Featured Eco-Tour Courtesy of
Point Roberts Tourism and Point Roberts Living
Join us for a beautiful day in the sun with 2 guided walks.
August 22nd 10:30 am
Lily Point Reserve, Point Roberts, WA
Meet up at the end of APA road, arrive early as walk starts promptly.
The Beach Walk
Come take an Intertidal walk with Sheila Byers of Nature Vancouver. A short-forested walk will lead you down to the tidelands. The waters of Boundary Bay are 80 degrees in August and Sheila will help you to discover marine invertebrates buried in warm sand. A full color, waterproof Intertidal Pamphlet describing the marine life with pictures is included compliments of PRCS. 2.25 miles
The Forest Walk
Craig Jacks, Point Roberts’ resident naturalist will guide you on a walk, which takes in beautiful marine vistas, bald eagles and old growth trees. Learn about the Native history, trees and medicinal plants in your back yard. Handouts with plant descriptions and pictures will be included. Forest walk will end up on the beach for a 2.25 mile walk to Maple Beach.
Bring water, hat, a snack. Children and dogs must be accompanied by a legal guardian
Donation Information
PRCS is a non-profit tax exempt corporation accepting donations to help with our legal and general expenses.
PRCS, PO Box 675, Point Roberts, WA 98281-0675
Donations: Suzanne Rosser, Treasurer, 360-945-0418
Press Interviews: Michael Rosser, 604-813-7515
For more information about the PRCS - see "About the PRCS" tab above
About the Point Roberts Conservation Society
POINT ROBERTS
CONSERVATION SOCIETY
PRCS history: In 1988, a small group of concerned and dedicated neighbors, led by Larry and Aileen Crosetti, banded together to fight the proposed commercial development of Lily Point by Welsh Development Inc. The plan was to develop 132 acres of the former Alaska Packers Association (APA) property to create “The Resort at Lily Point,” consisting of a 72 room hotel, 18 hole golf course, three story, 94 unit condominium, and 47 single family residential lots.
The golf resort project was first proposed in 1984 and finally died in 1996. Larry’s group fought it all the way, raising money from a community largely united in opposition to such development and spending thousands of dollars of his own money to pay for legal counsel. In 1993 this effort led to the incorporation of this community advocacy group as the Resource Management Group (RMG), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit corporation.
The Dream: In 2006 directors of RMG handed over stewardship of the organization to a new group of directors, drawn mostly from the Point Roberts Taxpayers Association board, who lobbied for public acquisition of Lily Point by Whatcom County Parks and Recreation. Larry Crosetti retired in 2006 and the new Board of Directors officially adopted the (dba) Point Roberts Conservation Society (PRCS).
The new PRCS President, Michael Rosser, continued to lobby Whatcom County and the Whatcom Land Trust (WLT) to purchase the property from the tip of Lily Point to Cedar Point.
PRCS collected many generous donations from both Americans and Canadians. The purchase was completed with the help of many state agencies and interested private citizens.
June 4, 2008 Lily Point Marine Reserve was dedicated in a beautiful ceremony that included drumming, song, and tribute by representatives of the Lummi Nation. PRCS was recognized by the Lummi elders for its more than 20 years of perseverance to make sure Lily Point is preserved for the ages.
Chelhtenem (Lily Point) is listed on the Washington Heritage Register and has a Determination of Eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places.
PRCS continued to lobby various groups, including the Nature Conservancy (TNC), to purchase the rest of the Welch property. TNC soon fulfilled this second part of PRCS’s vision by purchasing the additional 150 acres of forested bluffs and tidelands, which will be added to Lily Point Marine Reserve. The dedication for this expansion of the park is planned for June 27, 2010.
There is a third and final part to PRCS’s vision of the preservation of Lily Point: The spectacularly beautiful and environmentally sensitive parcel of land to the west, which is currently under renewed threat of residential development. In 2006, Stanton Northwest Inc. announced plans to build a gated community of 103 upscale homes on 103 acres adjacent to Lily Point Marine Reserve, to be named “Lily Point Beach Club.” Those grandiose plans failed to materialize, but the successor company, Lily Point LLC is currently pursuing “Phase 1” of the Lily Point Beach Club plan, by seeking to develop and market 39 building lots on the 40 acres abutting the reserve. This new development was renamed Point Roberts Beach Club.
What PRCS is doing today: We are appealing Whatcom County Planning Dept.’s DNS (Determination of Non Significance) which precludes our insistence on a new EIS (environmental impact statement). In other words we believe that the documents and reports filed by Lily Point LLC are not sufficient for the issuance of their development permit. We are doing all we can to stop the development, Point Roberts Beach Club from being built.
This is the hard part for PRCS as we are all volunteers, property owners and love the natural beauty and history of Lily Point. We have logged hundreds of hours on behalf of the 75% of the Community who reject this development.
We are not engaged in obstructing all development here. We did not lobby against Marina Mist or the The Residence at Point Roberts Golf Resort. Our focus has always been to protect this particular land area from being disturbed due to sensitive environmental, archaeological and historic issues.
What PRCS hopes to accomplish: We hope to succeed in delaying the development process thereby stopping Lily Point LLC from getting a permit. We believe that if the property is developed, the half million dollar lots will stand unsold but the land will have been destroyed for no gain to the developers or the community.
There have always been empty lots with marine views for sale here and some with lovely houses on them. At the price point Lily Point LLC is asking we sincerely doubt the efficacy of this development.
PRCS is searching for buyers to purchase the land, deed it to the County and have them place it into Lily Point Marine Reserve. The special beauty of this environment is our most treasured asset and we are dedicated to being vigilant on behalf of Point Roberts and on behalf of all those who love this place.
PRCS is a non-profit tax exempt corporation accepting donations to help with our legal and general expenses.
PRCS, PO Box 675, Point Roberts, WA 98281-0675
Donations: Suzanne Rosser, Treasurer, 360-945-0418
Press Interviews: Michael Rosser, 604-813-7515
More Eco-Tours are in the works...please check for updates at http://pointrobertstourism.com or http://pointrobertsliving.com