Western students are organizing and campaigning to restore public access to Canyon Lake Community Forest, which is co-owned by Western Washington University and Whatcom County. The community forest was established over 20 years ago with the help of Whatcom Land Trust and supportive community members.

The Canyon Lake Community Forest is located in the Mt Baker Foothills (near Deming, WA), and consists of roughly 2,300 acres, including over 700 acres of ancient old-growth forest. There's a scenic trail around the lake, and a ~3-mile trail up to the ridge above the lake, which gives hikers an epic view of Mt Baker, the Twin Sisters, and the Puget Sound. 

Public access to the community forest has been restricted after a storm in 2007 washed out the bridge on Canyon Lake Road. The property has been closed for the past fifteen years and public access has been limited by logging and road closures. 

There are two potential avenues for regaining public access to Canyon Lake Community Forest: 

1. Convince Whatcom County to repair the washed out portion of Canyon Lake Road

The costs of the bridge repair is estimated to be $20,000

A $20,000 bridge has the potential to wash out again the next time a storm hits. A more resilient bridge would likely cost more money but would be resistant to further damages from extreme weather events.

Establishing a sturdy bridge would remove the need to coordinate with Sierra Pacific in order to access Canyon Lake, as Canyon Lake Road is within public domain. 

2. Pressure Sierra Pacific Industries to remove the gate blocking Racehorse Creek Road which connects to Canyon Lake Road

The community forest also has the potential to support research and educational opportunities at Western in topics such as forest management, geology, ecology, and watershed studies. There have been sightings of giant pacific salamanders in and around Canyon Lake which are an endangered species. Researchers would have an opportunity to study the effects of climate change and variable retention harvesting on giant pacific salamanders.There is great potential to study old growth forests in comparison with forest regeneration post-logging. 

We need your help to restore public access to this community-asset! Whatcom County needs to hear from WWU students about why it's important to restore public access to the community forest. To get involved, DM us on Instagram @canyonlakecommunityforest