• The Lake Whatcom and Lake Samish check stations are now closed for the 2024 season, however a valid 2024 permit is still required to boat on these lakes. Permits for the 2025 season go on sale January 2nd and the season starts April 26th 2025! If boat owners do not

  • It’s that time of the year again! April 27th marks the start of the 2024 summer boating season for the Whatcom Boat Inspection Program. Aquatic Invasive Species Program staff will be conducting watercraft inspections and decontaminations at four sites in the Lake Whatcom and Lake Samish Watershed. Our season schedule

  • Since 2012, the Whatcom Boat Inspection and Aquatic Invasive Species program has worked to keep Zebra and Quagga mussels (ZQM) out of Washington State, one of the last strongholds in the country, as well as control the spread of documented invasive species already present. Every year, the program publishes an

  • The final day for inspections and wire seals at Bloedel Donovan and Lake Samish is Thursday, September 28th. The final day for inspections and wire seals at Sudden Valley is Sunday, September 24th. Boat owners are encouraged to have their boats wire sealed, if they do not plan on using

  • *The Blodel Donovan and Sudden Valley boat launch have reopened as of 9/3/2023 The Bloedel Donovan Park boat launch will be closed and boating traffic not allowed until further notice to keep Lake Whatcom clear while fire crews fight wildfires on the lake’s southeast shoreline, likely caused by lightning Monday

  • The South Bay boat launch will be closed from August 21 through September 30, 2023 for redevelopment. The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife will construct a new concrete boat launch, dock, vault toilet, pave the parking lot and create parking stalls. More information on the project and closure is

  • The Lake Whatcom Boat Launch will be closed July 8th from 4am-2pm to accommodate the Lake Whatcom Triathlon. More information about the Lake Whatcom Triathlon can be found here: https://www.lakewhatcomtriathlon.com/.

  • It’s that time of the year again! April 22nd marks the start of the 2023 summer boating season for the Whatcom Boat Inspection Program. Aquatic Invasive Species Program staff will be conducting watercraft inspections and decontaminations at four sites in the Lake Whatcom and Lake Samish Watershed. Our season schedule

  • During the pandemic, the City of Bellingham offered financial relief for the Whatcom Boat Inspection program by automatically applying a $10 discount to the price of annual Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) boating permits required to launch on Lake Whatcom and Lake Samish. With the end of the Washington State COVID-19