| Wolf's Beach Restoration at Birch Bay, WA |
| aka The Berm, aka officially Birch Bay Drive and Pedestrian Facility Project |
| “The project is a shoreline enhancement project to reduce erosion and storm damage, improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, enhance shore access, and improve storm drainage along Birch Bay Drive between Alderson and Birch Point Roads.” |
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| Looking south from Bay Center |
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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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| Get Educated ** Get Involved |
The last public meeting regarding this project:
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Meeting
Location: CJ's Beach House, 7878 Birch Bay Drive
Topic: Birch Bay Drive Waterfront Restoration Project Updates
Time: 11:30 AM to 1 PM
Contact the Chamber at 360-371-5004
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Why the Wolf's Beach restoration is needed to prevent property damage. This video was taken on the morning of Dec. 17, 2012.
Video link
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The Birch Bay Waterfront Group are self-sellected community citizens serving as the implementation subcommittee of the Birch Bay Steering Committee for the Birch Bay Community Plan as adopted in 2004 to work on accomplishing
Goal PR 2: Recognizing that Birch Bay is one of Washington's Shorelines of Statewide Significance, to develop a long-range course of action that provides for high quality recreation use while protecting the resource itself and respecting the rights and ambiance of private property owners.
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The Last Meeting of the Birch Bay Waterfront Group was:
Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 4PM in the Fireside Room
of the Birch Bay Bible Community Church, 4460 Bay Road
Special Guests were:
Alexandra Stone with the NPS
Kevin Thompson, Design Engineer with Whatcom County Public Works
The public is welcome to attend these meetings.
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Birch Bay Waterfront Group Meeting Notes |
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| Birch Bay Golf Resort |
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| Shore Acres |
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| 1975 - Birch Bay Shore Resource Analysis by Wolf Bauer |
| Wolf's 1981 Beach Restoration on Terrell Spit at Birch Bay |
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| 1981 Wolf's Beach Restoration to protect the town homes built on the narrow spit. |
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| Wolf-head canoe, Vancouver Harbor 1890 |
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| Crest Haven homes at 2012 high King Tide. |
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One benefit of Wolf's Beach Restoration will be the continuation of the Coast Millennium Trail through Birch Bay.
http://wcog.org/programs/olderprograms/cmt/
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| Birch Bay Healthy Community Assessment |
The last meeting of the Birch Bay Healthy Community Assessment Group was:
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013 at 10AM
at the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce Visitor Information Center, 7900 Birch Bay Drive.
See the notes from the last meeting on Feb. 7th in the PDF above.
If you are interested, you are welcome to attend these meetings!
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| A Tour, Before & After Pictures, and several Reports |
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Birch Bay Shoreline Ecology Tour -
Self-guided
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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 |
| Marine Park in Bellingham |
This article is about the award-winning Marine Park beach restoration in Bellingham. This Port of Bellingham project shows 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 Article |
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"
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