OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A Republican state lawmaker is seeking to undo a state action that added 45 acres to an aquatic reserve near Bellingham.
Senate Bill 5171 would rescind an order that expanded the boundaries of the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve. Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark signed the order before leaving office this month.
Leaders of several tribes, including the Lummi Nation, testified against the bill at a hearing Tuesday.
The bill is sponsored Sen. Doug Ericksen, who recently took a temporary position in President Donald Trump’s Administration.
The bill would also require legislative approval before other aquatic reserves can be expanded or established.
The 45 acres at Cherry Point had been set aside for a proposed coal-export shipping terminal. But when the Gateway Pacific Terminal did not get a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers last May, the Lummi Nation asked the Department of Natural Resources to incorporate that land into the aquatic reserve.
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