Whatcom Land Trust

What's the Point? Come find out THIS SUNDAY! 🌊🐚

Join us at Point Whitehorn Marine Reserve on June 14th from 10 AM – 1 PM for a free, family-friendly day of shoreline exploration along the Salish Sea. Wander the beach with expert naturalists, get up close with live tide pool species, and learn what makes this stretch of coastline so special.

Presentation Schedule: 🌿

10:10 AM — Plants, birds & ecology with Pam Borso and Greg Green
12:00 PM — Geology history tour with Doug Clark
12:30 PM — Beach processes with Keeley Chiasson

Free shuttles available from 7039 Jackson Rd., Blaine, with the first departure at 9:45 AM. ADA accessible path to viewpoints. All ages welcome, no pets or bikes please.

See you on the shoreline! 💚

For more info, visit https://whatcomlandtrust.org/event/whats-the-point-2026/.

Thank you to all of our co-hosts: Whatcom Land Trust, Whatcom County Marine Resources Committee, Washington State Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Reserves Program, Northwest Straits Foundation, Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve Stewardship Committee, Surfrider Foundation Northwest Straits, Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2, RE-Sources, North Cascades Audubon Society, and Whatcom Conservation District.

For the May Field Friday, volunteers made their way out to Elk Flats. 🌿 This 80-acre conservation site along the South Fork of the Nooksack River isn’t easy to access, making every visit a rare and special experience.

Our Communications Team joined us to document the day and capture drone footage of the area. In the drone footage, you can see the engineered log jams installed by the Lummi Nation. These structures slow the flow of water and help create cool-water pools along a stretch of the river where temperatures have been warming, providing critical refuge for salmon. 🐟💧

On the ground, our crew tackled invasive vinca, a persistent plant where any parts left behind will re-root and grow back, demanding patience and persistence from every volunteer. They all brought exactly that. All this restoration work combined is building a resilient future for the river and Elk Flats.

Interested in joining a Field Friday? Check the link in the comments.

Land We Love Spotlight: Deming Homestead Eagle Park 🦅🌲

Deming Homestead Eagle Park is 34 acres of prime shoreline habitat along the North Fork of the Nooksack River that Whatcom Land Trust has been involved in protecting since 2000, when Hank and Lorrell Rensink gifted the land to the Trust.

In 2002, Whatcom County Parks assumed ownership in exchange for a conservation easement protecting eagle habitat and public recreational opportunities forever. From December through March, bald eagles gather along the river channels to feed on salmon, making it one of the premier eagle-watching sites on the Nooksack. 🦅

Have you ever been to Deming Homestead Eagle Park?

Join us for an evening with wildlife biologist and nature photographer Greg Green on June 5th from 6–8 PM at the ReStore in Bellingham. 🌿📷

Greg will share how to use patterns and rhythms in nature to capture images that tell a story of the natural world. He's a wildlife biologist and ecology instructor at WWU whose work has appeared in BirdWatching Magazine, Audubon calendars, and earned an Honorable Mention in the National Wildlife Federation's 2025 photo contest.

Attend the Friday evening presentation on its own, or add a Saturday field session at Fenton Nature Reserve — one of Whatcom Land Trust's protected lands — to practice what you've learned in the field. The morning field session is sold out, but we just added an afternoon session on June 6th from 2:30–5:30 PM — spots are limited, so grab yours soon!

🎟️ Tickets are $50 — link in comments.

What's the Point? Come find out. 🌊🐚

Join us at Point Whitehorn Marine Reserve on June 14th from 10 AM – 1 PM for a free, family-friendly day of shoreline exploration along the Salish Sea. Wander the beach with expert naturalists, get up close with live tide pool species, and learn what makes this stretch of coastline so special.

Presentation Schedule: 🌿

10:10 AM — Plants, birds & ecology with Pam Borso and Greg Green
🪨 12:00 PM — Geology history tour with Doug Clark
🌊 12:30 PM — Beach processes with Keeley Chiasson

Free shuttles available from 7039 Jackson Rd., Blaine with the first departure at 9:45 AM. ADA accessible path to viewpoints. All ages welcome, no pets or bikes please.

See you on the shoreline! 💚 For more info, visit the link in the comments.

Thank you to all of our co-hosts: Whatcom Land Trust, Whatcom County Marine Resources Committee, Washington State Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Reserves Program, Northwest Straits Foundation, Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve Stewardship Committee, Surfrider Foundation Northwest Straits, Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2, RE-Sources, North Cascades Audubon Society, and Whatcom Conservation District

Last Sunday, our very own Whatcom Land Trust staff took on one of the most iconic races in the Pacific Northwest: the Ski to Sea. 🏔️

They traveled through forests, farmland, rivers, and estuaries that we work to protect year-round. The team had an incredible rookie year, finishing almost exactly in the middle of the pack — 254 out of 473 starting teams! 🎉

None of it would have been possible without our incredible support crew. Thank you to Barb Francis for loaning us her canoe, Derek Coburn for the kayak, for the sweet jerseys, Ellen Gehling for letting our mountain team camp at her property, and to Sean Leese, Oceanna Boulanger, and Katy Chapman for supporting us along the way. 💚

And a big thank you to our Ambassadors — Diane Garmo, Leaf Schumann, Tassyn Miller, Mary Rawlins, and Bryan Hennessy — who staffed the outreach table at the finish line and shared our mission with thousands of new faces. 🌿

Join us in continuing this work so future generations can race every leg of Ski to Sea, too. 💚