Little Squalicum Creek is a small, independent stream located on the western edge of the City of Bellingham in Little Squalicum Park.
Due to past land uses, much of the original stream no longer exists. Instead, the channel currently originates from two separate stormwater culverts located at the north perimeter of Little Squalicum Park fed primarily by stormwater pipes flowing from the Birchwood neighborhood, Bellingham Technical College and the Oeser Company facility, as well as by seeps, springs and precipitation within the boundaries of Little Squalicum Park.
These water sources converge to form an open channel in a narrow, steep ravine that continues approximately 1,500 feet before discharging into Bellingham Bay through the Little Squalicum Estuary that the City finished constructing in 2024. The estuary project removed a fish passage barrier and restored 4.85 total acres of coastal habitat, including a 2.4-acre estuary that provides juvenile rearing, refuge, and foraging habitat for multiple salmon and trout species, including Endangered Species Act-listed Puget Sound Chinook. A 2016 study documented juvenile chinook use of Little Squalicum Beach.
In addition, forage fish monitoring studies have found that Little Squalicum Beach is a spawning site for surf smelt and sand lance, two species of forage fish. Forage fish are a critical food source for salmon.
The City also began a multi-phased stormwater treatment project in 2024 to add underground stormwater treatment units in the Birchwood neighborhood that will filter pollutants from stormwater runoff that previously entered Little Squalicum Creek mostly untreated.
