Cover Story

  September 2021

County Council Protects Cherry Point

Whatcom Watch

by Eddy Ury New Restrictions on Fossil Fuel Industries Passed Unanimously Part 3 Editor’s Note: For more background and context, read Part 1 in the February 2019 issue and Part 2 in the January 2020 issue.* Cherry Point has long … Continue reading →

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  August 2021

Harris Avenue Shipyard Cleanup Project

Whatcom Watch

by Luisa Loi The Port of Bellingham and the Washington state Department of Ecology are working together to clean up the Harris Avenue Shipyard, located at the foot of Harris Avenue in Fairhaven. The shipyard is one of 12 cleanup … Continue reading →

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  August 2021

Local Refineries Affect Southern Resident Orcas

Whatcom Watch

by Faith Owens The impacts of Whatcom County refineries stretch beyond local waters … Western Whatcom County is nuzzled by the Salish Sea at the broad intersection of the Strait of Georgia and Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is … Continue reading →

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  July 2021

Plasmodial Slime Molds Are Not Molds

Whatcom Watch

by Fred Rhoades What’s in a name? That which we call a [slime mold] By any other name would [look] as sweet. Of all the cryptogams (plant-like life forms that produce spores), perhaps the slime molds are the least well … Continue reading →

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  July 2021

Mysterious Disease Wreaks Havoc on Sea Stars

Whatcom Watch

by Luisa Loi The causes that lead to the disease are still unknown and recovery is inconsistent. A mysterious illness that appeared eight years ago and nearly wiped out sea star populations along the Pacific Coast is continuing to leave … Continue reading →

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  June 2021

Whatcom’s Recyclers Face Uncertainty

Whatcom Watch

by Giovanni Roverso Old Town Prepares for Redevelopment Whatcom County’s curbside recycling system went through a bit of a shakeup recently. Sanitary Service Company Inc. (SSC) trucks still collect recycling from customers in Bellingham, Ferndale, Blaine, and much of unincorporated … Continue reading →

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  June 2021

Barrier Removal Brings Coho Back to Goodwin Creek

Whatcom Watch

by Darrell Gray, Amy Johnson and Lorraine Wilde Coho salmon rely on streams and side channels for spawning and juvenile rearing before their migration to salt water to feed, grow and mature. They typically spawn between the ages of three … Continue reading →

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  May 2021

Invasive Mussels Threaten Drinking Water

Whatcom Watch

by Karlee Deatherage   The small mussel, about the size of a grain of rice, appeared on an aquarium moss ball sold at a Seattle Petco earlier this year. It sounded the alarm across the United States, prompting agencies to … Continue reading →

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  May 2021

Lake Whatcom’s Decline Is Unabated

Whatcom Watch

Editor’s Note: The Lake Whatcom Monitoring Project was initiated in the 1980s to measure and track long-term lake data for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity, and nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus. The work is performed by WWU’s Institute for … Continue reading →

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  April 2021

Proposed Whatcom County Jail

Whatcom Watch

by Maddie Smith 1983 The current Whatcom County jail in downtown Bellingham opened. 1996 Oct. 1  The county executive formed a blue ribbon panel to address criminal justice issues. On 3/20/1997, the panel recommended a 750-bed minimum security facility be … Continue reading →

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