010-10-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

All photos ©Paul K. Anderson

Surrounded by Larrabee State Park and DNR (Dept. of Natural Resources Land) this active logging operation has added several short segments of logging road to the Chuckanut Range.

Logging Road on Steep Slope - Lookout Mountain

2010-10-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

©Paul K. Anderson

Lake Samish and Chuckanut Range in background

©Paul K. Anderson

When We Were Fishers on Puget Sound

2010-10-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

Puget Sound used to have a viable fishery. Farms dominated the landscape between Seattle and the towns and villages outside the city. The city of Bellevue had farms near Bellevue Square. There were many dairies near Snohomish and Monroe.

Mt. Vernon and Burlington had very few auto dealers and RV sale lots.

Marysville, Arlington, Smokey Point, Puyallup's south hill, North Bend had few if any strip malls or big box stores. Bellingham, Ferndale, Blaine, Lynden had distinct, seperate identities and personalities.

Progress happens. But has anyone noticed that it appears that every major intersection and exit on our interstate system in the Salish Sea watershed is becoming more and more the same? And the general response is that this is good because it is so convenient for us to go shopping and spend.

Build, build, build and over build even tho it lowers property values for everyone.

Spending as a Pavlovian response to the barrage of marketing and advertising that hits us in every form of communication. And that there are Pavlovian responses to buzz words that are thrown at us in these forms of communication - freedom, constitutional rights, safety, liberty, over regulation?

Has anyone noticed that anytime anyone wants to try and preserve, to conserve, to protect wetlands, small tracts of forests, watersheds or areas of immense beauty the immediate response by well organized and funded opponents are buzz words that elicit an almost pavlovian response and opposition, even if it goes against these individuals own best interests in the long run.

Has anyone noticed that civil discourse seldom takes place anymore that any public discussion is almost always dominated by emotionally charged citizens saying these same buzz words over and over and over and little discussion takes place on what really matters most to us as individuals?

Are we all becoming puppets to marketeers and PR firms hired by well funded special interest groups?

We spend millions trying to restore salmon habitat and those efforts are negated by huge mudslides and poor corporate forestry practices and small governments that allow building in historic flood plains but there is no government or corporate accountability and we as individuals pay in the form of subsidies or taxes or higher insurance fees?

What will this area look like in 30 years? Will there be small tracts of land like the Chuckanuts available for clean water, salmon habitat, clean air, recreation, a place to be alone. Or will there be a Pavlovian opposition even when its against one's own best interests?

Has anyone even noticed?

When We Were Fishers on Puget Sound - 1979 ©Paul Anderson

The View from Blanchard Mt. - British Columbia

2010-10-28T02:50:00.000-07:00

Logging continues in the Chuckanut Range today! Trucks are removing timber and delivering to mills on a daily basis right now!

It can't be emphasized enough that within eyesight of Blanchard Mountain and the Chuckanut Range live almost 7 million people. It is projected that within 50 years the population will increase to 11 million.

In this early summer view from Blanchard Mt. at the southern end of the Chuckanut Range, you can see north into British Columbia. Notice the large cranes for loading and unloading ships near Vancouver, B.C.? Click on the photograph to enlarge it in your viewer.

The Salish Sea from the Chuckanut Range ©Paul Anderson

Here is another view of a clearing winter storm from the same, easily accessible location, (it's a short several mile drive from I-5 at the Alger Exit) looking west into the San Juan Island Archipelago.

Samish Island and the San Juan's from the Chuckanut Range ©Paul Anderson

The ecosystem services provided yearly by the Chuckanut Range, including clean water, carbon sequestration, and recreational benefits far outweigh the short term economic benefits of logging.

The View from Blanchard Mt. - Three Islands

2010-10-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

Orcas, Lummi, and Eliza Islands are bathed in light from a wonderful sunset.

©Paul Anderson

Do Something That Won't Compute

2010-10-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/wendell-berry/3433

A poem by Wendell Berry.

Oyster Boats at Rest, Late Fall Storm, Samish Bay

2010-10-22T05:57:00.000-07:00

©Paul Anderson

Cool, Clear, Water!

2010-10-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

Think historically of the Cascade Range and you think of logging. Over the last 100+ years virtually every acre of public land has been logged, or threatened with logging - except for those areas that were economically not profitable to harvest. Some of that remaining land was used for the expansion and development of the National Park and wilderness systems. Today, many leading scientists and former officials of the U.S. Forest Service recognize that the number one ecosystem service of public lands, will not be timber harvesting or grazing, but the year round availability and slow release of clean water.

Think of the ecosystem services that have been provided by the Chuckanut Range in the past, now, and what will be most important in the future. The watershed surrounding the Salish Sea from Olympia in the south to approximately 1/2 way up Vancouver Island and directly across on the mainland of British Columbia will increase in population from 7 million to over 11 million. What will happen as global warming becomes more of a reality and there is a mass exodus of environmental refugees from around the globe to areas less effected - I'm suggesting areas surrounding the Salish Sea. 11 million could become 12, 13 or 14 million.

Think about what ecosystem services will be most important and provided in part by the Chuckanut Range 25, 50 and 100 years from now. Timber for housing? Land for housing development? Or will it be clean water for drinking and agriculture use? Salmon and wildlife habitat? A small corridor of land for access to the main Cascade Range, a migratory stop over for Swans, Geese and other birds? An easily accessible recreational area in the middle of 7, 10, 11 or 14 million people? All of these issues need to be discussed openly - with transparency.

