California Creek Estuary Park doubles size in likely last land acquisition

The land for the future California Creek Estuary Park has more than doubled in size in what will likely be the last land purchase for the 55-acre park.

Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 (BBBPRD2) announced this month that state representative Alicia Rule (D-Blaine) helped the parks district secure a $185,000 state grant for 31 acres of usable parkland. The land will be split between 11 acres on the west end of the park, away from the shoreline, and 20 acres in a wooded area on the south end that will allow for a trail connecting Lincoln Road.

“This purchase solidifies our commitment to keeping open space available for the Birch Bay and Blaine community to have recreation spots while conserving and creating safe places for native animals and plants to thrive in our environment,” BBBPRD2 director Heather Lindsay said.

Once complete, the day-use park will have a kayak launch, 3/4-mile trail, picnic shelter, environmental education stations, restrooms and 50-car parking lot. In addition to recreation, the park and protected land around it will provide habitat conservation for salmon, migratory shorebirds and Drayton Harbor shellfish harvesting.

The parks district is still in the permitting phase and hopes to start construction in mid-summer of 2025, Lindsay said.

The park came to fruition about a decade ago when Whatcom Land Trust (WLT), a Bellingham-based conservation nonprofit, began searching for land to purchase and protect around California Creek. The land trust started a partnership with BBBPRD2 where it quickly purchased parkland for the district with the expectation that BBBPRD2 would purchase some of the property once it received state grants.

WLT transferred the first California Creek land to the parks district in 2020 and then again in February 2023. Those two parcels, totaling 24 acres, were supposed to be the majority of the park, with the additional 31 acres previously being considered as a possible extension.

“At this time, they are the last pieces of the California Creek park,” Lindsay said of the recent purchase.

In total, WLT has purchased 100 acres to protect California Creek along the estuary to Bridge Way, with the remaining land being used solely for conservation.

Lindsay said work was ongoing to remove invasive species from the property and the parks district was monitoring an area where garbage was collecting.

The park will also serve as a trailhead for the envisioned Bay to Bay International Trail, a bicycle and pedestrian trail connecting the south end of Birch Bay State Park to Peace Arch Historical Park.

“I am proud to support the expansion of California Creek Estuary Park,” Rule wrote in a statement. “This is an investment in preserving and protecting a special place we get to call home and builds a vision for connecting our Blaine and Birch Bay communities.”