TODAY (JULY 13th), Tell County Council Not to Expand Urban Areas onto our Rural & Farm Lands

On Tuesday, July 13th, the Whatcom County Council will ask the public whether we think we should expand four cities' borders onto neighboring rural land around Ferndale, Birch Bay, Sumas and Nooksack.

Working farmland south of Ferndale, WA - photo by Buff Black, 2009

This proposal would UNDO the work carried out last year to reduce urban footprints, prevent sprawl, and bring Whatcom County into compliance with state law!

Tomorrow, July 13th is the public's first and ONLY opportunity to have a say in the decision.

If you care about the livability of our great place, NOW is the time to tell County Council not to expand UGAs.

4 Things YOU Can Do to Stop Sprawl & Save Rural Land: 

1.   Help preserve livability in Whatcom County by emailing Councty Council NOT to expand UGAs. Talking points HERE.

2.   Call a County Council member and share personally with them your own views. Council numbers HERE. 

3.   Come tomorrow, July 13th @ 7pm to speak up for a livable future in Whatcom County. Arrive early to sign up for comments!

4.   Join Futurewise Whatcom today, to help us keep working locally to prevent sprawl and promote smart growth in Whatcom County!

PUBLIC HEARING ON UGAs:

WHEN: Tuesday, July 13th @ 7pm (arrive early!)

WHERE: Whatcom Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue

WHY: This will be our opportunity to speak up in defense of a livable future for Whatcom County that retains compact, efficient urban areas, and:

1.   Focus limited county resources on what needs to be fixed NOW

2.   Proposed expansions of UGA boundaries lack robust public process

3.   As UGA boundaries grow, so do costs to taxpayers

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE TALKING POINTS HERE. 

We need to tell the County Council that we cannot afford to waste taxpayer money, degrade rural lands—and that we mean it, the public doesn't support sprawl!

Click here to email the County Council today!

Citizens' Environmental Impact Statement is available NOW!

To Whom It May Concern:

We are pleased to present a compilation of responses to the Fairhaven Highlands Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the period January 2006 through November 2009.  Find a copy on our RDNow.org website HERE.

The information within this Citizens' Environmental Impact Statement (CEIS) will be instructive to concerned citizens, neighborhood activists, professional planners, and decision makers.

Efforts to preserve the area known as Chuckanut Ridge began over 20 years ago. Those efforts continue today.

It is our hope that the documents and letters herein will serve as useful references while we continue our efforts to preserve Chuckanut Ridge and other significant environmental assets for present and future generations.

Respectfully submitted,

Frank James, M.D.
Founder, Responsible Development

Joe Yaver
President, Responsible Development

Responsible Development Boarard Members:
John Brown, Michael Chiavario, Lynnea Flarry, Frank James, John Lesow, Joanne Peterson, MaryAnne Rangel, Brad Rose, Joe Yaver

Chuckanut Conservancy is offering a series of expert-led hikes....

The Chuckanut Conservancy is offering a series of expert-led hikes and walks in the Chuckanuts this spring. For details and sign-up visit www.chuckanutconservancy.org.  On the website, you can also find the Spring 2010 issue of "Chuckanut"--the first installment of the group's new newsletter.  Here's a sampling of upcoming hikes and walks:

• Sat., May 1, Ruins, Relics and Lost Trails of Blanchard Mountain hike with Bud Hardwick
• Sun, May 2 - Walking Tour of Historic Blanchard, Washington, with Tom Wake
• Sat, May 8 - Raptor Ridge Trail Work Party
• Wed, May 12 - Rediscovering the Chuckanut Mountains (talk at REI)
• Sat, May 15 - Raptor Ridge Trail Work Party
• Wed., May 19 - Know Your Islands hike with Jim Orr
• Sat, May 22 - Birds of the Chuckanut Mountains hike with Paul Woodcock
• Sat., June 5 - Raptor Ridge Trail Work Party

"The Chuckanut Mountains are purdy darn special."   ---annonymous

Suzuki event recap

We were very pleased with an excellent turnout at Thursday’s event at the Whatcom County Council Chambers.  Dr. Moola’s talk was informative, instructive and inspiring.  Many thanks to Michael Chivario for making this event happen...

