Turning water rights over to the courts could end local farming
Washington State leaders are making plans to refer questions about who has the right to use water in Whatcom County over to the courts. Even though a better collaborative process exists, the State claims that taking everyone to court is the way to protect fish and create certainty.

But the reality is adjudication takes decades, and the resulting uncertainty farmers will face most certainly will accelerate the conversion of the remaining farmland to urbanization. It's hard to imagine a worse decision for fish.

why this would harm fish & the community
​Farmers strongly believe that adjudication would be the wrong path, not just for farmers, but for the future of fish and the whole community. There are four reasons:
  • A much better process exists to collaborate and resolve water resource management issues. Ecology should support collaboration, instead of stopping it.
  • ​Adjudication turns the entire issue into a combative, potentially destructive and very lengthy legal process. Instead, we need a community that's unified around salmon recovery.
  • ​Huge amounts of money will be wasted on lawyers and courts--money that could instead support continuing or expanding the work underway to improve fish returns.
  • ​Adjudication will seriously decrease the amount of water farmers can count on, resulting in the loss of many, if not most, farms in Whatcom County.
Disrupting longstanding water access will not only devastate farms, but nearly every part of our community. Jobs, homes, businesses and more will all likely be seriously affected.
That's why the City of Bellingham, the Whatcom Public Utilities District, and most other groups in the community have voiced opposition the State's plan to adjudicate water rights.

Why turn this matter into a longterm, contentious and very, very costly legal battle when water issues can be solved through a much better process that brings the community together and actually helps protect fish?

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