08/28/2026
There is only one Galbraith.
Tonight I stood on Galbraith with some of the legendary trail builders who helped create this place decades ago. Looking at them, then thinking about my son riding these same trails today, drove home what DNR seems to be missing.
Galbraith isn’t just timber. It’s something generations of this community built together.
People moved dirt by hand here long before Bellingham became an internationally known mountain-bike destination. Another generation picked up the shovel. Then another. Now our kids are growing up in these woods.
And Washington DNR is clearcutting through the heart of it.
I’m not anti-logging. Washington needs working forests and timber jobs. But responsible forest management means recognizing that not every acre has its greatest value measured in board feet.
DNR’s own documents call this a “heavy use recreation area.” The Junia timber sale was appraised at roughly $497,000.
Meanwhile, outdoor recreation has been estimated to generate $585 MILLION annually in Whatcom County and support 6,500+ jobs. Galbraith is one of the crown jewels of that economy.
A timber sale pays once. A great recreation asset gives back for generations.
But the greatest value isn’t financial.
Our kids learn confidence, independence, resilience and respect for the natural world here—things no screen can teach them.
A trail isn’t just dirt beneath your tires.
THE FOREST IS PART OF THE TRAIL.
We don’t have to choose between logging and recreation. We need to choose where each makes sense.
There are millions of acres of working timberland in Washington.
There is only one Galbraith.
— some places are worth more standing than cut.
MountainBiking