Whatcom County Parks & Recreation DRAFT 02/07/14 Comprehensive Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan 2014 Page 1 of 78 Hovander Homestead Park TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................1 2. COMMUNITY PROFILE ................................................................2 3. INVENTORY ...............................................................................7 Regional Park Inventory Park Operations Wildlife & Critical Habitat Conservation 4. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.........................................................25 5. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT.............................................................40 6. DEMAND AND NEED ANALYSIS.................................................46 7. ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION............................................58 APPENDIX Proposed Trail Corridors Map Other Parks & Recreation Facilities Map Park Regions Map Park Maps DNR List of Rare Plants in Whatcom County Lake Whatcom Fish and Wildlife Washington State Species of Concern List 2013 Comprehensive Plan Survey Beckwith Consulting Group Controlled Survey Results Beckwith Consulting Group Web Survey Survey Whatcom County Parks & Recreation Offi ce and Park Survey Whatcom County Parks & Recreation Offi ce and Park Survey Comments Kulshan Environmental Services Comments Whatcom County Parks & Recreation WHATCOM COUNTY EXECUTIVE Jack Louws, Executive WHATCOM COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT Administration Michael McFarlane, Director Rodney Lamb, Design & Development Supervisor Darla Smith, Administrative Assistant Bette Bode, Accountant Pat Fisher, Clerk III Daisy Hansen, Clerk III Lily Point Marine Park Park Maintenance Tony Idczak, Maintenance / Construction Supervisor III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mike Barnes, Outside Maintenance WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL Coordinator Barbara Brenner Michael Chiavario, Repair Maintenance III Rud Browne Tom Chisholm, Repair Maintenance III Barry Buchanan Randy Corris, Outside Maitenance Sam Crawford Coordinator Pete Kremen Lawson Curtis, Repair Maintenance III Ken Mann Rick Jacoby, Repair Maintenance III Carl Weimer Stephen Kollmar, Repair Maintenance III George Chue, Maintenance Worker II WHATCOM PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION Parks Janet Boyhan Rob Boleak, Park Ranger Kenneth Kiesner Dennis Conner, Lead Park Ranger Jeffrey Margolis Steve LeCocq, Park Ranger Gordon Rogers Erika Miranda, Lead Park Ranger Richard C. Sturgill Ben VanBuskirk, Lead Park Ranger Theresa Sygitowicz Jerry Warren, Lead Park Ranger Paul Woodcock Beckwith Consulting Group Kulshan Environmental Services REFERENCES Planning documents used to inform the 2014 PROS Update Whatcom County Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan 2010 1/11 Preserving a Way of Life- A Natural Heritage Plan for Whatcom County 6/19/91 Whatcom County Comprehensive Park and Recreation Open Space Plan 8/13/91 Whatcom County Comprehensive Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan 4/08 Outdoor Recreation in Washington (2013 SCORP draft) 3/13 Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan (updated) 2/13 Whatcom County Trail Plan (revised) 1/75 Chuckanut Mountain Trails Master Plan 6/96 Whatcom County Parks & Recreation This plan works together with and is informed by other planning documents including the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan, Whatcom County 6-year and 20-year Capital Improvement Plans, the 2008 Comprehensive Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan, trails and park master plans and the County’s Natural Heritage Plan. PLANNING PROCESS The planning process used in this document encompassed: a) review of historical plans and data b) public participation and outreach, c) an assessment of existing facilities and lands and, d) a review of current goals, objectives and policies Hovander Homestead Park Additional input to inform the plan was received from the Whatcom County Parks & Recreation 1. INTRODUCTION Commission, a seven member advisory committee, Whatcom County Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee, Whatcom County Parks & Recreation Department Parks & Recreation Staff, park districts and Mission Statement: Enrich the quality of life for the agencies, community partners and stakeholders, community and preserve the natural and cultural and the general public from participation in heritage of the County through the provision of park planning initiatives and daily contacts with outstanding parks, trails, open space, natural areas, departmental staff. recreational activities and senior services. This plan relies upon the 2008 Comprehensive Whatcom County residents take great pride in their Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan and should parks and recreation facilities. The Community