Posted: January 10, 2008 15:09:52 PST
The arrival of a long-awaited permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) allows work to begin on the final phase of restoration on the Post Point Lagoon.
Beginning Monday, January 14, the City will be excavating approximately 2000 cubic yards of fill from the shoreline of the Post Point Lagoon, increasing the shoreline length by 18% and the salt marsh area by 70%. Other work includes placing large logs near the shoreline to increase habitat diversity, replanting the native marine buffer around the lagoon and installing interpretive signs.
The permit requires this project to be completed during a low tide to prevent the large amount of loose dirt generated by the work from entering the lagoon and smothering the wildlife that live there. There are only two weeks during the permit period when the tide is low enough: one in January and one in February. Work is expected to be complete by Friday, February 29.
Visitors using the Post Point Lagoon off-leash area will not be allowed on the trail between the Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant parking lot and the end of the trail that borders the lagoon. Parking in the Post Point lot is for city business only. Parking for the off-leash area is allowed outside the Post Point parking lot on the north side of McKenzie Avenue. Parking is not allowed on 4th Street at either entrance to the off-leash area.
Post Point Lagoon is one of seven remaining pocket estuaries in Bellingham Bay. The ecological importance of estuarine habitat and its scarcity locally is widely recognized.
Post Point Lagoon provides current and potential habitat for three fish species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (chinook, bull trout, and steelhead). It is designated as Critical Habitat for chinook salmon and bull trout by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and United States Fish and Wildlife (USFW). It is home to the only great blue heron colony (recognized as a priority species by WDFW) within the City of Bellingham.
Features that make pocket estuaries most functional for salmonids include the presence of eelgrass/algae beds, saltwater marsh, overhanging terrestrial vegetation, the presence of large woody debris, connectivity to other productive nearshore habitats, and a source of freshwater.
Restoration efforts include improving the shoreline riparian corridor, upper intertidal salt marsh, intertidal mud flat, and eelgrass so they combine to form a complex interacting mosaic of marine habitats that provide critical rearing and refuge functions for migrating juvenile fish and wildlife.
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Media Contact:
Renee LaCroix, Environmental Coordinator
Sue Madsen, Environmental Coordinator
Public Works Department
(360) 676-6961
rlacroix@cob.org
smadsen@cob.org
