Twenty Years Ago

To celebrate 20 years of publishing Whatcom Watch, we will be publishing excerpts from 20 years ago. David Laws has been generous enough to volunteer to review the Whatcom Watch from 20 years ago to find suitable material to reprint. The below excerpts are from the February 1994 issue of Whatcom Watch.

Whatcom County Land Trust:

A Unique Approach to Conservation

by Robin Du Pré

As anyone who has driven down Guide Meridian can attest, Whatcom County is changing. We are rapidly losing prime agricultural and forest lands to development. Shopping centers, malls, motels and parking lots now cover what was once some of the richest farmland in the country.

Ironically, the rich natural heritage that has drawn so many people to this area is being destroyed to accommodate this influx of new residents. It seems that every time one turns around, another favorite natural place has been destroyed by the forces of development.

We grumble about land owners “selling out” to developers, but many are forced to sell because of skyrocketing taxes. It seems like a vicious circle: land is developed, sending property taxes soaring which causes more people to have to sell, and more land is developed …. This leads to increasing pressure to place restrictions on undeveloped lands. In recent years, this pressure has led to a backlash among property owners who see environmentalists and the government trying to take away their rights of property ownership.

How can we break the cycle? How can we preserve the land that we love and not become enemies with landowners? The Whatcom County Land Trust is working to help county residents preserve their land. The Land Trust is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with landowners to ensure the future conservation of their land.

[…]

For the land owner, the Trust provides a simple and enduring means to protect the land he or she knows intimately. For the community, the Trust provides an effective, cooperative and inexpensive means to protect the natural heritage of Whatcom County.

If you would like to know more about the Whatcom County Land Trust, please contact us at P.O. Box [6131], Bellingham, WA 98227, or by phone at 650-9470.

Port Finances: Not What They Seem?

by John Servais

[...]

So, how is the Port’s financial picture? Very grim. Total liabilities — long and short term debt — are down by only 1 percent from a year ago. No progress there. Cash is down 33 percent from a year ago, to $6.2 million. The Port finished the 1993 year with their accounts payable above $2 million, which is $1.25 million higher than the end of ‘92. As you business folks know, this is a good way to make cash on hand look better than it actually is.

What is the Port doing about all this? Well, it is quietly selling “Revenue Bonds” to replenish its cash reserves. Where is the State Auditor?

The Port is also raiding other county agencies [sic] bank accounts. In January the County Council of Governments gave the Port half a million dollars to help pay for the $5 million train station in Fairhaven. The Port came begging for this money, saying if the COG did not contribute, then the Amtrak station plans might have to be dumped.

… we’ll do our best to keep you informed. After all, as a citizen of Whatcom County, you are a stockholder in the Port of Bellingham.