For the common good.

Small cascades in the Cascade Range ©Paul Anderson

Chris Cullers Perspective From Above the Chuckanut Range

2010-10-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

Within all of us is a varying amount of space lint and star dust, the residue from our creation. Most are too busy to notice it, and it is stronger in some than others. It is strongest in those of us who fly and is responsible for an unconscious, subtle desire to slip into some wings and try for the elusive boundaries of our origin. ~K.O. Eckland, "Footprints On Clouds"

Editors note: On Oct.1 Chris Culler and several friends launched from Blanchard Mt. While in the air these pilots experienced an extraordinary sunset. An obviously fine pilot Chris is equally artistic and is able to capture the essence, the feeling of flight with these wonderful photos that he has agreed to share with us. Thanks Chris!

©Chris Culler

A little about me: I have been day-dreaming about flying my whole life. I imagined flying ultralights, planes, helicopters and such, but every turn to make that dream into reality was thwarted by costs. It was one such blow in 2002 that lead me to hang gliding. My brother, Jimmy, had been flying hang gliders for 8 years, and told me how little he had expended to get started. I did some research into hang gliding and paragliding that winter. The next spring (2003) I hired myself a USHPA-rated instructor, and in early summer I made my first solo altitude flights at Blanchard Mountain. Seven years, hundreds of flights, and hundreds of flying-hours later, I made that flight in which you see the pictures. Flying with me in those photos are Jimmy Culler (my brother), Darren Fox, and Ben McBroom. I now live in Mount Vernon with my wife, Christine Nidd. She is also a hang glider pilot. We met 2 years ago at the Chelan Cross Country Classic hang gliding competition, and she beat me! It's OK though, because I beat her the year after that, and then I married her. :o) At this point in our lives we could easily afford the cost of a private pilot's certificate, but why bother? When you feel the wind in your face, soaring thousands of feet high, for hours on end, and it all starts with an un-powered foot-launch from a grassy mountainside, well....it's as close as you can get to flapping your arms.

©Chris Culler

Oyster Run Motorcycle Rally

2010-10-09T23:29:00.000-07:00

The annual Oyster Run - a motorcycle rally - was held in late September. As many as 25,000 motorcyclists attend. Many cyclists travel through and around the Chuckanut Range with stops at local businesses in Bellingham, Alger, Blanchard, Chuckanut Drive and Edison.

Because of the wet conditions I spent a few hours on Chuckanut Drive and in Edison. Here are a few images from that morning.

All photos ©Paul Anderson Oyster Creek Passes under Chuckanut drive

Abandon boats Samish River

Pilings near Blanchard

No sense lighting it with the ride so wet

Asked to appear mean, this friendly Canadian gives me his Popeye look

Artisan Breads and Pastries from the BreadFarm

The friendly confines of the Longhorn served smoked whole roasted pig, oysters steamed and raw.

The Chuckanut Range - important to so many diverse groups of activities, interests and people.

The Return of Trumpeter Swans

2010-10-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

Trumpeters Near Blanchard, Wa ©Paul Anderson

In the Pacific Northwest we have our share of rainy, dank days. At times, the grayness of the low skies, and the muted dark green of the Douglas Firs, Red Cedars and Hemlocks can feel oppressive, but then, depending on my mood, the weather can also comfort, by wrapping itself around me like a tired, old, sleeping bag.

No, this weather doesn’t make me feel warm like that old bag. After years of living in this climate, I am ingrained with the sense, the feeling of familiarity, of the commonplace. The weather reminds me that this is my landscape, my environment, and my home. I am grounded in this sense of place.

As a creature of habit, I take comfort in the rhythms of life. The start of my children’s sports seasons, the ski season, our annual four day weekend at Ross Lake Resort. Fall blueberries in the high Cascades, winter hikes in our Chuckanuts.

I need the return of salmon, a fresh cup of coffee, a good book, the snow goose migration.

Snow Geese Skagit Flats ©Paul Anderson

The return of trumpeter swans.

I try and embrace the customs and traditions of the holidays and the iconic events of the religious year.

Holidays ©Paul Anderson

I anticipate the ebb and flow of nature.

I am reassured by the change of seasons.

As a photographer, I look for shapes and forms, the composition of the landscape. I see patterns and texture in a Mesquite Flats sand dune, and it reminds me of the patterns and texture on a 60 foot high “dune” of wheat waiting for shipment from our granary, the Palouse.

Death Valley ©Paul Anderson

I associate feelings and emotions with specific images, mental and photographic.

I associate images, mental and photographic, with specific feelings and emotions.

But I don’t consciously understand the what, when, where, or why of how this process begins, nor how it evolves.

I remember sitting in my grandfather’s old rocking chair, my arms protectingly wrapped around my young son. He is restless and trying to fall asleep on my chest. I feel his soft, warm breath swirling against my neck.

As I slowly rock back and forth, I remember Toroweap.

It is late October and chilly on the north rim, within days a snowstorm will close parts of it for the winter. I step out of my tent and sit at the edge, bare feet dangling high above the river, a sleeping bag draped over my shoulders.

In a dry waterpocket, on a ledge of Coconino Sandstone, a small pot of cider reaches a boil, wisps of steam drift past and I breathe in deeply the scent of apple and cinnamon.

From downstream, I sense the pulse, hear the hushed roar of Lava Falls.

