Farmers urge all parties to come to the table and begin collaborative work to safeguard both endangered salmon and local farming, as drought underscores risks of inaction As drought conditions worsen and stream flows plummet in the wake of an historic heatwave, Whatcom County farmers are calling for all parties ...
For a number of months Whatcom Family Farmers have been sounding the alarm that adjudication will lead to the loss of farms and development of farmland, hurting salmon and many other species which depend on the habitat that farmland provides. Many people mistakenly believe that farmland in Whatcom ...
In response to the state Department of Ecology's ongoing request to the state legislature for funding to begin the process of an adjudication in the Nooksack Basin, Whatcom Family Farmers has sent a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the budget committees in both state legislative chambers. An ...
Although some have suggested that adjudication is the best way to protect salmon runs, the reality is that it will put farms out of business, and put salmon in harm’s way. USDA data shows that Puget Sound has already lost 60% of its farmland since 1950 – ...
Farmers in Whatcom County, like farmers in India, face devastating government actions proposed without their input Paul Sangha, a leader in a growing community of Indian-Sikh farmers in northwest Washington reached out to thank Seattle city leaders for their resolution supporting farmers in India and others around the globe. ...
Paul Sangha and his family have been farming in Whatcom County for about 30 years. “I'm a first-generation Punjabi Sikh berry farmer in Whatcom County,” Sangha said. He is a blueberry farmer. “My biggest fear with what we are headed into right now is not just for my ...
The harmful 'adjudication' process state leaders are calling for in Whatcom County has been used before--in Yakima, where it caused far more harm than good. John Stuhlmiller, Washington Farm Bureau CEO, joins Dillon Honcoop to explain the history, and how the story of what happened in the Yakima basin ...
Rich Appel farms just north of the Nooksack River in Ferndale. “Our family has been on that farm for about 55 years and my whole life,” Appel said. “I've been living on the river and been been around the river and over the last number of years we've ...
This is an op-ed column that was originally published in the Lynden Tribune Oct. 16, 2020. It was written by Greg Ebe, local engineer, third-generation seed potato grower and a board member of the Drayton and Bertrand watershed improvement districts. Salmon are an extremely important part of the history, legacy and ...
Christine Woodward is the chair for the Portage Bay Shellfish Protection District. “I think one of the first and foremost things about the partnership between farms and salmon is respect,” she said. Farmers play a very important role in Whatcom County, she added. They provide our food source, ...
