Intent: Utilize Salmon-Safe certification to inspire and deliver bioregionally significant environmental protection critical to the survival and recovery of imperiled Pacific salmonids and the restoration of West Coast watersheds.
Proposed Requirements: For site development and management applications ranging from corporate & university campuses to large-scale residential development, golf courses, manufacturing sites, and park systems, address all Salmon-Safe certification requirements, and additional restoration requirements as outlined by Salmon-Safe's independent Ph.D.-level science team in their Evaluation Report.
The following criteria will be met: Site selection & design to protect habitat & water quality beyond SSc1. Salmon-Safe standards require protection of rare, threatened, or endangered salmonids and their habitat, as well as the siting of new development consistent with enhancement of overall site hydrology and landscape ecology. Zero increase in stormwater run-off. Salmon-Safe requirements for design of stormwater facilities mandates that pre-development runoff conditions be met. Salmon-Safe requires dispersion and infiltration, where technically feasible, rather than flow concentration and retention. Salmon-Safe performance requirements for treatment of water quantity and quality include various LID strategies that diffuse, store, and filter stormwater runoff. This is more stringent than SSc6.2's requirement to treat and filter 90% of the average annual rainfall. Landscape management that protects water quality & wildlife habitat.
Salmon-Safe mandates a biologically-based and peer-reviewed Integrated Pest Management Plan and Fertilizer Management Plan, as well as the exclusion of pesticides (synthetic or naturally derived) with ingredients listed on Salmon-Safe's "high risk" pesticide list of inputs harmful to salmon and their aquatic ecosystem. Water conservation to protect aquatic species. Salmon-Safe mandates water conserving irrigation technology, limitations in the size of the landscape area to receive irrigation, the use of less water dependent native plants in landscaped areas, and the use of soil management practices such as composting and mulching to reduce irrigation requirements. These requirements protect and restore habitat as well as conserve open space, exceeding SSc5 requirements. A site-wide trend of declining water use is verified by Salmon-Safe on an annual basis. Submittals: Salmon Safe Independent Science Team Evaluation Report Reports, plans, policies, and other documentation addressing precondition and conditional requirements Salmon Safe Certification certificate Environmental Benefits: Salmon Safe mandates low impact principles for new development. Certification is based on the professional judgment of a team of expert, Ph.D.-level and independent certifiers.
The program provides a stringent property evaluation, provides pre-condition requirements, requirements, and recommendations to ensure on-going certification, exceeding LEED Rating System requirements in key water quality and habitat protection areas. After a project is certified, Salmon-Safe ensures the long-term environmental performance of certified sites through an annual verification process. This process includes habitat restoration progress, stormwater system performance, environmental design of any planned expansion, and other program elements to make sure the project is functioning as designed. Salmon-Safe certification incorporates, and significantly expands upon, previously approved LEED innovation credits including Integrated Pest Management, Monitor Threatened and Endangered Species, and Green Landscaping, just to name a few. Salmon-Safe Certification meets the three requirements of an Innovation & Design Credit. The Certification program provides quantitative performance benefits for environmental enhancement, is comprehensive to the project, and is readily applicable to other projects.