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WMTP Tree Protection Project
Protecting Bellingham’s Crucially-Needed Mature Trees
Advocating for Bellingham trees needed for climate resiliency, health, & well-being
Bellingham trees, particularly existing mature trees, provide the most benefits and cost savings to our urban community. Mature Bellingham trees significantly improve climate resiliency to increasingly-common extreme heat and flooding. And Bellingham trees provide a wide range of other benefits, such as cleaner air and water, biodiversity/ habitat support, carbon capture, buffers from traffic and noise, and improved quality of life and health.
At the same time, Bellingham needs more infill housing — especially smaller footprint, truly affordable homes. Commercial and institutional projects will inevitably increase, too. Does increased density jeopardize the retention of crucially-needed mature Bellingham trees?
No.
Infill housing versus mature urban tree retention is not an either/or choice. BOTH goals are simultaneously achievable.
With mindful site planning, new infill development can frequently preserve the majority of mature trees on-site to support the City’s tree canopy and climate resiliency goals — and still be economically viable to housing developers.
Most local residents want balance with these issues. They don’t want urban livability to slip away in the name of developer profits. Residents are deeply concerned about climate change and the increased need for climate resiliency. For residents of inner neighborhoods with less tree canopy who are typically most impacted by climate change, it’s also an important environmental equity issue.
WMTP Advocacy — Key Components
To encourage the above balance, WMTP devotes considerable time and resources to independent advocacy and analysis regarding Bellingham trees — with policymakers, agency staff, residents, and stakeholders. Our urban-oriented advocacy work currently has six components
1. Bellingham Tree Policy Advocacy.
Bellingham’s Landmark Tree Ordinance (enacted in early 2024) and Urban Forest Plan (still in process) are two key policy documents that will help to protect at least some Bellingham trees. WMTP has provided detailed critiques of the drafts of both documents and much public testimony, helping to improve the final versions. WMTP will continue to closely monitor future actions and Implementation of these policies as needed, too.
Similarly, WMTP has participated in public feedback sessions and will closely analyze the draft of Bellingham Comprehensive Plan 10-year update (in progress through 2025) to ensure it specifically addresses urban forest and climate resiliency needs via neighborhood goals, zoning, and other guiding elements that will impact Bellingham trees.
2. State Advocacy.
WMTP advocates with policymakers at a state level when draft bills or codes arise that will impact Bellingham tree canopy and/or mature forests in Whatcom County. We’ve had a few notable successes and have another terrific one pending. Click here for more details.
3. Aerial Mapping.
WMTP has independently created — using the latest (2022) lidar data from the WA Department of Resources, a unique Bellingham’s Tallest Trees map which can be used to identify where protected Landmark Trees are located throughout the city.
We are also creating — from USGS/NASA data sets — the first high-resolution heat island map of Bellingham. (Coming soon!) This map identifies the most potent locations per neighborhood for tree canopy enhancements to reduce potentially-deadly extreme heat island effects. Click here for more about our cool maps.
4. Selective Development Pushbacks.
For selected larger proposed developments that have site plans which do not value the retention of mature Bellingham trees (and/or are inaccurate in required compliance with the Green Factor in the City’s Infill Toolkit), WMTP leads community-based efforts to modify these plans. (Past and current pushbacks are described here.) When needed, this includes testifying at a project’s Hearing Examiner session.
5. Community Education.
WMTP is building awareness through articles and presentations about nature-integrated design which embeds nature throughout a development (see box below for details.) It goes much further than just any required preservation (or mitigation) of wetlands or critical lands in a development project.
Nature-integrated planning is practiced in many cities worldwide (and by many architects and landscape architects). It’s a way to avoid having parks and trails/Greenways as the only “green refuges” within an otherwise hardscape-dominant (and thus heat and flood prone) urban environment.
What is Nature-Integrated Design?
— Prioritize the living. Assess the biological, ecological — and now climate! — value inherent in a site so that smart choices can be made about what to preserve and enhance. If necessary, move/trade development to a different site rather than razing superb natural assets.
— Be smart with footprints. Carefully locate — and shape — building footprints to preserve major natural assets such as mature trees. Orient built spaces away from traffic, noise or other chaos.If needed, build higher (or smaller) to avoid creating a squeezed layout with only minimal landscape.
— Build habitat value. Provide nature corridors to adjacent ecologically sensitive areas, when present. On-site, establish diverse, multi-level native landscapes that have ecological/habitat value, not the usual monoculture ground cover plus ornamental trees and bushes. (Bleh!)
— Explore tradeoffs. Work with the local planning department to retain mature trees (and other major natural assets) beyond what’s normally required — in exchange for credits or variances to other requirements.
6. ‘Green’ Project Rewards
WMTP is working on ways to publicly promote developments — large or small — which consciously and significantly worked to protect Bellingham trees in their project planning process. We hope to highlight projects that will inspire others in the development community to build value, reputation, and profitability in ‘green’ ways that better align with community values.
Volunteer Opportunities
• Want to help our efforts to protect Bellingham trees? Even if you only a have a few hours available per month, please contact us if you have the time and interest!
Related Links/Resources
Bellingham Urban Forest Plan
Bellingham Landmark Tree Ordinance
Bellingham Plan (Comprehensive Plan Update)
Bellingham’s Tallest Trees map
WMTP Advocacy Reports & Presentations
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