Our Mission
The Mission of the Whatcom Land Trust is to preserve and protect wildlife habitat, scenic, agricultural and open space lands in Whatcom County for future generations by securing interests in land and promoting land stewardship.
What we do
Whatcom Land Trust employs a three-pronged strategy to accomplish its mission – legal securement of land, land stewardship and restoration, and community engagement in conservation action. Permanent land protections are secured through outright purchases, gifts and transfers, including those that have created 15 parks and preserves, the establishment of conservation easements for farmland, wildlife habitat, and other purposes, and the facilitation of land exchanges that increase landscape connectivity, improve ecosystem biodiversity and restore natural systems to support the recovery of key fish and wildlife species. We engage the Whatcom County community in conservation principles and actions by showing the impact of human activity on ecosystem health and connectivity, and by inspiring meaning connections between people and land.
Our Vision
Whatcom County has an abundant tapestry of lakes, rivers, farms and forests—all of which are vital to our way of life and sense of place. Whatcom Land Trust is committed to both protecting these special places and ensuring that their abundant diversity of life flourishes. Together with our many community partners we continue to build relationships to protect these rich and vibrant lands for a healthy, thriving Whatcom County for generations to come.
Our Values
- Partnership with community, organizations, and landowners
- Conserve and educate for a healthy environment
- Stewardship for future sustainability and resilience
- Connecting community and the land
- Acting with transparency, integrity, and respect
- Protecting land for the future
- Commitment to responsibility forever
Land Acknowledgement
Whatcom Land Trust respectfully acknowledges that the territory where we live and work are the ancestral homelands of the Coast Salish people, which includes the Lhaq’temish (Lummi Nation) and Noxws’a?aq (Nooksack Indian Tribe).
As an organization entrusted to protect and preserve wildlife habitat, scenic, agricultural, and open space lands in Whatcom County for future generations, we honor the indigenous people who are and continue to be the original stewards of this land. Although there has been significant loss in natural and cultural resources since European settlement, their work as guardians for what remains inspires us.
This land acknowledgement is only the first step in recognizing our indigenous neighbors as we continue to strengthen our relationships with the land and the descendants of people who have lived here since time immemorial.
Whatcom Land Trust:
PRESERVES intact working farmland and functioning habitat while we still have them.
PROTECTS vulnerable lands forever for future generations.
RESTORES degraded habitat to improve biodiversity.
ENGAGES community members in conservation actions and stewardship.
- 13,838 acres of parkland
- 47.5 miles of marine and freshwater shoreline
- 1,804 acres of working agricultural lands
- 13,848 acres in the Lake Whatcom Watershed (Not working land)
IMPACT
97 properties totaling 9,459 acres of conservation easement lands
96 properties totaling 5,040 acres of Land Trust-owned and stewarded lands
24,654 Total Acres Protected
