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Middle Fork Nooksack River

Draining 103 square miles, the Middle Fork Nooksack subbasin is located in the western portion of Whatcom County. The headwaters of this watershed begin at an elevation of 10,778 feet atop the Deming Glacier, on the south face of Mount Baker. Flowing northwesterly for 16 miles, the Middle Fork Nooksack reaches its lowest elevation of 290 feet at its confluence with the North Fork Nooksack River, just east of Deming.

All of the salmonids of the Nooksack can be found in the Middle Fork Nooksack watershed. Anadromous salmon are restricted to the lower reaches of the Middle Fork and its lower tributaries due to the City of Bellingham’s diversion dam, which creates an impassable barrier for upstream migration. Resident Dolly Varden have been found above the dam in Ridley, Rankin, Clearwater and Green creeks. Fish production in this watershed is also limited by low summer flows throughout the lower tributaries.

Approximately 85% of the land is within National Forest, National Wilderness, and commercial forestry areas. The remaining 15% is divided between rural residential use, small hobby farms, and limited industrial use including an olivine (magnesium iron silicate) mining operation.

Because of the steep slopes common in this basin, sedimentation is a major fish habitat concern. An added hazard is the proximity to the glaciers and the volcanic makeup of the rocks of Mt. Baker that have historically resulted in large-scale, naturally occurring mass wasting events such as volcanic mud flows (lahars). While steep and unstable slopes in this basin fail under natural conditions, human changes to the land, such as logging and road building, also contribute to landslides. However, better forest management and new forest practice and water quality rules are helping to improve the situation.

Many habitat restoration projects have occurred in the area, including the acquisition of the 2,266-acre Canyon Lake Community Forest, which is now jointly managed by Western Washington University, Whatcom County Parks and Recreation, and Whatcom Land Trust. Additionally, forest roads are being repaired or abandoned, culverts inventoried and replaced, and riparian areas are being replanted.

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