Chronology of a 28 year-long environmental activist project In 1990, when we (Dean and Dudley Evenson) moved to the little valley in south Fairhaven tucked back in the woods surrounded by a beautiful second growth forest filled with hawks, eagles, and owls, we began to hear unsettling rumors that the Madrona Corporation was planning to destroy the forests and fragile wetlands to build 1400 multi-family houses. Just before Christmas that year, we received a letter from Robert Tull, the lawyer representing the Madrona Corporation development group inviting us to a meeting to hear about this proposed project. A huge crowd showed up and needless to say, no one in attendance wanted this development to be built. Soon thereafter, the concerned neighbors and citizens formed a non-profit corporation to help focus community response and the group dove headfirst into community and environmental activism to save the Hundred Acre Woods. After much grassroots organization and campaigns, a few years later, the specter of the Chuckanut Ridge Development reared its head and we needed to re-mobilize our forces. Many of the earlier group had moved on so we decided to call a meeting at the Fairhaven Library and see who was interested in preserving this land. We invited city planner Chris Spens to attend and report on the current situation. Over 300 people showed up and the standing room only crowd listened intently to the status report. We showed our Chuckanut Ridge Video to those assembled. One of the concepts that came forth from that meeting was “If you want to save it, you have to buy it.” A group called Responsible Development was formed to continue the campaign. Prior to the city-wide vote on the third Greenways levy, we had secured a commitment from the City Council that there would be $8 million designated for the purchase of the Hundred Acre Wood property. The levy passed by a good majority but for many years, we could not get an agreement to purchase the property from Horizon Bank. Then a miracle happened. In 2010, due to the economic downturn and housing crash, Horizon Bank went bankrupt! The new owners were a bank called Washington Federal and they did not want to develop the property and instead were anxious to sell it to the city. In 2011 we had a wonderful mayor, Dan Pike, in place who sympathized with the community’s wishes. He spearheaded the process and the City Council voted to purchase the Chuckanut Ridge property to finally preserve it once and for all. After twenty years of activism, we thought we could at last breathe a sigh of relief that the 100 Acre Wood would be safe for future generations. However, there were still challenges and hurdles to overcome. In 2013, when Bellingham City Hall said it could not afford the entire cost of the park, we needed to pass another levy local to neighborhoods near the forest. The last levy passed, and The Chuckanut Community Forest Park District was formed. Still, there were appeals and various lawsuits that had to be overcome but eventually in 2018 we got to finally celebrate the ultimate saving of this precious urban forest. It took us 28 years of dedicated community activism and not giving up to make it happen. You can watch our community celebration of saving the hundred acre woods here: youtu.be/uJdpDmcPtW4 www.chuckanutcommunityforest.com/ #EnvironmentalActivism #HundredAcreWoods #Chuckanut ---------------------------------------- To listen on all streaming platforms, search Dean Evenson. Thank you for subscribing to SOUNDINGS MINDFUL MEDIA: youtube.com/soundingsmindfulmedia Listen to Soundings on all streaming platforms and check out our latest multi-media releases: soundings.com/ Follow Soundings of the Planet & Dean Evenson: --YouTube: (Soundings of the Planet) youtube.com/user/SoundingsofthePlanet --Facebook: (Soundings of the Planet) www.facebook.com/SoundingsofthePlanet/ --Facebook: (Dean Evenson) www.facebook.com/dean.evenson.3 --Instagram: (Soundings of the Planet) www.instagram.com/soundingsoftheplanet/ --Instagram: (Dean Evenson) www.instagram.com/dean.evenson/ --Soundings Blog: soundings.com/healthylivingdreamsblog/