King of the mountain

R. ERIN FREDRICHS  HERALD FILE PHOTO

DAYS GONE BY: Galen Rockenbach (left) and Dave Furrenes blaze up a trail on Galbraith Mountain. Trillium Corp., now the biggest landowner on the mountain, no longer allows motorized vehicles on the trails.

Trillium sets new rules on Galbraith

FIONA COHEN, The Bellingham Herald

If Galbraith Mountain can be seen as the Wild West, there's a new sheriff in town.

A September land swap with Bloedel Timberlands Development Inc. left Trillium Corp. the biggest landowner on Galbraith, also known as Lookout Mountain, with 3,200 acres.

Trillium, best known locally as the developer behind Cordata, traded 2,379 acres outside Galbraith to obtain the 2,054 acres in Galbraith, as part of an effort to consolidate its timber land to lower cost of maintenance. Most of the land is zoned for commercial or rural forestry.

Trillium is making a few changes.

The most conspicuous change is the signs stating that the land is open only for non-motorized use. That means no off-road vehicles and no motorcycles.

For local motorcyclists, a few of whom were among the mountain's first trail builders, the closure comes as a blow.

"It's very disappointing if that's the way it is," says Paul Nielsen, 71, who has ridden in the area since the late 60s, and still rides, even after open-heart surgery.

Dana Johnson, 43, motocross chairman of the Mount Baker Motorcycle Club, says the closure was unfair.

"It is their property, but I think if they're going to close it, they should close it to everybody," he says.

The loss of most of the Galbraith hurts, he adds.

"When I was younger you could go to a dead-end road anywhere and go riding, and it was no big deal," Johnson says.

"Now there's no place you can legally ride a motorcycle in Whatcom County."

Trillium forester Randy Bartelt says the motorcycle ban was usual practice for the company, and motor vehicles had caused problems in the Galbraith.

"There's damage that has occurred up there from unauthorized motor vehicles, garbage dumping and vehicles being where they shouldn't be," he said.

NEW ERA FOR MOUNTAIN BIKES

Mountain bike advocates are pleased with the development: For the first time, they are officially permitted to be on the property.

"It's kind of a new era with Galbraith," says Mark Peterson president of the Whatcom Independent Mountain Pedalers (WHIMPs).

But Bartelt wants to see changes from what has been Galbraith practice.

Galbraith's tangle of trails were constructed without planning and permission. Trail builders working as individuals simply spotted lines and built on them. As a result, they could often be surprised one day by going riding only to find trees being felled around the trail.

Bartelt wants to work with the Whatcom Independent Mountain Pedalers to gain more control of the activity.

"We would like to see them work with us to identify new trails, to get together with them to know where the existing trails are, and work with them," he says. He'd like to make sure new trails don't encroach on streams or do other damage.

"We want to make sure the land is being treated properly," Bartelt says.

In turn, Trillium wants to work through the WHIMPs to give mountain bikers notice when there's logging on the trail.

Peterson expects the arrangement to work.

"It's a real nice change from not having any idea what's going on up there," he says.

In the next two years, three blocks of trees will be logged, cut by Bloedel Timberlands Development Inc. as part of their payment in the land swap.

Bartelt also wants to make sure mountain bikers don't enter the property by crossing private properties they don't have permission to use.

Peterson says that restriction shouldn't affect bikers' access; they'll still be able to use the north entrance at Birch Street and the south entrance at Galbraith Lane.

Asked about long-term plans for the land, Bartelt says Trillium plans to use it for logging."Our immediate plans are to continue to manage it as a productive forest for the next 10 years. What we're planning to do beyond that I can't speculate."

Reach Fiona Cohen at fcohen@bellingh.gannett.com or 715-2276.

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