To the east, faint stars appear. To the southwest, beyond the Vulcan’s Throne, a thin band of magenta stretches low across the horizon.

Above, and across the inner canyon , insular clouds, trailing pale, faint, translucent strands of virga, fail in their attempts to quench the thirst of the juniper forest spattered across the Coconino Plateau.

Below, where the basement rocks of the North American continent lay exposed, 1.8 billion years old Vishnu Schists, warmed earlier by the sun, radiate heat, generating uplift.

Cooler, heavier air descends to the river. The displaced warm air rises slowly three thousand vertical feet to where I sit.

The air swirls, tumbles over, around, gently warming me.

Night ascends from the canyon.

And we sleep.

Oyster Run in Anacortes Sunday Sept. 26th

2010-09-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

As many as 20,000 motorcyclists will participate in the 2010 Oyster Run. It is a one day event that falls on the 4th Sunday of September. The center of all events is in Anacortes.

Chuckanut Drive, roads around Alger, Samish flats, Skagit flats, Edison, Burlington, Conway, LaConnor, Whidbey Island, the ferry systems and around the base of the Chuckanuts will have many motorcyclists throughout the day traveling in both directions.

Please be aware of this and if you are out and about on the roads, be especially careful pulling in and out of parking areas, on cross roads, and passing.

Please be cognizant of the brightness of the motorcyclists headlights. They are bright for a reason but can be startling for some drivers on darker roads like Chuckanut Drive.

Advocacy and preservation requires the support of many, many organizations and interest groups.

Here is a link to the home page of the Oyster Run.

http://oysterrun.org/

Come see us at the Eddie Bauer Outdoors Fest, Sat. September 18th!

2010-09-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

Chuckanut Conservancy will have a booth at the first-ever Outdoors Fest in Seattle, hosted by The Mountaineers. Here's a brief line-up:

Workshops, clinics, gear park, climbing wall, food, drink, kids area, book sale, beer garden, and conservation, with special guest Conrad Anker, a Mount Everest veteran and expert on the 1924 Mallory-Irvine expedition.

More info: www.mountaineers.org/outdoorsfest

Come see us!

A Unique Approach

2010-09-14T03:28:00.000-07:00

Dealing with invasive species and berry harvesting in the Samish and Skagit flats
with the ancient art of falconry

Regeneration in the Chuckanut Range

2010-09-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

Fossils Fossils Fossils

2010-09-13T03:05:00.000-07:00

The Chuckanut Range has a very interesting geological history.

A non-marine sedimentary deposition, approximately 10,000 feet thick, was formed in the Eocene Age.

George Mustoe of the Western Washington University Geology Department was kind enough to give my daughter Mackenzie and I a hands-on-tour of his collection of fossils from the Chuckanut Formation deep in the bowels of one of the science buildings.

I won't try and explain too much right now because my knowledge of paleontology is, "ahem", well, a bit limited, but George - who is a great guy to talk to about all of this - patiently answered all of my questions and tried to steer me gently back on track whenever I interrupted with dumb questions, suppositions, and guesses on what happened when, where and why.

Basically the Chuckanut formation was a non-marine (meaning it wasn't from the ocean) deposit of sediments that created sandstone over time. Mixed into the sand were plants, leaves and other material and when conditions were just right there formed over time - fossils.

Geological forces - pushing, shoving, tilting, folding, shearing (from glaciers) and erosion exposed some of these fossils that were collected by scientists like George.

It's difficult to pin down an exact age of these fossils but they were deposited approximately 50,000,011 years ago - or roughly 50,000,000 years before we moved to Bellingham
So as you are walking, biking, hiking, jogging the trails around here, take a look at the ground under foot - who knows some of the leaf litter you are squishing down may someday become a fossil.

And that is just another example of what contributes to our sense of place about Bellingham, Whatcom and Skagit Counties and is another reason to protect the Chuckanut Range - a most interesting place in our world.

Here are a few examples of fossils in his collection - thanks George!

A Thursday Afternoon Drive Through The Chuckanuts

2010-09-10T06:20:00.000-07:00

Work has been crazy and you weren’t able to sleep so you get up at 3AM and drive the 67 miles and all day it’s been one thing after another until your shoulders are so tight that it’s starting to give you a headache and then the traffic on the 67 mile commute back home is terrible too so by the time you reach Conway you decide to go backroads but you know the wife is going to call you a hick from Iowa, “that must be all they do back there on Sundays- drive backroads”, and you resent that remark because you know that you’ve been living here in Washington for 33 years and shouldn’t be considered from Iowa any more, and then you stop at the Rexville grocery and notice a nice selection of wines, cheese, micro beers, salami’s and other items you could select if you brought the wife with and wanted a picnic together but a little further up the road you drive through Bayview and look in on the workers at the boat works and hope the recession isn’t killing them like so many other small businesses and then just ahead you can look over the apple orchard and see your Chuckanuts, you drive down the slope past thousands of acres of blueberries and potatoes and corn and even wheat and then just a little past the turnoff for Samish Island you cross the Samish River and see hundreds of fishermen and realize

the king salmon are returning and it is going to be a great year for fishermen because these fish hold such a strong emotional grip on you and the fishermen, the Lummi’s and other Native American's, and you grab the camera and walk up one of the dikes and meet guys who are from Bellingham, Seattle,

