Lily Point
Location: Point Roberts, Boundary Bay
Acres: 90/130
Lily Point is an extraordinary 90-acre marine shoreline property with 40 acres of tidelands at the southeast corner of Point Roberts. Boundary Bay borders the property on one side and the Straits of Georgia on the other.
Aerial photograph by John Scurlock
Lily Point was likely the most culturally and ecologically endowed undeveloped property in the greater Puget Sound region that was still in private ownership in 2007. For 9,000 years people have come to Lily Point because of its biological richness; Whatcom Land Trust hopes to make sure that the same is true for the next 9,000 years — both the public access and the biological richness.
Lily Point hosts a dynamic assembly of ecological processes – reefs and tidelands swept by nutrient filled currents; riparian forests providing shade, perches, and insects to the coastal environment; and eroding cliffs supplying sand and gravel for spawning forage fish and beach replenishment. These processes are essential to the health of Puget Sound – the Orca that patrol the Straights of Georgia, salmon that skirt Lily Point on their way to the Fraser and Nooksack Rivers, bald eagles that scour the beach, great blue herons that stalk the tidelands, and waterfowl and shore birds that visit Boundary Bay. At a low tide in June, a delegation from the Land Trust saw nearly 100 eagles on the beach at Lily Point.
The history of Lily Point attests to its fecundity. Archeologists date human occupancy back at least 9000 years. For centuries, the Coastal Salish Native Peoples maintained their primary reef net fishery and a summer village for as many as 500 people at Lily Point. Here the Lummi ancestors each year performed their most important “first salmon” ceremony to assure the annual return of the fish they depended on. They called this place Chelhtenem, “hang salmon for drying.” An 1881 newspaper reported 10,000 salmon caught by 3 reef nets in 6 hours.
Lummi Nation supported WLT’s purchase of Lily Point and the plan to transfer ownership to Whatcom County for use as a park. WLT will retain a conservation easement and the responsibilities of long-term stewardship.
Point Roberts is only a half hour drive from Vancouver. The Point Roberts Beach Club, a proposed 103-house gated community, is less than 500 feet west of Lily Point. Whatcom County owns three of the four corners of Point Roberts – Monument Park, Lighthouse Park and Maple Beach, the latter of which was given to the County by Whatcom Land Trust, encumbered by a restrictive conservation easement. Only Lily Point, by far the most ecologically important of the four corners, remains exposed to development.
By whatever mix of spirit and ecological powers, Lily Point remains a place of prolific productivity, just as it was when Salish people evoked spirit powers to ensure the return of the salmon to Chelhtenem and direct migrating fish to the reef nets. Perhaps by the grace of a spirit power, the plentiful natural heritage of Lily Point is ours to preserve.
Great news for Earth Day, great news for habitat lovers and hikers alike!
Your support and the assistance of many great partners made it happen. This project, unique because of Point Roberts status as one of only three exclaves in the United States, brought together a terrific blend of cooperative partners. We are extremely fortunate to have received the assistance of The Land Conservancy of British Columbia in handling Canadian donors, and the support of a number of Canadian chapters of naturalist and birding organizations. The biological vitality of the project attracted many people wishing to assist in the preservation of Lily Point; your ongoing support of Whatcom Land Trust creates conservation successes!
Please consider joining us to celebrate all of the work of the land trust at the Great Outdoors Auction on May 3rd at the Lakeway Inn. Tickets may be purchased from the land trust office, 110 Central Avenue, or you may call 650-9470 to join in the fun!
For more information please contact info@whatcomlandtrust.org