Bellingham Region & Whatcom County, Washington

4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 BELL INGHAM REGION & WHATCOM COUNTY , WASHINGTON institutions, 90,000 jobs, nearly 6,000 registered business, and 5 land-based ports of entry. The Port of Bellingham, which is a countywide Port district, offers an international airport (Bellingham International Airport (BLI), the Bellingham Shipping Terminal (BST) for cargo handling and distribution, the Bellingham Cruise Terminal (BCT), which is the southern connection to the Alaska Marine Highway System, and two full-service marinas (Squalicum and Blaine Harbor). The four post-secondary institutions include Bellingham Technical College, Northwest Indian College, Western Washington University and Whatcom Community College. These schools are home to over 30,000 students and provide nationally-ranked degree and certificate programs, including one of the best cyber security programs in the United States. Of course, being a border county meant that Whatcom was hard-hit when Canada closed the border to non-essential travel during the pandemic. “We’ve seen that return very quickly since the restrictions have lifted,” Goldberg reports. “We also have an airport here in Bellingham, which is owned by the Port of Bellingham, and that airport depended quite a bit on Canadian traffic.” Due to the border proximity, Canadians looking for a cheaper alternative to Vancouver International Airport often use BLI. Three major airlines serve the airport: Southwest, Allegiant, and Alaska. “Between the pandemic and the border closure, business was really hurting,” Goldberg continues. “Thankfully, that’s all changed dramatically now and our flights are filling up.” As Whatcom County’s Associate Development Organization (ADO), a Washington State Department of Commerce designation, the Port of Bellingham was able to deliver nearly $10M in small business relief grants at the