Mt.Vernon, Ancortes, Russians, Japanese, Hispanics, Pakistaniis,Vietnamese and fishermen from just about everywhere - dads, sons, young dads, old dads, young sons and old sons and all seem to have grins especially Micael the young dad who just caught a nice king and his son in the kid carrier who is looking over Dad’s shoulder to see the fish

and you remember the smell of your own dad’s neck as you hung on him piggy back style when he was carrying you down the trail when you were little and tired so later when you leave the Samish after noticing a sign that this Saturday they were going to have a smoked salmon contest in a small lot right next to the river and you think, “how cool is that”,

you drive by the Longhorn in Edison remembering the Oyster shooters you gave to your nephews from Montana last time they were visiting and they ate those Samish Bay oysters but were already plotting the next time you were visiting them in Montana they were going to make you try those Rocky Mountain Oysters not realizing how often you ate those things on Sunday nights when you were a ski bum and playing poker with the mayor, chief of police and owner of the Mucky Duck and they kept trying to convince you to buy a fly rod and try it out on some of the beaver ponds and streams just out your door, but you didn’t have time with all of the climbing, hiking, rugby and photography you were doing but now that you need to reduce stress in your life and have bought fly rods for you and your son maybe next year go visit your brother who is the best fisherman you’ve ever known and float down the Big Horn River, wonder what kind of hatch will be going on but hey why not try to spend a day or two on the Henry’s Fork, the Yellowstone, the Madison, and you remember a former girl friend whose dad lived each summer in a tiny trailer next to the Madison and that one summer when you visited him the editor of one of the big fishing magazines mentioned that her dad was one of the finest fly fishermen in America,

whoa pull over and see what is on the menu at the Rhododendron Cafe this month, so you get out of the car trying to determine what this months theme is and walk up to the menu by the front door and read: Chicken Saltimbocca with fresh sage, prosciutto, provolone, marsala wine sauce; Zarzuela spanish seafood stew with brandy, sherry, olives, tomato, garlic; Couscous with Lamb and Apricots, bell peppers and Moroccan spices; Grilled petite tenderloin with gorgonzola, wild blackberry demi glace wow gotta come back for dinner - must be some kind of North African or Italian, or Spanish theme, then with so much food on your mind - crazy must be hungry and you stop at the Morgan Family Farm organic veggie stand and buy on the honor system yukon fingerlings, basil, zukes, squash, carrots, onions, leeks, fennel and maybe when you get home make a curry with major grey chutney and Indian spices but just then you see something that makes you wonder why is that pod of porta-potty’s traveling across the bridge like that - you just don't see that every day and then chuckle about the time up at the Edmonton Rugby Tourny when your buddy Ed tipped one over on a guy who was rude and cut in front of him just as he was opening the door and the hideous howls emanating from within caused everyone to casually stroll out of the immediate area and then when it was finally uprighted out popped this enraged 6'6" smurf,

but look at the marsh grasses how would Wolf Kahn paint those and what wild colors blue maybe hahaha would he use and are those pilings from an old cannery or saw mill or do they resemble headstones in a graveyard and did Edward R. Murrow play around these pilings

so you get back in the car and drive up the one lane road and turn back on Chuckanut Drive and drive through Blanchard to see if they are setting up yet at the community center for the salmon bbq and then you see a hang glider getting ready to land in the Wake family front yard so you rush over and snap a photo of a seam on it and wonder how Rothko would portrait it in one of his geometric paintings

and as you cross back over the bridge you think about those porta-pottys and wonder what kinda storyline could be developed for those travelers - a day in the life of a porta potty - and you think nah that’s too bizarre and an editor would probably assign you to do it and how would you photograph it with any dignity and what if someone did take offense, because you really don't look all that great in blue and you remember those double knit blue bell bottoms your mom bought for you and the chef at the Oyster Creek Inn waves at you when you honk on the way down to Taylor Shellfish farm but soon you are back on Chuckanut and heading up Cleator road for a view and to see all the way up to Canada and over the San Juans

and a sailboat is at anchor in Chuckanut Bay and that reminds you of the trip you made with Joe-Joe and Punjab and the old girl friend and remember how the two of you meaning you and the girl friend not Joe -Joe the dog faced boy won the dance contest in the bar at Friday Harbor going crazy to Junior Cadillac and you stop in the cool, humid, shade of the grove of Red Alder and photograph the trunks

against the maze of underbrush and young fir trees but it’s getting late and you want to stop in Fairhaven at the cheese shop to bring something home to enjoy with a glass of red wine

Quel Fromage - Old Fairhaven Pkwy at 12th St

and after you get home you grab some shavings of good cheese, crackers and a glass of wine and remember your old girlfriend died of cancer just about a year ago and sadly left a teenage son behind and you hope that doesn’t happen to you but you realize you haven’t had a headache for hours and when your wife asks what are you all going to do this weekend you say maybe you all should all drive down Chuckanut Drive to Edison and listen to a blue grass band, maybe try a few oyster shooters, maybe drink a glass of oyster or clam nectar but Ivar used to have a sign up at his restaurant that said a husband had to have a permission slip from his wife before they would serve the nectar to them and you are feeling very relaxed and your shoulders aren’t tight any more and you realize that drive thru the Chuckanuts has that same effect on you every time but wow work well it feels like you haven’t been there for a week and you better call Jerry and finalize the arrangements because the annual September trip to Ross Lake Resort is next Thursday and this year maybe is a good time to hike up Desolation to the fire lookout where Jack Kerouac spent that summer and started writing Desolation Angels and you remember that you are gong to sleep well tonight and can’t wait to get back doing something in the Chuckanuts and your wife looks at you and smiles and you wonder if maybe there isn’t some clam nectar in the refrigerator and she says “a Sunday Drive?”

