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The Confluence

Fairhaven Park Boardwalk – Clearing the Path

September 29, 2017 by Todd Elsworth Leave a Comment

We are delighted to announce that we have broken ground on our Fairhaven Park Trail and Boardwalk project. It all started on September 19th, 2017.

Public Notice: You will find DETOUR signs leading you around the work site. Please use the alternative trail that we have identified for your safety and our piece of mind. Thank you. 

We anticipate being finished by November. Yes, there will be work parties coming up to help plant more native vegetation in the wetlands as part of our mitigation.  

Clearing the way. Once the site was secure, the crew fell the first tree. I was proud to be there to witness the work of these professionals and make sure that our DETOUR route was evident to make sure people find their way into the forest. 

Our trail crew with NW Trails, led by Gerry Wilbour, started with the task of falling precarious Alder trees. This was a preventative measure, so these trees won’t fall on our boardwalk in the future. 

Pictured below is L-R, Josh Neyman, City of Bellingham, Park Project Specialist; Todd Elsworth (myself); and the crew from NW Trails: Rowan, Gerry, Dan and Curran.  

We are fortunate to have the crew from NW Trails doing this work for us. They are very professional and care about the work they do, creating as minimal impact on the surroundings while clearing the trees and brush.  

Below, Josh and Gerry discuss the next steps with Rowan and April in the circle of trust. I just liked the effect of the axe in the wood. 

Now we can see the corridor that we’ve been talking about for the past two years. This is like “the light at the end of the tunnel” view of the project. This perspective makes it so much more real. We enjoy opening up this canopy with a proud stand of Douglas Fir in the distance. 

Clearing the path also included getting this large downed Douglas Fir out of the pathway. Together, Curran and Rowan work to cut this mammoth into smaller bite size pieces. 

It was great to see these pros in action. Yes, they still yell ‘TIMBER”. 

Todd Elsworth

As Executive Director of Recreation Northwest, Todd Elsworth promotes outdoor recreation and brings community together to enjoy, preserve and improve the places where we play. His decades of extensive event production, marketing and writing experience propel this passion. You might bump into him and his daughter Violet while they’re biking, hiking, paddling or skiing in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

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Filed Under: Fairhaven Park Tagged With: Fairhaven Park, forest ecology, Northwest Trails, Stewardship, Trail Building

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