Port of Bellingham Seeks Feedback on Public Open Spaces

The Port of Bellingham is updating its Recreation, Conservation and Public Access Plan. This plan must be updated every six years for the Port to remain eligible for Boating Facility Grants and other grants offered through the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO). Public involvement and support are important considerations used by RCO to evaluate grant projects.

Public engagement is an important part of the Port’s Recreation, Conservation and Public Access Plan update. The Port is conducting a brief survey about how Whatcom County residents use Port public open spaces and their perceptions about needed improvements or amenities. In order to make the survey accessible to the widest possible audience within Whatcom County, the survey will be available in English, Spanish, Eastern Punjabi, and Russian. These four languages were chosen for translation because of best practices learned from the Nooksack River Flood in 2021. Expanded accessibility is also in alignment with the Whatcom County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for 2022-2026, which has several goals related to supporting equal and fair access to quality public, private, and nonprofit resources and services for all residents and businesses in Whatcom County.

The survey will open on Monday, July 17, 2023 and will remain open until Monday, August 21, 2023. There will be opportunities for additional public participation once a draft plan is developed.

The survey and the current 2018 Recreation, Conservation and Public Access Plan can be found at this link:

About the Port of Bellingham
The Port is a countywide municipal corporation with a mission to promote sustainable economic development, optimize transportation gateways, and manage publicly owned land and facilities to benefit Whatcom County. Throughout Whatcom County, the Port owns, operates and maintains approximately 1600 acres of property including a shipping terminal, a cruise terminal, two marinas, industrial development areas, commercial uplands, parklands, shoreline public access areas and an international airport. For more information about the Port of Bellingham, please visit www.portofbellingham.com

We acknowledge that Whatcom County is located on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples. They cared for the lands that included what we’d call the Puget Sound region, Vancouver Island and British Columbia since time immemorial. This gives us the great obligation and opportunity to learn how to care for our surrounding areas and all the natural and human resources we require to live. We express our deepest respect and gratitude for our indigenous neighbors, the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe, for their enduring care and protection of our shared lands and waterways.