Natural Resource Management
WHATCOM COUNTY • NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT • LUMMI NATION
Lummi Nation Planning and Wetland Management
NES provides wetland management and planning services for the Lummi Nation Natural Resources Department (LNR) to support the Lummi Nation’s core environmental program. Projects include an ongoing Wetland Inventory, training for LNR staff, and additional assessments for development projects within the reservation. Services include
wetland delineations
impact assessments
mitigation design
Endangered Species Act compliance
environmental permitting
The objective of the 2025 Lummi Nation Remote Sensing Wetland Inventory was to remotely map potential wetlands throughout the Reservation and identify those that are most important for protection of water quality maintenance/improvement, flood storage, and fish and wildlife habitat for the Lummi Nation.
Using the wetland inventory dataset, this study evaluated wetland Ecosystem Services on a watershed scale to provide the Lummi Nation a tool for land use planning and identifying wetland protection/restoration priorities.
From a land use perspective, a holistic, watershed-scale approach to wetlands inventory/management will help Lummi Nation evaluate and avoid cumulative impacts from future development and will provide planning and natural resources management and policy tools for sustainable/low impact development.
WHATCOM COUNTY • NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT • BELLINGHAM
City of Bellingham (COB) Wetland Inventory
NES was retained by the COB in 2003 and 2015 to update the City wide wetland inventory.
In 2003, together with Nahkeeta Northwest, NES developed a comprehensive GIS database identifying wetland locations and other environmentally sensitive features within the City’s Urban Growth Areas (UGA). Project tasks included review of existing data, field surveys, GIS mapping, and creation of a database.
In 2015 NES updated and extended the 2003 review to provide current information on wetlands, streams, buffers, and wildlife habitat along the City’s northern extent and surrounding UGA. NES mapped and categorized wetlands, streams, and regulated wildlife habitats. NES also assessed areas for potential regional mitigation sites.
SAN JUAN COUNTY • NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT • ORCAS ISLAND
San Juan County Conservation District - Nordstroms Restoration Project
The San Juan Islands Conservation District retained NES to design, permit, and oversee construction of a wetland restoration project on Orcas Island. The project required collaboration with landowners to balance their desire for habitat restoration and on-going agriculture. The project increased habitat connectivity and complexity by establishing two seasonal ponds surrounded by a scrub-shrub buffer between the farmed portions of the site.
WHATCOM COUNTY • NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT • LUMMI & BELLINGHAM
Mitigation Banking
NES supports the Lummi Nation with management of their Wetland and Habitat Mitigation Bank. NES assists with monitoring data collection, reporting to demonstrate attainment of the performance standards established in the Mitigation Banking Instrument, and management recommendation for continued project success.
NES assisted the City of Bellingham with initial steps in their mitigation bank development. NES identified and assessed potential Bank sites within the City and unincorporated Whatcom County associated with target watersheds. NES prepared the critical areas report for the first two phases of the proposed Bank, participating in the Mitigation Bank Instrument (MBI) development, and the Bank certification process with the IRT.
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