At first, I believe that everyone thought that Whatcom County and the Lummi Nation would resolve the dispute over the mainland port for the Lummi Island ferry. But the negotiations are at an impasse and there is now less than one month left before the deadline that has been imposed by the tribe. The Lummi's have notified Whatcom County that the ferry must vacate their land by April 10, 2011. Below is a photo of the ferry arriving at the mainland port, Lummi Island in the background.
About 1000 people, or fewer, live on Lummi Island and there are very few businesses. One of the more prominent ones is "The Willows Inn" which is a bed and breakfast with a great gourmet restaurant. This establishment, worried about the future, sent an Email to me yesterday stating that they have made contingency plans with a private charter for their guests -- just in case this issue is not resolved.
If the ferry cannot operate from the Gooseberry Point port, the ferry will have to depart from Fairhaven, a part of Bellingham, and that turns a less than ten minute ferry ride into nearly an hour ferry ride. This has not only businesses but Lummi Island residents thinking about the future. There is so little commerce on the island that most of them rely on going back and forth to the mainland for work, groceries, etc.
Those, who are trying to save this ferry run, have put together a petition drive in an effort to get more involvement from the federal lawmakers in this region. Anyone who lives in this area, and wants to see the ferry landing remain where it is, can find a link to this online petition drive here.
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