Whatcom County MRC Project -
Comprehensive Studies or Reports

The Whatcom County Marine Resources Committee is taking a comprehensive approach towards marine resource revitalization and preservation in Whatcom County. Projects have been undertaken by the Whatcom MRC and Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC) to compile data and comprehensively describe marine resources in this region. These efforts helped characterize the marine attributes in Whatcom County including marine organisms, beach substrate and drift cells, man-made structures and adjacent land uses.

NWSC Regional Nearshore Habitat Evaluation
Marine Resources of Whatcom County
Rapid Shoreline Inventory

NWSC Regional Nearshore Habitat Evaluation

The Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC) conducted a regional inventory of nearshore attributes in 2001. The goal of the project was to evaluate nearshore habitat for salmon and forage fish in order to assign priorities for restoration and conservation. Data from the inventory was transferred to habitat characterization maps, which provide a general overview of nearshore habitat conditions. Information such as sub- and intertidal vegetation, shoreline modifications, tributary stream locations, and shellfish, marine mammal, seabird, and fish distributions are interspersed over four maps.

Northwest Straits Nearshore Habitat Evaluation

Marine Resources of Whatcom County

The Marine Resources of Whatcom County report presents a compilation of historical and current data on the marine resources of Whatcom County. Biological data from the Whatcom County shoreline and marine waters are compiled and summarized in this report. The area covered is from the United States-Canada border near Drayton Harbor and Point Roberts to the southern boundary of the county at Governors Point, including Portage, Lummi, and Eliza Islands.

Elements covered in the report include natural area preserves, bathymetry, vegetation, substrate, shellfish, fish, marine mammals, and seabirds. The report is primarily graphical in nature, consisting of Geographical Information System (GIS) maps and written summaries. The written summaries focus on reasonable conclusions that can be drawn from the data available. The data compilation and analysis results presented in this report have been conducted to support planning and decision making efforts along the Whatcom County coastline.

This report is an excellent resource for folks interested in the various marine resources of Whatcom County.

· A PowerPoint presentation describes how the report was developed, the data that is included, how the data was mapped, and protection and preservation recommendations. To view the Marine Resources of Whatcom County PowerPoint presentation click here.

·A series of maps were generated for this report. The maps indicate the location of a variety of marine attributes and species including:

·The text of the Marine Resources of Whatcom County report is available in PDF format or CD copies are available through the Whatcom County Water Resources Division at 322 N. Commercial, Suite 110, Bellingham, WA 98225.

Rapid Shoreline Inventory

The Whatcom County Marine Resources Committee worked with RE Sources and People for Puget Sound (two non-profit organizations) to recruit, train, and coordinate volunteers for the Rapid Shoreline Inventory of selected areas of shoreline in Whatcom County. RE Sources and People for Puget Sound held three training sessions for volunteers for the Rapid Shoreline Inventory and implemented a quality assurance plan for the shoreline surveys. The data from the shoreline surveys were developed into GIS data layers. Some maps of the GIS data have been created showing eelgrass, shoreline substrate, and presence of himilayan blackberry in upland areas as examples.

Recruiting and Training Volunteers- Volunteers for the shoreline inventory were recruited through press releases to the media and a flyer. RE Sources and People for Puget Sound held three training sessions for volunteers for the Rapid Shoreline Inventory. The training sessions covered basic beach dynamics (33 volunteers), data collection (28 participants), and on-the-beach training (25 participants). Topics covered in the basic beach dynamics session included nearshore ecology, coastal geology, and local algae and invertebrates. During the data collection session, volunteers were trained to use the enclosed detailed data form. On-the-beach training allowed the volunteers to become familiar with the data collection process before the formal data collection event.

Shoreline Survey- Rapid Shoreline Inventories were conducted on approximately 4 miles of shoreline in Drayton Harbor and 1 mile of shoreline at Birch Bay State Park. The shoreline was surveyed in contiguous 150-foot sections. Shoreline data collected by volunteers was summarized by category as listed on the data collection sheet. The summarized data includes eelgrass coverage, algae coverage, adjacent land use, upper intertidal substrate, lower intertidal substrate, invasive species, overhanging vegetation, and trails and access points. Difficulties arose with getting permission to access and inventory shorelines held in private ownership. Therefore, a limited survey of shoreline at Chuckanut Bay, Point Whitehorn, and Birch Point were conducted by boat using a GPS unit. The location of outfalls and bulkheads were recorded with GPS coordinates and overhanging vegetation was noted.

Several simple maps have been created illustrating the data collected through the Rapid Shoreline Inventory. Examples of these maps can be found below.