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 – ...
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, ...
This op-ed written by Rich Appel originally appeared in the Bellingham Herald on Nov. 13, 2020. Salmon are part of what makes Whatcom County such a beautiful place to live. Farms play a large role in protecting salmon, however, both farms and salmon are in peril. The Lummi Nation and ...
“The availability of water is vital to the future of agriculture in Whatcom County,” Lynne Rainey Wheeler said. She is a dairy farmer in Whatcom County. Her family’s farm, Coldstream Farms, is in the South Fork Valley. They have been farming there since 1978. In that time they ...
Farmers have been accused of not doing their part when it comes to preserving the environment on and around their farm. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Farmers in Whatcom County have taken many measures in recent years to not only improve their sustainability but also work toward the ...
Recently the Department of Ecology made a quiet but very momentous decision. It is requesting funds from the legislature to begin the process of adjudication in the Nooksack Basin. This action has caused huge concerns in the farming community and many other water users, while other groups welcome the process. ...
This month marks the 3rd anniversary of the Drayton Harbor Shellfish beds reopening for commercial harvesting. Drayton Harbor suffered from pollution and it took years of effort to clean it up and get the OK for commercial harvesting. Initially 810 acres of shellfish beds reopened, but this year an additional ...
