Whatcom County Council Climate Action and Natural Resources Committee

## MODULE S1: STUDY GUIDE **Meeting ID:** WHA-CNR-2025-11-05 ### Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council Climate Action and Natural Resources Committee met on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, to discuss a brief procedural matter regarding the Forest Resilience Task Force. The committee reviewed an ordinance that would formally repeal the task force code, allowing it to sunset as originally planned at the end of 2025. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Forest Resilience Task Force:** A temporary county body established by Whatcom County Code 2.170 with a sunset date at the end of 2025, tasked with developing a forest resilience plan for the county. **Sunset Date:** An expiration date built into legislation that automatically terminates a program, committee, or law unless renewed by further action. **Forest Advisory Committee (FAC):** An ongoing county advisory body that provides guidance on forest-related policies and will now oversee the implementation of the Forest Resilience Plan. **AB (Agenda Bill):** The county's numbering system for legislative items, with AB2025-750 being the discussion item and AB2025-749 being the formal introduction. **Ordinance Repeal:** The formal legislative process to remove existing county code from the books when it's no longer needed. **Committee Discussion Item:** An agenda item for information sharing and informal discussion, requiring no formal vote or motion. **Forest Resilience Plan:** A comprehensive planning document developed by the task force to address forest health and wildfire risks in Whatcom County. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Kaylee Galloway | Committee Chair, County Council Member District 2 | | Mark Stremler | Committee Member, County Council Member | | Todd Donovan | Committee Member (absent), County Council Member | | Alexander Harris | Planning and Development Services Department, FAC Staff Facilitator | | Ben Elenbaas | County Council Member District 5, Forest Advisory Committee Rep | | Tyler Byrd | County Council Member District 1 | | Barry Buchanan | County Council Member | | Jon Scanlon | County Council Member | | Cathy Halka | Council Clerk | ### Background Context The Forest Resilience Task Force was created as a temporary body to develop strategies for improving forest health and wildfire preparedness in Whatcom County. Like many task forces, it was established with a built-in expiration date to ensure the work would be completed within a reasonable timeframe and prevent the creation of permanent bureaucratic structures without ongoing legislative oversight. The task force has completed its primary work by producing a draft Forest Resilience Plan. Rather than extend the task force's life, the County Council has decided to transfer ongoing oversight of the plan to the existing Forest Advisory Committee, which has the expertise and permanent structure to handle long-term implementation. This represents good government practice—creating temporary bodies for specific tasks, then transferring ongoing work to appropriate permanent structures. ### What Happened — The Short Version Committee Chair Kaylee Galloway explained that the meeting was purely procedural. The Forest Resilience Task Force is scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, and the county needs to formally repeal the ordinance that created it. This is standard housekeeping—when temporary bodies sunset, the code that established them should be removed from the books. No substantive policy decisions were made. Council Member Stremler asked about next steps for the Forest Resilience Plan itself. Alexander Harris from Planning and Development explained that the Forest Advisory Committee met the night before but spent most of their time on comprehensive plan updates rather than the resilience plan. They will focus on the plan's next steps at their December meeting. Council Member Elenbaas, who serves as the council representative to the Forest Advisory Committee, assured everyone that there's significant interest in moving the plan forward. ### What to Watch Next • **November 5 evening council meeting:** Introduction of AB2025-749 (the formal ordinance to repeal the task force code) • **November 18:** Final committee recommendation on the repeal ordinance • **Following council meeting:** Final council approval of the repeal • **December Forest Advisory Committee meeting:** Discussion of next steps for implementing the Forest Resilience Plan ---