Task force to form 4–6 member review committee to speed drafting of forest resilience plan

Consultants working with the Whatcom County Forest Resilience Task Force recommended forming a small review committee to handle detailed editing of draft plan sections and keep the project on track for a September delivery to Whatcom County Council, the group heard at its most recent meeting.

Triangle team consultant Kate presented a stepwise drafting process that begins with a draft section from the project writer, moves to the review subcommittee for line-by-line edits, returns to the Triangle team for incorporation, then goes to the full task force for higher-level review. Kate said the approach is intended to make best use of members’ time and to avoid trying to manage line-by-line edits with the full task force given the compressed schedule.

"We're at a stage now where we're starting to get some meat on the bones on this plan," Kate said. She described the review committee as "a handful of folks" —recommended to be about four to six members—who could do detailed tracked changes and return a revised draft to the Triangle team. Melanie, also with the Triangle team, told members the group was "falling a little behind" on the timeline and urged prioritizing scheduled meetings to meet the September deadline.

Task force members generally supported the idea but emphasized selecting reviewers who have subject-matter experience and available time. "I have a slight preference for people that ... have experience and a wealth of knowledge in the subject matter and who have the time," said Oliver, a task force member.

Kate asked subcommittees to identify nominees or volunteers and submit names within two weeks so the review committee could begin work on the first sections. Triangle staff said they would deliver draft sections in increments to the review committee rather than all at once and then bring revised drafts to the full task force for broader, non-line-level feedback.

The task force’s next formal meeting is scheduled for March 10; Triangle staff asked subcommittees to provide review-committee nominees by Friday, Feb. 28, and to share draft objectives by March 3 so the March 10 packet can include updated materials.

The transcript and discussion show the recommendation was procedural and designed to balance broad stakeholder input with the practical need for timely, detailed drafting work; no formal vote was recorded on forming the review committee during the meeting.