has be considered an update of that plan. Parks & supported a strong parks and recreation system Recreation staff managed the planning process providing fi nancial support and countless hours of and compiled the planning document. Kulshan volunteer help. Environmental Services was contracted to facilitate the community charrettes and the Beckwith The Whatcom County Parks system provides Consulting Group provided the community and residents with recreational opportunities and online surveys and analysis. places to maintain healthy active life styles. They play an important role in the social life of the RCO REQUIRED PLANNING community providing places for the community ELEMENTS to come together for events, family gatherings, and memories. Parks also provide signifi cant Goals and objectives page 25 economic benefi ts through tourism and retail sales, Inventory page 7 particularly in the rural segments of the County. Public Involvement page 40 Parks help preserve the heritage, culture and Demand and need analysis page 46 history of the county through the preservation of Capital Improvement program page 54 historical sites and provide numerous environmental Plan adoption page 58 benefi ts protecting critical habitats and natural processes. PURPOSE OF THE PLAN This plan is prepared as requirement by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Offi ce to retain eligibility for certain funding programs. This document also guides the County and Parks & Recreation Department in addressing the future needs of the community and progress towards achieving the mission of the Department. Comprehensive Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan 2014 Page 1 of 74 Introduction Whatcom County Parks & Recreation DRAFT 02/07/14 2. COMMUNITY PROFILE There are more than 5,000 Native American sites on record in the state, only a few of which have Whatcom County is known for its high quality of life been professionally evaluated. Generally, sites are and close proximity to an abundance of recreational located at river conjunctions within valleys and opportunities. Mountain biking, hiking, camping, along the shoreline. Known sites have been grouped golfi ng, boating, kayaking, fi shing and hunting are into three rather broad time periods: all just minutes away for most residents. Within the county are lakes, islands, rivers, mountains, • early sites - approximately 12,000-8,000 years beaches and forests. old, • middle-period - sites between 8,000-3,000 TOPOGRAPHY years old, and Whatcom County is the northernmost county • late-period - sites about 3,000 years old. in the state of Washington. Whatcom County contains 2,107 square miles that border on British Native American tribes Columbia, Canada to the north, Okanogan County Many Native American tribes inhabit the Pacifi c to the east, Skagit County to the south, and the Northwest region with diverse life-styles, languages Strait of Georgia to the west. Much of the county is and traditions. The people who lived in the Puget mountainous and part of the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie Lowlands depended largely on seafood—salmon National Forest and North Cascades National Park. and shellfi sh, supplemented by berries, roots, and Fifty miles east of Bellingham lies the highest peak game. The tribes built substantial cedar plank in the North Cascade mountain range, Mount Baker houses, often big enough to house a number of (10,778 feet), an ice-clad volcano. Providing the families clustered in villages. Cedar trees also state’s longest ski season and world’s greatest provided transport, in the form of dugout canoes. recorded snowfall in one season 1,140 inches. The local Native American population is estimated There are two inhabited islands, Lummi and Eliza in to have declined by nearly 90% as a result of Whatcom County. smallpox and other epidemics after European settlement. A deep-water port, Bellingham’s Squalicum Harbor is the second largest harbor in Puget Sound. In Whatcom County, the traditional territories of the Bellingham is located 90 miles north of Seattle Semiahmoo, Lummi, Nooksack and Samish people and 23 miles south of the Canadian border. A center on the marine resources of the Strait of trip to Point Roberts, the county’s most northerly Georgia and Northern Puget Sound. These groups community, requires a crossing through Canada. developed reef-net fi shing for salmon, and profi cient Interstate- 5 provides a major transportation link food-preservation techniques. They share language to Vancouver BC, 60 miles north of Bellingham and and cultural characteristics with the Saanich First Seattle, 89 miles to the south. Nation on Vancouver Island. The Nooksack Indian Tribe traditional homeland is located along the main HISTORY stem and three forks of the Nooksack River. Salmon from spring and fall fi sh runs has been an important Archaeological sites part of life for the Nooksack for thousands of years, The arrival of people