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Recreation Northwest

We promote outdoor recreation and bring people together to enjoy, preserve and improve the places where we play

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Mitigation & Monitoring

In order to achieve Phase TWO of our Fairhaven Park Trail & Wetland Boardwalk, we had to get permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Bellingham for the impacts that we were having crossing through a wetland. These permits required standard mitigation and monitoring reports for the project. We relied on Perry, our trusty Wetland Biologist, from Welch Ecological to provide us with these reports. In 2022, we will satisfy the requirements of this mitigation project. 

Of note. Phase ONE, completed in 2015, did not have any mitigation requirements since we moved a trail out of the wetland and into the Buffer as shown below. 

Mitigation Timeline

This timeline details the process of trail abandonment, invasive species clearings, and native plantings in project area shown above. 

Lower Woods Buffer and Wetland Meadow

August 2015 – Trail Abandonment

March 26, 2017 – Native Plant mitigation pre-Phase TWO

Upper Meadow Buffer (Native Plant Garden) 

March 11, 2017 – Blackberries and other invasive plants removed/cleared 

April 28th, 2017 – Native Plant mitigation pre-Phase TWO

Upper Meadow Buffer expansion

May, 2020 – Supplemental Plantings 

January 2021 – Supplemental Plantings

February 2021 – Blackberries and other invasive plants removed/cleared (WW)

March 2021 – Supplemental Plantings

Abandoned Trail in Wetland and Buffer 

September 2017 – Trail Abandonment

November 2017 – Native Plant mitigation Phase TWO

Outdoor Classroom

April 28, 2021 –  Blackberries and other invasive plants removed/cleared (P66)

Fall 2021  – Supplemental Plantings

Native Plant List

Fairhaven Park Mitigation Planting sites as recorded in June 2019 

Woods & Meadow Buffers 3,277.5 SF – 74 plants 

5 DF Douglas fir
5 PB Paper birch
20 OB Oso Berry
3 SW Sitka willow
25 SB snowberry
5 WC Western crabapple
10 RC Western red cedar
1 RA Red alder

Wetland Meadow 3,253 SF – 78 plants

15 BT Black twinberry
20 ROD Red-osier dogwood
2 SW Sitka willow
5 HW Hooker willow
10 SS Sitka spruce
5 PW Pacific willow
20 PN Pacific ninebark
1 DS Douglas spirea

Abandoned Trail in Wetland 2,675 SF – 78 plants (200 sedges)

20 Red-osier dogwood
17 Black twinberry
5 Western red cedar
10 Red alder
20 Salmonberry
1 Vine maple
5 Indian plum
200 Slough sedge

Abandoned Trail in Buffer 2,125 SF – 56 plants

8 Western red cedar
1 Red alder
10 Indian plum
11 Snowberry
9 Vine maple
2 Hazelnut
5 Red elderberry
10 Sword fern

2019 Totals
11,330.5 Square Feet of mitigation area 

286 plants ( + 200 slough sedges)

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Mailing Address:
Recreation Northwest
PO Box 2771
Bellingham, WA 98227

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Recreation Northwest is a 501(c)3 charity. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Our non-profit federal tax-exempt number is 46-1774882.

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