Salmon-Safe BC

The Fraser Basin Council manages Salmon-Safe BC — an eco-certification program that recognizes land management practices that better protect Pacific salmon habitat and enhance water quality on agricultural and urban lands.

The Salmon-Safe program was introduced in British Columbia in 2011 by the Fraser Basin Council and Pacific Salmon Foundation in collaboration with Salmon Safe in the United States. Since 2018 FBC has been the sole program delivery body for Salmon-Safe BC. See recent certifications and learn more about the program below.

Recent Salmon-Safe Certifications

TELUS Development Projects

January 2025

TELUS Living Nanaimo

A Salmon-Safe certified site on Vancouver Island

TELUS Ocean

A Salmon-Safe certified site in Victoria

TELUS Living Sechelt

A Salmon-Safe certified site on the Sunshine Coast

Congratulations to TELUS for achieving Salmon-Safe BC certification on three development projects – TELUS Living Nanaimo, TELUS Ocean (Victoria) and TELUS Living Sechelt. 

All three TELUS development projects were reviewed by an independent Salmon-Safe assessment team. Each has innovative design features that reflect a commitment by TELUS to improve watershed health in these urban settings. Key features include:  

  • Rainwater harvesting for irrigation and other water use optimization techniques 
  • Effective stormwater management, including detention, improved filtration and slow water release 
  • Increased tree canopy to offer bird habitat and to reduce urban heat effects 
  • Rooftop plantings and use of site-adapted and native plants in landscaping planning 
TELUS Living Nanaimo

  • TELUS Ocean (Victoria) is a commercial property in construction. This urban site has innovative features and was recently certified as Salmon-Safe.

TELUS Ocean (Victoria)

TELUS Ocean is located at 767 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (Esquimalt and Songhees territory). This commercial property is currently under construction and will be a 10-storey office building with retail space on the ground floor. The site is connected to the Victoria watershed, which is linked to rivers supporting Coho salmon.

The design includes rainwater harvesting from all roofs and terraces, which will provide enough water for all on-site irrigation and significantly decrease the total volume of stormwater runoff. Rainwater will be directed to a 70-cubic metre storage cistern in the parkade. TELUS has gone above and beyond local requirements for catch basins by directing drain outlets and as much surface runoff as possible into tree soil cells and landscaped areas at grade.

The landscape plan includes non-invasive and adapted trees, shrubs and ground cover plant species that will improve on-site ecological function. The local watershed has been taken into consideration, with the goal of strengthening the urban habitat corridor for birds through tree canopies. The rooftop landscapes will feature a high level of plant diversity, offering food, forage and refuge opportunities for birds and insects. The project introduced a number of bird-safe design strategies to reduce the risk of migratory bird strikes.

The TELUS Ocean development will also incorporate climate-resilient features including:

  • Increased soil depth to improve tree health

  • Increased street tree plantings to reduce the urban heat island effect

  • Increased stormwater capacity and runoff controls to accommodate more intense storm events and withstand periods of drought

For more information on the project, please visit www.telusocean.com.

TELUS Living Nanaimo

  • TELUS Living Nanaimo, now certified Salmon-Safe, was designed with sensitivity to ecological function of the surrounding watershed.

TELUS Living Nanaimo

TELUS Living Nanaimo is located at 235 Wallace Street, Nanaimo, BC (Snuneymuxw and Cowichan Tribes territory). This residential development consists of two buildings, standing six stories tall and offering 195 residential units. The site is adjacent to the Millstone Watershed, which is known to support Coho and Chum salmon populations.

The design will restore ecological functionality to the site and reduce water demand by:

  • Replacing trees at a 9:1 ratio
  • Planting native and adapted trees, shrubs and ground cover plants
  • Utilizing a high-efficiency irrigation system

For stormwater management, the site design includes two cell-type, EcoBloc stormwater detention tanks totaling 57,000 liters of storage capacity, intended to attenuate flows from five- year events. Prior to entering the detention tanks, all captured stormwater will be routed through sediment sumps, and stormwater runoff from parking areas will be routed through oil interceptors.

