Local farmers have been clear from the beginning: the only way Whatcom County’s water crisis will be solved is through a collaborative process, despite the Washington State Department of Ecology’s water rights litigation in the Nooksack River Basin known as an adjudication.

Fred Likkel, Executive Director of Whatcom Family Farmers, tells Dillon the Whatcom County Council recently gave that perspective a nod with a unanimous vote on a set of changes to the local growth plan acknowledging the importance of community collaboration.