“You are such a hick........”

Not the Chuckanut Range - but a Reminder to Enjoy the Fall

2010-09-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

Fall is coming soon to the Cascade Range. So many of us love this time of year that I thought I would send this out to all of you as a reminder that the Larch Trees are turning colors in the high Cascades and will be at their peak in the not too distant future.

Call the good people at the US Forest Service or North Cascades National Park for information on the peak colors.

This photo is from the Enchantment Lakes region of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness outside of Leavenworth, Washington, but Larch can be found up on the North Cascades Highway as well.

Stop by the NCNP headquarters in Sedro-Wooley and visit their bookstore or visit Village Books locally in Bellingham.

We have some time before peak colors in the Chuckanut Range so gain some altitude and attitude for the North Cascades.

Enjoy!

A Brief Walk in the Chuckanut Range

2010-09-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

Order, disorder, symmetry, imbalance, ............. decay.

Take a moment on your travels through the Chuckanut Range to observe the small, the common. It is late summer and a transition between the flush of summer growth and fall colors.

Not all beauty is seen from high overlooks or in spectacular sunrises and sunsets. Subtle beauty surrounds us and is always there - if we choose to look.

Yesterday we took a short walk up the Hemlock Trail under overcast skies. Runners, hikers, mountain bikers passed.

A few walkers ambled, deep in thought.

The bright green leaves of spring and early summer are fading, a few have fallen and begun the process of replenishing the duff at our feet. Some spots on aging leaves, tho still green, are translucent, others dark and foreboding.

A subtle reminder to us that life goes on.

Enjoy your stage..........

Enjoy.

Click on images to enlarge

Paraglider over Samish Bay Oyster Beds

2010-09-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

Oil Refinery at Dusk

2010-09-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Oil Refineries near Anacortes light up at dusk. In the background is the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Range and Peninsula.

Photographed from Blanchard Mountain at the southern end of the Chuckanut Range.

Paragliding High Above the Chuckanut Range

2010-09-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

The launch site on the shoulder of Blanchard Mountain at the southern end of the Chuckanuts is a popular hangout for Para gliders and Hang gliders from across the US and Canada.

Winds coming in off of the Salish Sea drive up and over the Chuckanuts, thermals generated in the fields create the updrafts that can keep skilled pilots aloft for hours when conditions are just right.

I've sat and watched as para gliders, hawks and eagles shared the same thermals, lazily circling and rising almost effortlessly.

Oil Tanker at Rest

2010-09-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

Just this year,Puget Sound, the Georgia Basin, the Strait of Georgia, Desolation Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca were collectively given the name The Salish Sea by the Washington State Board on Geographic Names, the Province of British Columbia Geographic Names Office, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names and the Geographic Names Board of Canada.

These separately named bodies of water were recognized as an estuarine ecosystem.

But the seven million people living within the ecosystem require energy and much of that energy, crude oil, arrives in ships that navigate through the San Juan Islands, Gulf Islands, the Strait of Juan de Fuca to reach the refineries near Anacortes and Cherry Point.

It is a delicate balance.

Here an oil tanker waits at anchor near the southern end of the Chuckanut Range.

Late Summer Sunset from Blanchard Mountain

2010-09-04T03:16:00.000-07:00

A study revealed that Bellingham had the cleanest air, for a city, in the United States.

The reason? Well, the simple answer is location.

Location, location, location as realtors say.

We live between the two large metropolitan areas of Seattle and Vancouver and are part of the Georgia Basin and Puget Sound watersheds. A watershed that extends from Mt. Rainier in the south to just north of Vancouver.

An area of almost seven million people.

To the west is Vancouver Island and Victoria, to the southwest the Olympic Peninsula, Hawaii and Australia. Our prevailing winds come from the southwest. And we benefit from that.

But as summer progresses and the seasonal dry hits, more particulate is in the air from forest fires and other summer/heat related events. At times the air from east of the Cascades comes into the Salish Sea basin and forest fire activities, brush fires, wheat harvest all have an affect on the quality of air her in the Chuckanuts. This can create spectacular sunsets.

A few years ago in late winter and early spring we experienced outrageous sunsets. But the cause was more global - and highlighted what a small planet we inhabit. Huge dust storms in China - the result of desertification when deep draw down of irrigation wells forced abandonment of millions of acres of once irrigated croplands - blew over the Pacific and into the Pacific Northwest.

The view from the Chuckanuts highlighted the issue.

©Paul Anderson

Enjoy the Chuckanuts

2010-08-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Boy what beautiful weather we have right now. Summer is waning, school starts soon and fall is looking over our shoulder.

Time to get out and enjoy the Chuckanut Range.

At the request of so many of you we will be posting and adding more images on a regular basis.

Other events that we want to offer in the future include photo seminars/walks in the Chuckanut Range to help you create your own masterpieces.

The daughter needs a new pair of running shorts so I am heading over to one of the great supporters of the Chuckanut Conservancy - Fairhaven Runners. Thanks for their donation and to all of the sponsors who are trying to protect this wonderful landscape so close to where we live.

Paul

Where did the summer go?

2010-08-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

It was just May! How can it be late August already? Well, despite the quiet time on our blog, much is still happening behind the scenes, of course.

