SEATTLE, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A Washington state appeals court has affirmed key rulings in a challenge to Lummi Island ferry fares.

On Monday, July 6,  the Division 1 Court of Appeals upheld a pair of rulings made by Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Evan Jones.

Jones ruled in January 2025 that Lummi Island resident Peter Earle was partially justified in arguing that Whatcom County miscalculated an increase in Lummi Island ferry fares.

The county appealed Jones’ decision that repairs made to the ferry’s “dolphins,” which are structures that help guide and secure the ferry when it docks, were incorrectly categorized as operating costs.

The appeals court sided with Jones, stating that the repairs were not regular and routine maintenance, so they shouldn’t have been included in calculating the fares.

Earle also appealed Jones’ ruling that ferry riders have to continue covering monthly lease payments as part of an agreement with the Lummi Nation for the use of tidelands that extend from the mainland terminal at Gooseberry Point.

The appeals court again sided with Jones, concluding that nothing in the county code requires those lease payments to be excluded from the fare calculation.

The court’s decision was first reported by the Bellingham Herald.