Menzies honored for harbor work

Whatcom Land Trust has named Geoff Menzies Land Steward of the Year for his dedication and work to clean up the water and watershed of Drayton Harbor.

Geoff has been involved in watershed planning efforts in the Drayton Harbor watershed since 1990 and was a commercial oyster grower in the harbor prior to its closure in 1995. In May 2000, he volunteered to be chairman of the Drayton Harbor Shellfish Protection District’s Citizens Advisory Committee and began managing the Drayton Harbor community oyster farm. The goal of these entities was to improve the health of Drayton Harbor so that oysters could again be farmed there. The target date: 2004.

According to the land trust, Menzies developed the Drayton Harbor oyster farm as a unique, community-based shellfish restoration project that gives the community a hands-on stake in the health of Drayton Harbor. Menzies enlisted the help of a broad group of citizens, businesses, local, state and federal governments. The combined efforts of these groups allowed the community to improve the health of its harbor and this past summer, oysters from Drayton Harbor were once again harvested and eaten.

Menzies will be given his award at Whatcom Land Trust’s 20th anniversary celebration at Boundary Bay Brewery on September 23.
Whatcom Land Trust is a local, nonprofit nature conservation organization founded in 1984 in Lynden. Its mission is to help people preserve and protect wildlife habitat, scenic, agricultural, and open space lands in Whatcom County. The trust presently protects over 6,000 acres of land in Whatcom County through donated conservation easements, gifts of land, and public-private partnerships to create public parks. The trust has published the award-winning publication, Whatcom Places, a photo essay book on the county.