-- A new fall events calendar is coming together, so keep an eye out for more expert-led hikes, volunteer trail work opportunities, and a few fun surprises to be announced shortly.

-- The Conservancy is closely monitoring a plan by Great Western Lumber to clearcut 82 acres adjacent to Larrabee State Park. This is a private inholding surrounded by state land that should have been added to the park years ago. Where is it? From the Clayton Beach trailhead, walk up the old Fragrance Lake Road a mile, turn right on the "South Chuckanut Road" and follow that to the top of the mountain. Near where the road disappears in recovering forest a great trail leads to the Great Western property. Two trails pass through the property and both have been maintained by volunteers for many years. They have become integral to the Larrabee trail system above Lost Lake. The property is situated smack in the middle of the wild corridor between the state park and Blanchard Mountain. If you would like to learn more or want to help save this gorgeous property, please contact us.

-- The Conservancy was out tabling at events this summer, including the Community Co-op Party and the Bivalve Bash where we have enjoyed, as always, strong support for our work.

-- We are just now putting together details on a couple of short films to be produced this fall and posted on Youtube. We need your creative energy, so please get in touch if you have videography or editing skills to contribute.

-- Many local businesses have donated to the cause since we announced our "100+ Businesses Who Love the Chuckanuts" campaign a few months ago, but we need many more to contribute! We ask for a minimum $100 donation to be recognized. The number one donor to date: Fairhaven Runners, with a tremendous $4,000 contribution. The question now is, who will be first to donate $5,000? We know it will happen, so please help us spread the word among your business friends. The Chuckanut Mountains are absolutely critical to the quality of life we enjoy around here--and we think that high quality of life is central to the success of countless businesses in the region. We're glad that our businesses supporters agree.

Spring hikes off to a great start

2010-05-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we had very strong turn-out for two cool outings above and below Blanchard Mountain. Saturday, we explored the higher slopes of the mountain with Bud Hardwick to see the remnants of old railroad logging trestles and other relics of a bygone era.

On Sunday, a good crowd perservered through a cold light rain as we looped through the town of Blanchard, passing the site of Edward R. Murrow's boyhood home, a number of historic buildings and enough local trivia to fill a train station. Thanks to our guides Tom Wake and Lynn Lennox, who opened up the Blanchard Chapel and shared stories and old photos. Thanks also to Brendan Howley at the soon-to-open Chuckanut Art Farm for hosting the bagel feast!

We plan to offer these trips again, so keep an eye on our website or get in touch if you would like to participate.

Geography of Blanchard Mountain hike - Sun., May 16

2010-04-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

The "Geography of Blanchard Mountain" hike has been scheduled for Sunday, May 16, for those who missed it last time around. Sign up on the website . See April 6 post below for details.

Historical walk or historical hike--take your choice this weekend

2010-04-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Check our schedule for two new offerings by the Conservancy this weekend. On Saturday, hike up a hill on a lonely trail to see some unusual history and a few scarcely known relics first-hand. On Sunday, enjoy a leisurely stroll amid the rich history of Blanchard, Washington. Details and sign-up on the website.

Join us Saturday April 24 at WWU for Earth Day

2010-04-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

The Conservancy will be tabling at the Earth Day event on the WWU campus on Saturday from noon till 6:00 pm. Stop by!

Info from the event organizers:

Earth Day 40, Free
Saturday, Apr 24 12:00p - 6:00 pm
at Western Washington University Communications Lawn (South Campus), Bellingham, WA
Phone: (360) 650-6129
Celebrate 40 years of Earth Day at WWU's free event including music, speakers, performers, vendors, community organizations and activities.

12-1 Aztec Dance by Skagit Ameyaltonal
1-2 20 Riverside
2-3 Jason Quick
3-4 Deadwood Revival
4-4:30 Variety show
4:30-6 Adrian Xavier

Kaynote in the PAC Mainstage:
Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men
$5 for community members

April 24, 9-4pm - Oyster Dome Geology Hike with Dave Tucker

2010-04-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

Celebrate Earth Day on Blanchard Mountain and while hiking, learn way more than you thought possible about the geology of Oyster Dome, including metamorphism, the curious "stilpnomelane" mineral outcrop, and the giant talus heap beneath a 300-foot cliff. Expect about 4 to 6 miles round trip and 800-feet of elevation gain, including some steep sections. 9:00 am start. $10 donation requested. Please visit our website to register, www.chuckanutconservancy.org.

April 17, 9am-3pm - The Geography of Blanchard Mountain

2010-04-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

Join us for a moderately strenuous hike in beauteous forest past two lakes, giant boulders and the highest viewpoint in the Chuckanuts (at North Butte). Learn what all the fuss is about over Blanchard Mountain. See where the DNR plans to log and where they propose to set the boundaries for a new—and painfully small—Natural Resources Conservation Area, then compare that with the Chuckanut Conservancy’s proposed boundary. Plan on a 6 to 8-mile loop, with 1,200 to 1,500 feet elevation gain. $10 donation requested. Please visit our website to register, www.chuckanutconservancy.org.

Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail - 1 year ago today

2010-03-30T19:20:00.001-07:00

A year ago today, President Obama signed a bill establishing the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, a corridor extending across 1,200 miles of northwest America from the Pacific Ocean to the Continental Divide. The designation lifts the trail to the same national status as the famed Pacific Crest Trail running 2,638 miles from Mexico to Canada, and the 2,178-mile Appalachain Trail that connects Georgia to Maine. There are now eleven such trails in the U.S.

