Supporters: ‘Can we save most of that absolute treasure’ as city plans for growth?
Even as supporters celebrate a new 66-acre addition to the Samish Crest open space on the southeast edge of Bellingham, some are urging more protection for the area’s forested acres and wildlife as the city plans for the next 20 years of growth.
The City of Bellingham spent $4 million of voter-approved Greenways levy money to buy the undeveloped parcels — already home to a patchwork of unofficial social trails on public and private land used by hikers, runners and mountain bikers — as part of its goal, dating back to 1990, of connecting Whatcom Falls and Lake Padden parks via a north-south trail.
The acquisition also helps meet the city’s goal of preserving tree canopy as well as protecting wildlife habitat, connected open space and Lake Padden water quality, officials said.
The sale closed March 7, and additional trail planning is expected to begin in 2026.
“We got a jewel, an absolute jewel, sitting here,” said Dina Dickerson, a member of the Samish Neighborhood Association Greenways, or SNAG.
SNAG is part of a group that released a neighborhood vision for trails and open space for what it’s calling the Samish Crest Greenway. Dickerson and other volunteers walked and biked the area to, in part, map its many social trails, and then shared their information with the city.
Their goal includes creating a “continuous open space corridor and trail network from Lake Padden to Whatcom Creek” — all on public property so users don’t have to worry they’re trespassing.
“So if you don’t ever want to get in a car, you don’t have to,” Dickerson said.
Acres of forest and a sweeping view
Samish Crest includes about 230 acres of a forested area at the top of Samish Hill.
In addition to the recent acquisition of 66 acres, the city previously bought sections now known as the north and south portions of the Samish Crest open space, adjacent to the Puget and Samish neighborhoods. The open space includes the city-created Samish Crest Trail.
The neighborhood vision, told through a digital StoryMap, describes Samish Crest as an “urban forest treasure” with iconic native plants that include Douglas fir, western red cedar and salmonberry, adding that a city analysis of Samish Crest in 2021 noted it was an important wildlife habitat area or important wildlife corridor.
Samish Crest is known, too, for an expansive view of Bellingham and Bellingham Bay, found on private land at the top that has been logged and long slated for development.
Growth and green spaces
Protecting an urban forest that is a critical wildlife corridor is a central issue for David Stalheim, the former planning director for Whatcom County and current board member for advocacy group, the Whatcom Environmental Council. Stalheim also helped put together the SNAG report and is a member of the Greenways Advisory Committee, as is Dickerson.
Stalheim is keeping an eye out for possible environmental impacts to the area as the city updates its comprehensive plan, which it does every 10 years. Mandated by the state Growth Management Act, the plan lays out how Bellingham will accommodate growth for population, employment and housing for the next 20 years.
Part of the assessment includes whether to expand one of its urban growth areas, or UGA, adjacent to the city’s limits to include the UGA reserve on the east side of Samish Crest to Yew Street and Samish Way.
A UGA is where cities and towns expect to expand. Outside of a UGA, growth can occur if it’s not as intensive in nature with the goal of preserving rural land.
The newly acquired 66 acres is in the city’s UGA reserve near south Yew Street.
Stalheim said his concerns include possible impact on the area’s forest and habitat as well as Lake Padden’s water quality if the city takes land out of the reserve.
“Is urban development surrounding an urban forest that is a critical wildlife corridor a good idea? That is in essence what would happen if they allow urban development along Yew Street,” said Stalheim, who said he was speaking for himself and not on behalf of a particular organization or group.
‘Not our preferred choice’
The city’s comprehensive plan update is done in conjunction with Whatcom County government, which is expected to release a draft environmental impact statement, or EIS, at the end of April as the next step.
The plan is expected to go before the city council for its consideration and adoption in September.
Chris Behee, the long-range division manager for Bellingham, acknowledged the city is looking at the reserve, where current zoning allows for one home per 10 acres “to keep undeveloped parcels intact until such a time as it makes sense to be added back into the UGA and zoned for urban development.”
“We are studying this option because it’s important that we thoroughly consider all options, but expanding our UGA to include the south Yew Street reserve is not our preferred choice,” Behee said.
Including the area in the EIS allows the city to evaluate the potential impacts on wildlife and the environment, Behee said.
Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund said including the Yew Street reserve for study was “prudent.”
“This is about ‘showing our work’ — evaluating not only the financial costs of growth at the margins of our city, but also the environmental and climate costs,” Lund said. “That’s why my housing executive order in November 2024 directed the city to undertake a cost analysis of denser growth compared to sprawling growth at the edges.”
Including the reserve as a scenario “means we benefit from having data and a clear analysis of the environmental and climate gains in holding back development in this area,” Lund said.
Discussions about expanding the UGA or providing additional protections for Samish Crest are about balancing between preserving green spaces and allowing for development as Bellingham grapples with an ongoing housing shortage.
“That is exactly what is happening,” Behee said. “The Yew Street area, including parts in the city, UGA and UGA reserve, all intersect in a series of overlapping conversations around development capacity — housing in particular — infrastructure needs and costs, and preservation/management of open space and natural areas.”
For Dickerson, it’s about saving “as much of the green space as possible.”
“Development’s going to happen,” Dickerson said. “Where’s it going to happen? How is it going to be controlled? Can we save most of that absolute treasure that we have up there.”
— By Kie Relyea
Also read in Salish Current:
• “Neighbors offer vision for Samish Crest,” March 20, 2025
• “Bellingham strives to protect trees on public, private, land,” July 24, 2024
• “Saving the Samish Crest,” Aug. 11, 2023
• “City seeks balance: housing needs and forest benefits,” May 5, 2023