Coal Claims Filed in Chuckanut Mountains
Conflict arises over land rights between coal claimants and timber interests near Bellingham.
Coal has been discovered in several places in Township 36 of the Chuckanut range of mountains, just beyond the Samish settlement, and several claims have recently been filed under the coal act at $10 per acre, among them M. J. McElroy, J. H. Fravel, A. R. Johnson and James Clark. These filings are in conflict with certain timber entries, involving the question whether the Government will dispose of coal land to a timber claimant at $2.50 which a claimant under the coal act offers to take at $10 per acre.
“These filings are in conflict with certain timber entries, involving the question whether the Government will dispose of coal land to a timber claimant.”
Conflicts between extractive industries and federal land policy have long shaped Washington's economy. This dispute over the valuation and classification of land reflects the state's early transition from timber-focused harvesting to mineral and resource extraction.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.