Dr. Moola (Suzuki Foundation), Bottled Water, and the Facts

As a matter of record, we would like to present the facts on an item concerning bottled water that was raised in the blog Life in Bellingham on March 5, 2010.

In this blog, Jeff Westcott deems Dr. Moola a hypocrite: 

"I would like to say that I found it uplifting, but the hypocrisy of someone like Dr. Moola - a person with good intentions and purpose - amaze me. Here he is talking about the degradation of our natural resources and drinking water, in the same breath (literally) taking a drink from one of the myriad Dasani water bottles scattered about his podium. I almost walked out I was so apalled (sic)." 

For the record, it is entirely the fault of the hosts of the event who inadvertently forgot to provide Dr. Moola with a cup for tap water, his usual means of acquiring fluids required for public talks.  In the minutes prior to the talk, with no available cups on the premises and with a corner store open nearby, an attendee with good intentions ran out to purchase the water so that Dr. Moola could speak.  In a more perfect world, a cup would have been provided, and the attendee would have purchased or found a cup instead of the bottles, but time had run out and Dr. Moola reluctantly but gratefully accepted the water.

It is widely agreed that bottled water is not environmentally friendly, and Dr. Moola do not support its purchase.  Under the circumstances, we hope that people will not hold Dr. Moola responsible, and will forgive the use of bottled water.  In the words of event organizer,

"We need to have compassion for each other as we make the journey from a destructive industrial culture to an earth friendly culture."

SUZUKI FOUNDATION PRESENTATION ON URBAN FORESTS

Responsible Development and nine other local sponsors* invite you to a talk by Dr. Faisal Moola, the Director of Science at the Suzuki Foundation.  This FREE EVENT will take place on Thursday March 4th, at 7:30 P.M. in the County Council Chambers across from the downtown library.

Dr. Moola's subject will be "The Value of Urban Forests."  He is in the forefront of current research on "natural capital," the hidden economic value of natural areas.

  For an op-ed by David Suzuki and Faisal Moola on the economic benefits of protecting nature, go to the Times Colonist Op-Ed Page.

   *A-1 Builders, Adaptations, Chuckanut Conservancy, Community Food Co-op, Eclipse Books, Fairhaven Runners, North Cascades Audubon, ReSources, Rick Dubrow, Transition Whatcom

MORE ABOUT DR. MOOLA

   Dr. Faisal Moola is the Director of Terrestrial Conservation and Science at the Suzuki Foundation and an adjunct professor of Forest Conservation at the University of Toronto.  He has published widely in scientific journals on ecology, conservation biology, and environmental policy.  At the foundation he leads a team of scientists, policy analysts, and public outreach experts on a number of campaigns to educate the public and reform environmental policy in Canada.  These include legal protection of endangered wildlife, valuation of ecosystem services, protection of urban agri-belts, and mitigating and adapting to climate change through nature conservation. He also leads a land-use planning project in southeastern Tibet, with the goal of protecting ecosystem goods and services that are critical for community health and well being.

   Dr. Moola has sat on government science committees and advised aboriginal and government leaders.  He has been instrumental in developing key symposia and workshops on conservation strategies, including a critically-timed conference at the University of Toronto on protecting forests as a strategy of fighting climate change.  Through his efforts he has had the honor to contribute to some of the most significant conservation achievements in recent Canadian history, including the protection of over 2 million hectares of temperate rain forest in British Columbia, the development of new sustainability standards for the forestry industry to meet the exploding market for green paper and wood products (Forest Stewardship Council), and the decision by the Ontario government to protect at least half of the province's remaining boreal wilderness.  He has a growing interest in renewable energy.