Whatcom County Public Works Department officials are asking the public to not walk on plants near the Birch Bay berm as crews just wrapped up the first phase of its fencing project aimed to protect the vegetation.
Crews worked along the berm during the last week of August to install wooden sand fences in highly foot-trafficked areas. Additional fencing is expected to go up this fall near Cottonwood Beach, special programs manager Roland Middleton wrote in an email to The Northern Light.
Officially known as the Birch Bay Drive and Pedestrian Facility Project, the 1.58-mile berm was a decades-in-the-making project first pitched in 1975 to restore the shoreline and provide flood protection. The plants were added to the berm after the project finished in 2021 to prevent erosion and support the habitat.
The county’s permits to install the berm require 10 years of plant monitoring with annual targets for a successful number of plants. The plants have failed to meet their targets every year because of New Year’s and Fourth of July celebrations that draw crowds along the bay, Middleton previously said.
The 10-year window for plant monitoring could be extended longer if the plants don’t meet their targets, which would mean the county would fail to meet its permit requirements, resulting in fines and increased difficulty for the county to receive permits for other projects.
While constructing the berm, the county spent about $640,000 on plants and a now-removed temporary, orange fencing, Middleton said. The county doesn’t have the funds to replace the original plants and hopes that the remaining plants will grow organically. If planting targets aren’t met, Middleton said the county may need to discuss purchasing new plants.
“We’re spending thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, replanting,” Middleton said.
Crews are working to maintain 110,000 native plantings, according to the project’s website.
The fencing still provides areas where people can walk to the beach, and signs will ask the public for cooperation.
