By Rich Bowers, Whatcom Land Trust (Retired Executive Director & Past Board Member)

Ellen and Gary Gehling built their home along the banks of the Nooksack River. Their view looks out over the North Fork of the river, and the adjacent one-hundred-and-eleven acres of meadows and wetlands that make up Maple Creek Reach, a Whatcom Land Trust property (also home to bear, beaver, cougar, elk, and all five species of Pacific salmon – Spring Chinook, Coho, Chum, Pink, and Sockeye).  

Gary passed away on Sunday, July 21, 2024, and the Land Trust, the Whatcom Community, and I lost a really good friend. 

The story of the restoration and permanent protection of Maple Creek Reach has Ellen and Gary’s fingerprints all over it. Early on, Gary planted trees along the creek in the hopes of conserving salmon habitat (continued over the next two decades by the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, Lummi Natural Resource crews, and Land Trust volunteers). In 2003, Gary helped facilitate the donation of sixty-eight acres from the Washington State Department of Transportation to the Land Trust. The Department purchased this property from Gary and White Miller as damage mitigation for upstream habitat during emergency repairs to the Mt. Baker Highway in 1998. The Land Trust purchased another twelve acres in 2010, and a third and final purchase was made in 2012. Throughout all of that, and during decades of restoration work, Ellen and Gary proved to be great neighbors and friends to the Trust (and to me as Board member and then as Executive Director). In 2016, the Land Trust held a celebration to welcome back the salmon at their property Wandering Waters, and over the years, the Land Trust hosted a number of tours to watch spawning salmon and feasting eagles along the river. Sometimes, when the meadows were too wet, the Land Trust accessed hikes to the river through the Gehling’s property, always with their permission and often accompanied by their pack of Jack Russell terriers bounding through the long grass. 

Born in Detroit Michigan, Gary, at eighteen, migrated to Western Washington and fell in love with the state’s mountains, forest, and rivers. A love of place that continued throughout his lifetime. Visiting Ellen and Gary, sitting around a firepit surrounded by cedar and fir, with views of Slide, Church, and Bald Mountains upriver, it was easy to understand why they have this love of place. Gary’s stories about the area, usually about bears and cougars, were great to hear and gave a wonderful, inside perspective on Maple Creek and what makes this place so special. 

Through proximity, love of place, and hard work, Gary was a true steward of the Maple Creek corridor, and the Land Trust (staff, Board, and volunteers) are all lucky to have known Gary and worked with him. 

Gary passed away under one of his favorite cedar trees, and with his love of place I am sure he will not be going far away. I am also sure that every day, Ellen will feel his presence on the land. And I look forward to future visits to Maple Creek where I can remember his stories, laugh, and imprint on the land.

Memorials may be made to Whatcom Land Trust, Whatcom Hospice, or End of Life Washington.