Birch Bay Watershed Action Plan
The Natural Resources Division is working to develop watershed based land use management strategies. The
project area is the Birch Bay Watershed, which includes numerous coastal watersheds, as well as the Terrell Creek watershed.
The project builds on the 2007 Watershed Characterization Pilot Study by refining the watershed research conducted by the WA Department of Ecology and Department of Fish and Wildlife, and implementing a program that reflects this information. The end result of the Pilot Study were restoration and land use management recommendations for each of the 32 subwatersheds in Birch Bay. Click here for an overview of the Pilot Study.
Why are we doing this?
Degradation in the upland freshwater and marine areas of Birch Bay is of great concern with the anticipated growth that is planned in the watershed. Whatcom County has received an "Estuaries Initiates" grant from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency to implement watershed based land use planning. Birch Bay was selected due to:
- Recent shellfish harvesting closures in the bay due to documented pollution
- The convergence of population growth and wetlands, wildlife, and flooding
- Existing inventory of ecosystem services and wildlife habitat
There are three main components to the project:
- Customer service initiatives related to the permit application review process
- Off-site wetland and stream mitigation through an In-lieu-fee program
- Low Impact Development regulations
Birch Bay Watershed Residents will provide guidance through:
The breadth of public input that went into the Birch Bay Community Plan (2004), Design Guidelines (2007), Stormwater Plan (2006), UGA Boundary review (2009), as well as upcoming public workshops will inform implementation actions.
- Public workshops
- Individual and stakeholder meetings
- Newsletters and web site
- Existing plans
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