Blanchard Mountain
WHAT: Blanchard
Mountain (aka: Blanchard Hill) is truly one of the most spectacular
recreational gems in Western Washington. The mountain is nestled
between I-5 and Chuckanut drive in Skagit County and is considered part
of the Chuckanut Mountain range. Its recreational use is wide and
varied. On any given day it is not unusual to come across hikers,
mountain bikers, horse riders and even hang gliders on the
Mountain. The views are unmatched and attract more than 50,000
people a year! On a clear day you can see all the way to Vancouver
Island to the west and Mount Baker and the Twin Sisters to the east.
Blanchard Mountains original forest was logged at the end of the 1800's.
There are pockets of oldgrowth on the mountain and over 2500 acres of the 4800
acre mountain is a naturally regenerated forest. The mountain resembles a young (80-100 year old) native forest. When you
are on Blanchard Mountain you will see red cedar, Douglas fir, hemlock, grand
fir, sitka spruce, pacific yew and all the rest of the trees and plant life you
would expect to see in a native forest. Blanchard Mountain
is currently managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
WHEN: 6/2/10 Logging Update:
Please check out the Bellingham Herald article on the appeals
court decision regarding Blanchard Mtn. The lawsuit by the Chuckanut
Conservancy originally blocked all the hard work and compromise by the Blanchard
Forest Strategies Group which was adopted in August 2007.....blending continued
revenue production for Skagit County services with diverse wildlife habitats and
different recreational experiences for visitors. The compromise was to protect
1600 acres of the "core area" and allow responsible logging on the surrounding
portions of the mountain. We participated and supported this compromise but the
Chuckanut Conservancy wanted all of the mountain protected without consideration
to the working forest and Skagit County's trust land rights (among other
issues). It was their way or the highway....giving environmentalists a blackeye
in my opinion.
This ruling should clear the way for protection of the
core area as planned with the remaining portions of the mountain kept as trust
land, with periodic and responsible logging practices (some small clear cuts and
thinning practices). I was appointed to the Blanchard
Forest Advisory Committee to advise DNR concerning site specific
activities related to the implementation of the Blanchard Forest
Management Strategies Group. I'll keep you posted on its
progress...
STATUS: On 2/24/10 Commissioner
of Public Lands Peter Goldmark
issued a press release regarding the establishment a Natural Resource Conservation Area
(NRCA) on Blanchard. The NRCA would be consistent with the original strategies
– same 1600 acre core area but would protect the area permanently. As you
recall, the original strategies had DNR managing the core in a NRCA-like manner
(for conservation and recreation purposes). DNR estimated the value of the
trees in the core to be $12 million. So far legislature has appropriated $5 ½
million to compensate the trust for the trees. Expecting to use the entire
appropriation by this year, DNR has purchased, and is in process of purchasing,
forest land at risk of conversion to homes located around
See entire Press Release.
LSA CONTACT: Concerned Neighbors of Lake Samish Group - Mark Herrenkohl, (360) 647-6980 or mherrenkohl@hotmail.com
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