A 3.5-mile trail winding through one of Whatcom County's most beloved community forests now carries a name that reflects the life's work of the man who helped make it possible. The Whatcom County Council has voted to rename the main trail leading to Canyon Lake in the Canyon Lake Community Forest after Rand Jack, a founding member of Whatcom Land Trust who has spent decades working to permanently protect land across the region.
The vote was announced August 20 by Whatcom County Government, which called the decision a chance to recognize someone who has given an enormous amount of himself to preserving the landscapes that define life in Whatcom County. The newly named Rand Jack Trail follows the primary route into the Canyon Lake Community Forest, a spectacular natural area that Jack himself helped protect through his work with the Land Trust.
Who Is Rand Jack?
Rand Jack is one of the founders of Whatcom Land Trust, the nonprofit organization that has protected more than 20,000 acres of farmland, forestland, and shoreline in Whatcom County since its founding in 1985. Over nearly four decades, Jack has been one of the most persistent and effective voices for permanent land conservation in the region, helping negotiate complex transactions that keep working farms, wildlife corridors, and critical watersheds out of development.
The Canyon Lake Community Forest itself stands as one of his most significant accomplishments. The forest, located in the foothills east of Bellingham, encompasses hundreds of acres of mature second-growth timber, wetlands, and the trail corridor that now bears Jack's name. It is managed as a working community forest, balancing low-impact timber harvest with public recreation and long-term ecological health.
Jack is also the author of a forthcoming piece about the creation of the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve, another of the conservation victories he helped engineer during his long tenure with Whatcom Land Trust. That story is set to appear in the upcoming autumn issue of a local publication, due on newsstands next week, offering readers a firsthand account of how the reserve came together.
What the Trail Renaming Means
Trail naming decisions by the Whatcom County Council are relatively rare and typically reserved for figures whose contributions to public land, community history, or civic life are considered lasting and significant. The unanimous nature of the vote signals broad agreement among county officials that Jack's legacy meets that bar.
The Rand Jack Trail begins at the Canyon Lake Community Forest trailhead and follows the main corridor roughly 3.5 miles to Canyon Lake, gaining elevation through mixed forest before arriving at the lake basin. The trail is popular with hikers, mountain bikers, and families and is one of the primary reasons the Canyon Lake Community Forest sees consistent year-round visitation.
For hikers who have walked the route for years without knowing the person behind its conservation, the new name offers a chance to connect the physical experience of the trail with the human story that made public access possible. Without Rand Jack and the network of conservationists he helped build, the Canyon Lake Community Forest could easily have been logged for private profit or subdivided for rural residential development.
The Broader Work of Whatcom Land Trust
Whatcom Land Trust continues to operate as one of the most active land conservation organizations in Washington state. The organization uses a combination of donated conservation easements, negotiated purchases, and public funding to permanently protect land from development. Its work spans everything from small family farms in the Nooksack Valley to large forested tracts in the foothills of the North Cascades.
The Stimpson Family Nature Reserve, another project Jack helped bring to fruition, protects a significant stretch of land north of Bellingham that serves as critical habitat for migratory birds, native fish, and old-growth associated wildlife. The reserve is open for limited public recreation and serves as a model for how private land can be permanently protected through voluntary conservation agreements.
The Land Trust's current project portfolio includes ongoing work to connect fragmented habitat corridors across the county, protect agricultural land from residential conversion, and engage the next generation of conservation supporters through education programs and volunteer opportunities.
What Comes Next
The Rand Jack Trail name is now official following the County Council vote. Hikers visiting Canyon Lake Community Forest can expect to see updated signage reflecting the new name in the coming months as the county works through its standard process for marking and mapping renamed public trails.
Anyone interested in learning more about Rand Jack's conservation work or supporting the ongoing effort to protect Whatcom County's most ecologically valuable lands can visit Whatcom Land Trust's website or attend one of the organization's regular community events. For trail conditions and access information at Canyon Lake Community Forest, contact Whatcom County Parks directly through whatcomcounty.us.
For readers who follow Whatcom County's ongoing land use debates, the Rand Jack Trail renaming is a reminder that the green spaces residents enjoy today exist because specific people made specific sacrifices over many years to protect them. That history is now literally written into the landscape.
