Template revised April 12, 2018.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
7a.
BRIEFING ITEM
Date of Meeting
September 24, 2019
DATE: September 17, 2019
TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Sandra Kilroy, Director, Maritime Environment and Sustainability
Jane Dewell, Maritime Stormwater Program Manager
SUBJECT: Salmon-Safe Recertification Presentation to Maritime Division
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At the September 24, 2019 Commission meeting, Salmon-Safe will provide a brief presentation
and a plaque to the Port of Seattle in recognition of our salmon-safe certification.
The Port of Seattle’s Maritime Division has been granted recertification under the Parks and
Natural Areas standard by Salmon-Safe. Salmon-Safe is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit
organization that developed certification standards to recognize and support habitat and water
quality improvements on rural and urban lands. The Port’s Maritime parks and public access
areas have been Salmon-Safe certified since 2008. This environmental assessment and
management system is unique to Cascadia and conducted exclusively by Salmon-Safe in
Washington, Oregon, California and British Columbia. The market driven conservation measure
highlights work that the Port performs to benefit salmon and the marine environment. In
addition to the Parks and Natural Areas certification, the Seattle-Tacoma Airport was certified
by Salmon-Safe in 2016 through the organization’s infrastructure standard and is the first
airport in the U.S. to receive this designation.
BACKGROUND
Since 1998, Salmon-Safe has successfully defined and promoted ecologically sustainable
development and land management practices that protect water quality and aquatic
biodiversity throughout the Northwest. Businesses and other landowners achieve Salmon-Safe
certification after a rigorous assessment and independent verification of their operations by
experts in stormwater, landscape management and fish biology. The Salmon-Safe Parks and
Natural Areas initiative is the nation's first certification program linking park system
development and operation with the protection of water quality and an imperiled species. In
Washington State, Salmon-Safe activities include more than 100 farms, orchards, and dairies.
Together they engage corporate, commercial and institutional landowners in addressing critical
issues impacting Northwest salmon and Puget Sound including urban and municipal parks
projects.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. __7a.__ Page 2 of 3
Meeting Date: September 24, 2019
Template revised September 22, 2016.
The Port has participated in the Salmon-Safe program since 2008, when maritime parks and
public access points along the Duwamish and Elliott Bay were among the first Washington sites
to receive certification. In 2016, the Seattle-Tacoma airport was added as the first U.S. airport
certified under Salmon-Safe’s infrastructure standard.
The Salmon-Safe certification is a continuous improvement program that involves reassessment
every five years. Salmon-Safe conducts an assessment for site-wide certification of the
approximately 50-acre Port system of eight parks and 22 public access areas, including review
of restoration master planning and activities, landscape management, stormwater systems,
habitat restoration, and design guidance in future park development to ensure alignment with
Salmon-Safe standards. Policy and field-level evaluations are conducted using Salmon-Safe’s
peer reviewed Park and Natural Area standards to evaluate whether park system planning,
operations and restoration activities are consistent with Salmon-Safe principles of net-positive
watershed impact.
The recent recertification actions included the following:
(1) Site visit and meeting – the Salmon-Safe science team and Port staff visited Port parks
and publicly accessible properties on March 20, 2019 to evaluate landscape,
stormwater treatment, and habitat restoration projects developed since the last
recertification cycle. Properties included the Horton Street Marine Maintenance
facility; Terminals 102, 105, and 108 parks; Jack Block, 8
th
Avenue, and Centennial
parks; Maritime Industrial Center; and Fishermen’s Terminal.
(2) Report and outreach – a report of findings on the past cycle and recommendations for
the next five-year cycle was provided to the Port, with meetings to discuss findings
and next steps for continuous improvement. Accomplishments between 2013 and
2018 included updating the Port’s Landscape Management Guidelines, revising the
fertilizer management plan, implementing a water conservation plan, assessing
opportunities for additional opportunities for stormwater treatment and habitat
restoration, and installing at least two stormwater treatment and habitat restoration
projects.
(3) Verification – annual review of progress and to address questions and changes will be
provided by Salmon-Safe staff. Salmon-Safe defined seven new conditions for the Port
through 2023, with various milestones along the way.
Port maintenance and environmental staff carry out the work associated with maintaining
certification, from landscape management to habitat development to innovative stormwater
treatment projects. The certification program is consistent with and supports the Century
Agenda to be the greenest Port in North America.
NEXT STEPS
Ellen Southard, Salmon-Safe’s Puget Sound Manager, will provide a brief presentation and a
plaque to the Commissioners during the September 24, 2019 Commission meeting.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. __7a.__ Page 3 of 3
Meeting Date: September 24, 2019
Template revised September 22, 2016.
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING
(1) Presentation slides
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS
January 8, 2019 – The Commission authorized funding for three cycles of Salmon-Safe
review and recertification
June 28, 2016 – The Commission was briefed on Salmon-Safe certification for the Seattle-
Tacoma International Airport