For someone beginning a full, east-to-west traverse of the Pacific Northwest Trail (or PNT) at Glacier National Park, Montana, you'll need to walk more than 900 miles to get to the first good view of the ocean. And where might that be? Blanchard Mountain, of course--the crowning gem of the Chuckanut Range. Okay, the view might not precisely be the ocean, but with Samish Bay and the San Juan Islands sprawled out before you, it's a heck of a teaser for the true ocean view awaiting another 200+ miles to the west at Cape Alava in Olympic National Park.

The entire 1,200-mile route is not fully developed, although many hundreds of miles exist where the trail passes through state and federal lands, typically along existing routes that have been threaded together in name only. If you insist on hiking the route anytime soon, expect lots of road miles in between the trail sections.

In theory, the U.S. Forest Service will be developing an overall plan for the newly designated trail, clarifying routes, acquiring lands or easements, building trails and support facilities and all the rest. To date, however, little progress has been made in that respect. But this is government work and it's only been a year, so no complaining quite yet. But if you have a point of view or some ideas to share, or just want to learn how you can get involved, visit the Pacific Northwest Trail Association's website at http://www.pnt.org/.

The PNT, as many are aware, runs through the heart of Blanchard Mountain, including areas the DNR would have logged by now had not the Chuckanut Conservancy derailed those plans in a legal challenge--at least temporarily. (Read about our court victory here.)

Let's hope the Washington DNR learns to appreciate this nationally significant trail and rethinks its fixation on logging the area. As it stands currently, they still plan to log more than two miles of the PNT on Blanchard Mountain, beginning at the trailhead known as Samish Overlook--yes the exact same place you would enjoy that first great view of the "ocean." You can help make sure that doesn't happen by supporting the work of the Conservancy.

Conservancy Hires First Executive Director

2010-03-25T23:48:00.000-07:00

The Chuckanut Conservancy announced this week that Ken Wilcox has agreed to serve as the organization's first executive director.

"We're excited to have Ken in this critical role for the Conservancy," said Seth Fleetwood, the group's president. "Everyone loves the Chuckanuts and Ken is the perfect person to help us ensure that our kids—and their kids—have an opportunity to enjoy this place as much as we do."

The Chuckanut Conservancy’s mission is to protect and preserve the Chuckanut Mountains of Northwest Washington which contribute immensely to our quality of life in the region. The Conservancy’s top priority is to make sure that everything that makes this area so special—the quality of life here, the trails, the spectacular views, rich history, diverse wildlife and a unique coastal forest ecosystem—are not lost to urban sprawl, intensive logging or other threats.

Wilcox is a long-time advocate for protecting trails and natural areas in the Chuckanuts and is perhaps best known as the author of several regional hiking guides.

“Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to hike at least a thousand miles of trails around western Washington,” said Wilcox, “and there is just nothing out there that quite compares with the fantastic urban wilderness we have right here in the Chuckanuts.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to help safeguard this unique place,” he said.

As executive director, Wilcox will be heading up the group's efforts to protect and restore the Chuckanuts' spectacular wild country, while also implementing plans for a volunteer trails program and continuing the Conservancy’s ongoing work to protect Blanchard Mountain, the highest mountain in the Chuckanuts.

Wilcox has a professional background in environmental and recreation planning and has served on a number of boards and commissions, including the North Cascades Conservation Council, Sustainable Connections, and The Mountaineers, where he received a lifetime membership award for community service.

Ken also chairs the U.S. delegation of the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission, a $10 million international fund that sponsors conservation, recreation and education initiatives within the upper Skagit River watershed of Washington and British Columbia.

Wilcox is a graduate of Western Washington University with a degree in environmental policy. He and his wife Kris share a home with their cat Fuji in east Bellingham.

About the Chuckanut Conservancy

The Chuckanut Conservancy is working to protect and restore the beautiful wild country of the Chuckanut Mountains—a one-of-a-kind natural landscape encompassing 9,000 acres of public land and more than sixty miles of trails. As the last, big green space on the map between Seattle and Vancouver, the Chuckanut Mountains represent the largest maturing coastal forest left in the greater Puget Sound region.

Who's hiking on Blanchard Mountain?

2010-03-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, while hiking up the Pacific Northwest Trail toward Oyster Dome, I spent 90 minutes gathering 37 signatures on a petition asking Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark to establish a much larger conservation area (NRCA) than what's been proposed. (For more on the NRCA, see the blog entry for March 6 below.)

In those 90 minutes of ambling up the trail, chatting, nibbling and collecting autographs, I was amazed to be passed by about 80 hikers headed down, all of whom had obviously gotten a more respectable start than I. These were not organized groups, just friends and family enjoying the first day of spring.

While I was pleased that most of the trailsters I had a chance to speak with were happy to sign, what shocked me the most was just how far many of them had come to enjoy their day on the trail at Blanchard Mountain.

Of the 37 hikers who signed the petition, only six were from Bellingham. Just two lived in Skagit County. Three others were from Ferndale. That's 11 people--or 30 percent--whom I would consider "local."

Where were the others from? Seattle, mostly. Seattle and King County accounted for 17 (46 percent) of those 37 people who were concerned enough to sign the petition. One couple even came all the way up from Packwood, east of Centralia. Others were from Edmonds, Mill Creek and Oak Harbor. Later, I met someone from Vancouver, Washington, and several more from Colorado and Nevada who were visiting friends in the area.

