Download Blanchard Mountain “Nowhere in the Middle of

Blanchard Mountain
“Nowhere in the Middle of Everywhere”*
*Quote attributed to JoAnne Prentice of Blanchard in 1980's
Take a step back in time
Almost all of the Puget Sound marine shoreline– almost 70% - was covered in forest in various
states of maturity – much of it with complex understory.
Now on the Puget Sound coast between Olympia and Vancouver BC, the 8-mile long Chuckanut
Mountains are the largest forest remaining of this coastal forest ecosystem. The Chuckanut
Range is still large enough to be a small ecosystem unto itself.
It is the only remaining place where the Cascade Mountain forests touch the Salish Sea. This
used to be common. Now, here on the east side of Puget Sound, it stands alone. All credible
ecological studies done in the region point to Blanchard and the Chuckanut Mountains as a
priority for conservation.
The birds and wildlife of Blanchard Mountain are diverse for Northwest Washington and they
contain unique concentrations:
Over 150 bird species
51 mammal species
198 moth and butterfly species
All the amphibians found in Washington except two are found here - and one of those is now
found in the Samish watershed below.
Numerous, mosses, lichens and native plants are dispersed throughout Blanchard, many not
having yet having being catalogued.
Blanchard is home to a high number of species that are considered at risk. This displays
Blanchard’s habitat richness
But WHY? What do we need to conserve to maintain this wealth of species?
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We need to be sure that Blanchard has enough unfragmented forest space. Part of what makes
this habitat rich is that it has size - it connects with 2680 Larabee State Park and other
protected lands in Whatcom County, along the coast and around Samish Lake. It also connects
to thousands of acres of working forest lands that provide a different, undeveloped habitat.
Blanchard is also unique because of its location between the coast and I-5 in a quickly
urbanizing area. The Chuckanut range fills an important niche. Because I-5 blocks quite a bit of
historic wildlife migration – birds and animals have enough space and types of habitat to live
their cycle here in the Chuckanut Mountains.
Blanchard has special geologic features such as the Bat Caves, cliffs and the Oyster Dome that
we all love for recreational purposes but that are also vital for birds, wildlife, bats and
butterflies. For example, there is a fungal fly in the bat caves found nowhere else in North
America!
Blanchard has excellent adjacencies for wildlife and plants. It lies along the marine waters of
Puget Sound – and in particular the shallow waters of Samish Bay with lots of bugs and small
fish and cool marine air. Many birds and animals use Blanchard because they require both
coastal forest and marine waters for their life cycle.
Blanchard is a source of clean water for the Samish. There is a resident cutthroat trout on
Blanchard. Many fish species are found in the creeks and rivers fed by Blanchard’s waters and
forests –numerous of these are listed, threatened or species of concern. Maintaining high water
quality free of silt in these streams’ headwaters, which are often exclusively on Blanchard, is
essential.
But the forests of Blanchard Mountain are its single most important habitat feature and that
is one of the reasons we must protect “the 1600-acre core” of Blanchard Mountain.
The core contains the majority of naturally regenerating forests that are “mid successional" or
65 to 100 years + in age. At this age, forests begin to develop complexity rapidly. One of the
most important features of the forests on Blanchard's core is that they provide year-round
cover and interior forest conditions you don’t find in younger or less complex forests such as
those we have replanted. This natural regeneration and maturing age gives Blanchard's forests
unusual habitat complexity that has been lost in most forests along Puget Sound’s coast. They
contain wetlands, creeks, understory, cliffs, downed rotting trees, cavities, undisturbed forest
floor, snags, caves and space – unfragmented forested space in particular.
The forest has a closing - or is some places a closed - canopy. This gives it a unique micro
climate and stable air mass that is optimal for year round roosting, nesting and raising of young
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for many species of birds. 64% of the 150 birds identified on Blanchard are thought to breed
and reproduce on the mountain. This is wonderful habitat!
It is no coincidence that Marbled Murrelet have found a place to nest on Blanchard– rather
than traveling 80 miles to inland forests. Where else on this coast do you find that?
It is no coincidence that the pileated woodpecker and 30 species of neotropical birds – who are
struggling due to loss of their habitat - are here. 19 species of raptors use the forest and
cliffs…not including that unusual raptor who likes to jump off the overlook with a sail.
Migratory birds are a common sight over Blanchard. Blanchard and Nisqually are the two most
important bird corridors in Puget Sound for birds who need to migrate between Puget Sound
tidewaters and the Cascade forests. Only two of these corridors are left in Puget Sound.
With at least 9 bat species recorded, the diversity of bat populations is as rich as it gets in
Washington. This is not only because of the caves on Blanchard but also because of the mature
forest and snags bats need for their life-cycle. Many of these bat types are species of concern.
If you were a bird or a bat – wouldn’t you live on Blanchard?
Blanchard is fantastic wildlife habitat now. If the core is left undisturbed, these forests can
develop old growth characteristics faster than anywhere else on the coast of Puget Sound
between Olympia and the border. There is nowhere else left on the eastern edge of Puget
Sound with a coastal forested range of this type, size and complexity.
Forests that are logged, regrow - Blanchard did. But there has been immense loss of forested
habitat in the Puget Sound lowlands, especially along the coast. There is increasing pressure on
private lands surrounding Blanchard. Bat, bird and amphibian species on Blanchard don’t have
the luxury of time or perhaps space to “find a new home” with this same level of forest/marine
complexity.
Puget Sound is a rapidly urbanizing area. The 2016 Puget Sound Regional Report states that
between 2006 and 2011, an additional 153 square miles of forest cover was lost. We know
Puget Sound has immense ecological challenges. It just makes sense that we should protect one
of the few coastal forests where the ecosystems are intact. It would take decades or centuries
to re-create what we have here- if we even can.
We all know what a wonderful place Blanchard Mountain is for hiking, biking, birding, hand
gliding, horse riding and just viewing the sunsets. It is well loved and deservedly so. And
Blanchard also has unusual nature attributes. We are lucky that that we still have a place like
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Blanchard. One of the goals of the Blanchard Strategies is to manage the core zone in a manner
that emphasizes wildlife habitat, older forest conditions, vistas and forest ecosystem health
while allowing the varied recreational activities we all enjoy. Protecting the forested core will
keep this remarkable sanctuary viable for people and wildlife - as we, inevitably, further
urbanize around Puget Sound.
Skagit Land Trust.
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