| A Healthy Birch Bay Begins With You |
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"...those values which people of the future will prize most highly, namely those found in the natural scene, are yet retrievable here by giving nature a second chance."
-Wolf Bauer 1975
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The Before picture is of mid-Bay showing all the groins.
The After picture is of the 1980's-restored section of shoreline just north of the mouth of Terrell Creek.
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Before & After Pictures |
| The Communities' Shoreline Restoration Objectives |
| Marine Park Shoreline Restoration |
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This article is about Marine Park in Bellingham which is the most immediately available example of what the Birch Bay shoreline could be like with a similar restoration for the same reasons as prescribed by Wolf Bauer in 1975.
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Marine Park Restoration |
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Thank you to Doralee Booth for bringing the following to our attention:
In 1975 Wolf Bauer, a nationally recognized expert on shoreline restoration, was hired by the Whatcom County Planning Commission and aided through a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology with funds obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. His Birch Bay Shoreline Analysis Report was published by Whatcom County in September, 1975. The following quote is from that document...
"Probably the most productive starting point for community (government) action is a realistic resource inventory that assigns proper economic significance to its prime attraction and amenities., In the case of shore-based communities such as Birch Bay, often that primary resource begins and ends with the shore and waterway environments. Many communities in the Puget Sound and Georgia Strait Basins have come to realize that, unless they make a concerted and informed planning effort, they will have defaulted control over their destiny. At this point in time, the Birch Bay Community occupies, so to speak, a front-row seat to a melodrama that has been playing the shoreline circuit to surprise audiences all over the land. The drama is titled 'It Can't Happen Here,' and while the players and stage setting always differ, the plot and ending are predictable and tragic--the local resident waking up, one morning, with the realization that what he came for no longer exists, and that it's too late to reverse the trend, or find greener pastures elsewhere. Whether this realization is a result of overcrowding, loss of former amenities, or a weakening confidence in long-term economic benefits -- it is a direct outcome of lack of community (government) understanding of how to identify, preserve, enhance, and to cash in on the special quality or uniqueness of its local landscape heritage. Thus a community (government) must continuously remind itself that if it is not part of the solution, it is part of the problem."
The Birch Bay shoreline restoration plan is one of the many approved plans that has remained on the County shelf for more than 30 years. How much longer do concerned communities wait for their public officials to take action? Wolf Bauer continues...."Only about 5% of our total inland marine shores are Class I dry berm type associated with accretion shoreforms and their multi-purpose backshore environments. There would be few misgivings in classifying them as an endangered species and assigning them highest heritage resource status."
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| Taking the next step - from a letter to our County Executive |
March 27, 2009
Dear Executive Pete Kremen,
The Birch Bay Shoreline Restoration and Pedestrian Promenade Project is a real-life terraquarium in Whatcom County for which $4-600,000 would be just about right to fund the next step in the process already started by Whatcom County. The next step would be to complete Phase 2, the preliminary design, construction phases and permitting research. Phase 2A was completed in Dec. 2007 with the result that the conceptual cost estimate was $6,600,000. All things considered, that's a heck of a bang for the buck when you consider what this project would accomplish.
The objectives of this project for the seaside resort community of Birch Bay are:
- Widen the beach to protect Birch Bay Drive and for recreation;
- Bicycle / pedestrian / promenade for safety;
- Public coastal access;
- Flood and storm surge abatement / protection including old stormwater facilities retrofit;
- Aesthetics including economic development;
- Ecosystem and natural processes restoration including water quality improvement; and
- Sustainability.
You may recall that this project was the community priority goal second only to management of stormwater for implementation of the Birch Bay Community Plan adopted by Whatcom County on September 28, 2004.
- Goal SL 1: To protect and enhance Birch Bay's shoreline for the benefit of current and future generations.
"...those values which people of the future will prize most highly, namely those found in the natural scene, are yet retrievable by giving nature a second chance." Wolf Bauer 1975
For technical information you should contact Roland Middleton, Whatcom County Public Works Special Projects Manager, at 360-676-6876.
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The "Cottonwood Ladies" (Carol, Doralee & Claudia) wanted to know what that "smelly pinkish algae-like stuff" is in the water & on the beach here at Birch Bay that they hadn't seen before. So they called someone who talked to someone else who called a research center, sent pictures & samples and here are the results for all of us to see. July 2009
"Hi everyone,
Dr. Strom believes the mat to be a purple sulfur bacteria. I've attached her email below so you can see her notes. From a quick internet search it doesn't appear that this bacteria is harmful to human health, although I certainly did not do an exhaustive search. The anoxic (low oxygen) environment could also be the cause of the dead varnish clams you referred to, Carol.
Take care,
Melissa
Melissa and Sylvia,
Our best guess - and I am feeling pretty confident about this - is purple sulfur bacteria. They form in illuminated anoxic environments and tend to form layers or mats. The habitat would have to be 'sulfidic' and so should have been pretty smelly. There are some pictures that come up with an image search on the web that show beach coatings looking a lot like those in your photos. It is definitely bacterial (1-2 um diameter cells with no nucleus) and in the most recent sample we saw enough red autofluorescent cells to convince us that the critter is photosynthetic. So it all seems to fit.
Regards,
Suzanne (Dr. Strom at Shannon Point Marine Center)
Melissa Roberts
Whatcom County Public Works
Planner I - Natural Resources
322 N. Commercial St., Ste. 110
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360) 676-6876 ext. 50259"
This from Doralee:
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