I was amazed. When you do the math and consider all the trails at Blanchard Mountain--a splendiferous year-round trails destination--it's not unthinkable that 100,000 people may step foot on these trails over the course of a year.

And no, it certainly wasn't a scientific survey, but intriguing and enlightening, nontheless. For those who might think Blanchard Mountain is just a place for local hikers to kick up some dust, the mountain may be saying, think again.

You can help us save this place by donating to the cause today (then imagine the roar of 100,000 thank yous--good thing we're not all up there at once).

Volunteers needed for trail work

2010-03-16T10:30:00.001-07:00

To complement our new hiking calendar, the Conservancy is also scheduling a few volunteer trail work parties in the Chuckanuts, including several spring walk-throughs--a dabble of work here and there while also enjoying a good hike. We need your help! Widgets, gizmos and cookies provided. If interested in joining our volunteer list, please drop a line to ken (at) chuckanutconservancy.org.

Conservancy to offer Chuckanut history and natural history hikes

2010-03-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

The Conservancy is putting together a calendar of guided hikes this spring and summer to explore the history and natural history of the Chuckanut Mountains, including Blanchard Mountain. If there are specific topics or destinations you think we should include, please drop us a line or post a comment below. Most will be 2 to 4-hour excursions with a nominal donation requested. If you have expertise to share and would like to lead a hike, please contact us.

You can email us at: info (at) chuckanutconservancy.org. Thanks!

Blanchard Mountain/Oyster Dome geology

2010-03-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

Dave Tucker's Northwest Geology Field Trips blog has some great posts on the geology of the Chuckanuts and Blanchard Mountain. Did you know that Blanchard Mountain and Mount Shuksan are made of nearly the same rocks? How did all that giant talus form below Oyster Dome? What causes the honeycombing effect in Chuckanut sandstone along the shore? What's with all the fossils?

Be sure to check out the long list of topics Dave has compiled over the past few months--very impressive stuff and a lot of fun for experts and non-experts alike.

Baby Steps: DNR Proposes a mini-NRCA for Blanchard Mountain

2010-03-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

On February 24th, 2010, Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark announced plans to establish a 1,600-acre Natural Resources Conservation Area (NRCA) on Blanchard Mountain. While the NRCA is a positive, important step forward, the proposal contains nearly all of the shortcomings of the "management strategies" adopted by the previous commissioner in 2007. (The Conservancy challenged those strategies in lower court and won - more on that here.)

The DNR's press release acknowledges "amazing recreation opportunities, rich wildlife habitat and sweeping views” at Blanchard Mountain, then "amazingly" fails to offer a proposal that actually protects those values. The 1,600-acre NRCA proposed by DNR can't possibly provide the level of protection that's implied in the release.

The DNR's current NRCA proposal offers only token protection of a portion of the existing trail system. No meaningful wildlife corridors are provided, view protection is scant, and many miles of trails would be severely degraded, if not destroyed, by miles of new roads and large-scale logging across two-thirds of the mountain. The largest intact roadless area on the mainland coast of greater Puget Sound would essentially be frittered away.

Even the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, signed into law by President Obama just a year ago, is largely excluded from the NRCA, although the agency has agreed to protect the parking lot at Samish Overlook from logging.

The Conservancy has recommended a 3,100-acre NRCA, although the final area established may be somewhat less than that. The DNR's proposal must be submitted to the Legislature for consideration and approval. Funding will be a key issue, since the timber value of lands set aside as NRCA also needs to be accounted for. Given the tight economic situation we're in, funding issues will need to be addressed over the long-term.

Please email 40th District Senator Kevin Ranker to let him know you support a much larger NRCA at Blanchard Mountain: Ranker.Kevin@LEG.WA.GOV.

We applaud the DNR's willingness to consider the kind of permanent protection an NRCA can provide. Although the small size of the NRCA and the boundaries are major stumbling blocks, we believe these issues can be resolved if the DNR invites the public to participate in developing its NRCA proposal.

Conservancy Launches 10-Year Vision

2010-03-06T09:43:00.001-08:00

In late 2009, the Conservancy launched its 10-year vision for the protection of the Chuckanut Mountains. You can view a detailed map of the proposal at our website, along with a short list of all the great reasons for saving this one-of-a-kind place.

The core of the proposal involves the designation of approximately 3,100 acres of DNR-managed forestland on Blanchard Mountain as a Natural Resources Conservation Area, plus the acquisition of another 1,000-plus acres of adjoining private commercial timber land. Under the proposal, more than 5,000 acres of working forest in the Chuckanuts would remain available for timber harvest (although some say we should protect it all!).

The areas most deserving of protection include a number of small lakes and wetland complexes, steep slopes, remarkable geology, trails and views, maturing forest and rich wildlife habitat corridors that connect to Larrabee State Park and other protected wildlands. The proposal also protects critical headwaters of Oyster Creek, Lake Samish and Samish Bay. Acquisition of a 200-300 acres on the ridge above Lake Samish would provide additional watershed protection for the lake, as well as long-awaited trail connections between Lake Samish Park, Mud Lake and the Pine and Cedar Lakes Trail system.

But we need your support to make it happen. Please donate today!

Welcome to the Chuckanut Conservancy Blog

2010-03-05T23:33:00.000-08:00

Watch for news and information about the campaign to protect the Chuckanut Mountains of Northwest Washington, including the battle to protect Blanchard Mountain. We welcome your thoughts and participation. Visit our main page for details and contact information.