Mud Bay Cliffs has long been identified by the city and county as a priority to preserve…
Now, a subdivision proposal threatens this magnificent natural space on Chuckanut Bay
An irreplaceable, unique resource worth preserving
Individuals and groups from across Bellingham are uniting to protect Mud Bay Cliffs from the many risks of subdivision development
Wildlife
The site of the proposed subdivision is a city-designated “Important Habitat Hub.” It provides home and shelter to myriad forms of wildlife.
The Post Point great blue heron colony feeds along this shoreline. Herons are sensitive to human activities, such as development (note that subdivision development activities along Chuckanut Bay drove this nesting colony away to Post Point in 1999).
This Important Habitat Hub is the central hub connecting the Clark’s Point (to the west) and Chuckanut Marsh (to the east) Important Habitat Hubs. The three hubs are linked by Important Wildlife Corridors.
According to the January 2010 Critical Areas Report, this property has been serving as an extensive wildlife sanctuary for black-tailed deer, eagles, pileated woodpeckers, Douglas squirrels, sharp-skinned hawks, Cooper’s hawks, songbirds, woodpeckers, amphibians, and small mammals.
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) maps the property as “Urban Natural Open Space,” and within 800 feet landward of the shoreline it is mapped as “Bald Eagle Buffer Management Zone.” The Mud Bay estuarine wetlands adjacent to this property is mapped with the following Priority Habitats: Eelgrass, Turf Algae, Potential Surf Smelt/Sand Lance Spawning Areas, and Hardshell Intertidal Clam.
The proposed development’s extensive excavation, clearing and grading, and removal of trees and vegetation, will cause substantial impacts to wildlife - as will the ongoing presence of motor traffic and people and their activities.
This site connects Clark’s Point and Chuckanut Marsh, two key Wildlife habitats which have received significant taxpayer investments to preserve. Wildlife inhabits and moves across these interconnected woodlands, wetlands, and shoreline of Mud Bay.
Significant Estuary Watershed
Huge public investment has been made to improve the “estuarine wetlands” ecosystem at this location, including shellfish and salmon habitat. A multi-home subdivision is expected to affect water quality, as upland trees and vegetation are removed, and as runoff from new roadway, driveways, and landscaping drains into Mud Bay.
Development will impose significant environmental impacts to Surface Water, Ground Water, and Water Runoff. The PSE geologic study found that “Future development of the site could impact the current hydrologic condition... Development on or above steep slopes could impact slope stability by changing surface or groundwater flow on the slopes.”
Mud Bay is distinct from Chuckanut Bay in many respects — and Mud Bay, a Category I Estuarine Wetlands, is clearly no longer a free-flowing oceanic system, due to a filled railroad causeway which since the 1920s has blocked much of the one-time interface between Mud Bay and Chuckanut Bay (for more on this, including official maps, see below).
Woodland and Wetland
Woodland: Currently this site contains extensive woodland in a natural state. Development is certain to remove and alter a significant percentage of the over-fifty-year-old deciduous and evergreen trees and dense vegetation that presently exist onsite. Nearby trees near this site may also be impacted, as ridge-top wind shelter is lost, and as the ring of woodland around the northern section of Chuckanut Bay is further damaged. Today we understand that tree communities and soil communities are vitally interconnected and interdependent for health, resilience, longevity, and carbon capture.
Wetland: This site itself is also home to 4 separate identified wetland areas. These are part of the wildlife and botanical hubs and corridors which currently comprise Mud Bay Cliffs, Clark’s Point, and Chuckanut Bay Marsh, reaching around to the eastern Chuckanut Bay wildlife corridors. Moreover, these wetlands interact with the Mud Bay estuarine wetlands, and with the entire current network of habitat hubs and corridors from Clark’s Point to Teddy Bear Cove. Wetlands surrounding Chuckanut Bay have already been severely compromised by previous developments.
Indigenous Peoples Cultural Site
Evidence of historic indigenous peoples activity in this area has been discovered, and more could potentially be found. The project area is in the vicinity of previously recorded historic and precontact archaeological sites.
This site is located on the traditional, ancestral lands of the Lhaq’te’mish (Lummi Nation) and Nuxwsá7aq (Nooksack) Tribe, as well as all other Salishan families who, from time immemorial, share the ancestral homelands and salt waters of Whatcom County and the Salish Sea.
Chuckanut Bay Viewpoint
The Mud Bay Cliffs offer an unparalleled view of Chuckanut Bay from the North. The city has long proposed the site’s highest location be an accessible viewpoint of Chuckanut Bay, for all to enjoy.
Contiguous Conservation Area
From Clark’s Point to Teddy Bear Cove, and on to Governors Point, the city and residents have worked for decades to preserve the last remaining sections of undeveloped Chuckanut Bay shoreline and inland habitats. This hard work and substantial public investments have been for the benefit of Bellingham and this fragile wildlife network, now and in the future. If the subdivision advances as proposed, this conservation chain will be irreparably harmed — including the estuarine wetlands below it, as new, ongoing pollutants drain into Mud Bay.
Mud Bay, or North Chuckanut Bay?
Today, Mud Bay is distinct from Chuckanut Bay in multiple respects. Due to a rock- and earth-filled raised railroad causeway which spans most of its southern edge along Chuckanut Bay, Mud Bay cannot now be considered an open oceanic system as it once was prior to the 1920s. As evidenced by multiple official maps, Mud Bay is separately named from Chuckanut Bay, and it exhibits completely unique characteristics. Maps specifically showing Mud Bay as distinct from Chuckanut Bay include: the WA State Dept of Health Shellfish Safety Map; Bellingham’s CityIQ map; the NOAA Coastal Services Center 2016 Modeled Wetland Inventory. The naming distinction reflects the special character of this unique, ecologically-sensitive estuarine wetlands.
Bellingham CityIQ Map
NOAA Coastal Services Center 2016 Modeled Wetland Inventory