The Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve is a unique aquatic ecosystem located in the Strait of Georgia on the western shore of Whatcom County,
The offshore waters from Birch Bay State Park on the north to Slater Road on the south, the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve, are a U.S. National Marine Protected area. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has primary responsibility for managing the reserve.
In 2000, the Department of Natural Resources recognized the need to protect the significant environmental resource of aquatic lands at Cherry Point. Because of the area’s ecological importance, the Department of Natural Resources withdrew Cherry Point tidelands and ocean floor from competing uses, finalizing their decision in 2003. It designated those state-owned lands not already under a lease agreement, as the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve.
In order to ensure long-term environmental protection, the Department of Natural Resources and its partners established a 90-year-management plan for the area, outlining specific goals that will protect the health of the unique aquatic environment within Cherry Point.
