🐹 Beetles At The Park 🐛🐛

Good morning, Bellingham. This is your Wednesday update from The Hamster Wheel.

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

Or, hit reply to send me photos via email. 📧

Bellingham Parks posted this week about crews removing several elm trees along the Elizabeth Street side of Elizabeth Park this week after city arborists found European elm bark beetles (Scolytus multistriatus) during a recent inspection.

The concern is not just the beetles themselves. Tiny as they are 👇, they can carry the fungus that causes Dutch elm disease, a vascular disease that blocks an elm’s ability to move water eventually killing the tree. Once an elm is infested, removing it quickly can help reduce places where bark beetles breed and limit the chance of their spreading to nearby trees.

European elm bark beetles are small, but the evidence they leave behind is easier to spot. Adults burrow through the bark of weakened or stressed elm trees to lay eggs, and the larvae then tunnel through the inner bark in branching galleries. When the next generation emerges, it leaves small round exit holes behind. Those beetles can then fly to other elms, which is where the Dutch elm disease concern comes in. If a beetle has picked up fungal spores from an infected tree, it can carry them to a healthy elm while feeding.

What to look for: If you have an elm in your yard, keep an eye out for clusters of tiny round holes in the bark, loose or peeling bark, and the telltale tunneling patterns just underneath it. 👇

Bark beetles tend to make use of trees that are already stressed or declining, so thinning foliage or dying branches can also be a reason to take a closer look. Those signs do not necessarily mean Dutch elm disease is present, but they can point to bark beetle activity worth having checked out.

The City of Bellingham is holding its final Ask Us Anything event of the year tonight, August 19, at Larrabee Lager Co. Mayor Kim Lund and members of the city’s leadership team will be there to talk about current priorities and upcoming projects, with time for questions from the community.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with the program running from 6 to 7 pm. City staff are scheduled to share departmental updates during the evening.

Everson Readers: The city has opened a 60-day review period for its 2025-2045 Comprehensive Plan update, along with proposed changes to its critical areas ordinance and development regulations. You can review the draft materials and submit comments now, with public hearings scheduled for September 22 and October 13.

LOCAL READS

Pelican population grows in Padilla Bay
By Josh Mossman · Salish Current
American white pelicans are appearing in Padilla Bay in much larger numbers, with roughly 200 now present year-round and hundreds more arriving seasonally. Josh reports that the growth may be tied to crowding at established breeding grounds in eastern Washington, while repeated disturbance in Padilla Bay could still prevent a permanent nesting colony. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Lets hit the snooze button on sleep 'expertise'
By Ron Judd · The BellingHammer
Sleep advice has become its own noisy industry, with watches, experts and lifestyle articles turning bedtime into a checklist of scores, schedules and supposed best practices. Ron explains why much of that guidance feels absurd in ordinary life, especially when the real challenge is simply getting through a restless night without overthinking it. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Wednesday
City of Bellingham Meet-and-Greet, 5:30 pm, Larrabee Lager Company

Thursday
Bham Planning Commission, 6:00 pm, City Hall

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Wednesday
King Mountain Victory Garden: Join the City of Bellingham for a work party at the King Mountain Victory Garden, a newer community garden plot dedicated to growing food for donation, with an afternoon of weeding, harvesting, and a little time in the garden. Register
Stream Team: Help Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) maintain older sites that need love. Meet at NSEA’s campus by 8 am and your group leader will shuttle everyone to the site. You can expect to be back to NSEA at 12 pm. Register
Larrabee State Park: Join Washington Trails Association for a day of trail maintenance at Larrabee State Park, working on tread issues along the Lost Lake and Rock Trail. The work party is currently full, but a waitlist is available.

Friday-Saturday
Olsen Creek: Help Washington Trails Association implement a multi-use recreation opportunity just outside of Bellingham. Friday / Saturday

Saturday
Euclid Park: Join Whatcom Million Trees Project for a morning of ivy removal at Euclid Park, helping free trees and native vegetation in this mature forest and wetland along Lake Whatcom. Register
Summer Stewards - Litter Pickup: Join NSEA’s Summer Stewards for a morning litter pickup, helping keep trash out of local creeks and rivers that salmon and people rely on. Register

Bellis Fair
Paranormal Cirque Voodoo (circus) | Fri-Sun

BAAY
Head Over Heels (theatre) | Fri-Sun

The Blue Room
Clayton English (comedy) | Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Tango Practica - The Majestic - Wed 6:30 pm
Revolution Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 7:30 pm
Beginner Ballet - Karate Church - Sat 10 am
Beginner Contemporary - Karate Church - Sat 11:30 am
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Open Floor Conscious Dance - Bellingham Fitness - Sun 10:30 am

Amy Helm performs at Mount Baker Theatre tonight, August 19, at 7:30 pm as part of the Lookout Sessions. Helm is touring behind Silver City, an album that blends folk, gospel, and soul while drawing on stories of womanhood, family, hardship, and change.

La Luz brings a mix of psychedelic rock, doo-wop harmonies, and melodic guitar to the Wild Buffalo tonight, August 19, with Spacemoth opening. The band’s newest record, News of the Universe, was created during a period of personal and lineup changes. Doors open at 8 pm and music begins at 9 pm for ages 21 and over.

Skylark’s hosts Duo Synchronicity on its patio tomorrow, August 20, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The musicians met after independently signing up for the same improvisational theater class and soon realized their musical histories overlapped, including experience with some of the same repertoire. A performance with Improv Playworks led to more appearances around town, eventually giving the duo its name.

Flower Market, Ohio Street Work Studios – A weekly market from 9 am to noon offers locally grown seasonal cut flowers from North Sound Flower Cooperative farms to floral professionals and the public.

Customer Appreciation Day, LFS Marine & Outdoor – A four-hour event from 11 am to 3 pm includes a parking lot sale, free hot dogs and sodas while supplies last, and a live KISM broadcast with a summer prize drawing.

Trivia Night, Kulshan Roosevelt Taproom – Weekly trivia runs from 7 to 9 pm with teams of up to six, a $2 buy-in per person, cash prizes, and rotating themed rounds.

Wednesday Music & Trivia →

Barkley Market, Barkley Village Green – A public market from 11 am to 2 pm features local vendors, food trucks, Bellingham Public Library storytime at 11 am, and live music beginning at noon.

Lost at Last, Hotel Bellwether – Lost at Last performs from 6 to 9 pm with a six-piece mix of country, rock, and island-inspired songs, while BBQ service runs from 5 to 7:30 pm on the Waterfront Terrace.

Saltwater Cowboys, Kulshan Sunnyland Taproom – A live set from 6 to 8 pm blends trop-rock, country, pop, and jam influences as part of the band’s Thursday residency at Sunnyland.

Thirsty Thursday: Singles Bingo Night, Kulshan Roosevelt Taproom – Singles can meet over a hosted bingo game from 6 to 8 pm, with free admission and a format designed to encourage conversation between rounds.

Trivia Night: Geeks Who Drink, Aegis Taphouse – Weekly trivia starts at 6 pm with team-based rounds and prizes.

Thursday Music & Trivia →

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