The design also includes vegetated areas at grade and over the parking garage, and permeable paving at the central courtyard, circulation pathways and patio. These areas together will catch, filter and slow the release of stormwater before it reaches the storm sewer and, ultimately, discharges to the ocean.

TELUS Living Sechelt

  • TELUS Living Sechelt, recently certified Salmon-Safe, features on-site stormwater treatment, use of native plants and natural features.

TELUS Living Sechelt

TELUS Living Sechelt at 5528 Inlet Avenue, Sechelt, BC (shíshálh territory), will be a six-storey mixed-use building designed for commercial and residential rental purposes. The development will offer 59 new rental units arranged around an internal courtyard to promote community interaction, enhance natural light exposure and enable cross-ventilation in 80% of the units as a cooling feature. Sechelt is a coastal community located along the Strait of Georgia, an essential marine ecosystem that supports over 3,000 species, including salmon.

The TELUS Living Sechelt design reduces the impact on salmon habitat by treating stormwater on- site. A flow detention tank with a storage capacity of 24.4 cubic meters will capture and hold excess runoff, releasing it gradually to reduce flood risk and impacts downstream. Before entering the detention tanks, all captured stormwater will be routed through sediment sumps and oil interceptors. Additionally, the design features planted areas on both the ground and rooftops, and the installation of Silva cells on the Boulevard. These components will capture, filter and gradually release stormwater before it is directed to the storm sewer and eventually discharged into the ocean.

The landscape design incorporates the use of native plants and natural features, such as boulders and logs, to restore ecological function and to reduce water demand. The lighting strategy intentionally focuses on down-lighting to minimize the impacts on natural bird migration patterns and reduce urban light pollution.

Photos of TELUS Ocean, TELUS Living Nanaimo and TELUS Living Sechelt: courtesy of TELUS

Stag's Hollow Winery

  • Stag’s Hollow Winery, located in Okanagan Falls, received Salmon-Safe certification in 2020 and recertification in 2024.

Stag’s Hollow Winery Recertification

Summer 2024

Congratulations to Okanagan Falls winery Stag’s Hollow, which has been recertified by FBC’s Salmon-Safe BC program for its ongoing commitments to progressive land and water management in its two vineyards.

Stag’s Hollow was found in an independent recertification assessment to have demonstrated its commitments to meeting Salmon-Safe BC standards for the protection of waterways, water conservation, natural pest and fertilizer management, erosion and sedimentation control, and biodiversity protection.

The independent assessor gave kudos to Stag’s Hollow for:

  • Planting cover crops in vineyard alleys and creating a plan to include a bee feed clover mix in future seedings
  • Implementing the practice of mowing every other drive alley to increase habitat for beneficial insects and wildlife within the vineyard
  • Planning an integrated pest management program across the vineyards, which includes good records on pesticide applications and well-trained operators. A condition for Salmon-Safe recertification of properties is to avoid use of high-hazard pesticides.

First assessed and certified as Salmon-Safe in 2020, Stag Hollow vineyards are now recertified for another three years to Summer 2027.

As part of the winery’s sustainability commitments, Stag’s Hollow also farms its vineyards by hand and uses drip irrigation for efficiency.

Learn more at Stag’s Hollow.

  • The Hive at 2150 Keith Drive is an office building development due to open in 2025. Illustration: DIALOG

Certification of 2150 Keith Drive (the Hive) in False Creek Flats

December 2023

Salmon-Safe BC has certified an upcoming office building by BentallGreenOak, based on its eco-friendly building design and management plans. The building design and site were reviewed by an independent Salmon Safe BC assessment team. Due to open in 2025, the building will be located at 2150 Keith Drive in Vancouver’s False Creek flats on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Congratulations to the project team!

The new building will be North America’s tallest mass timber brace frame structure (10 storeys, 160,000 square feet). It will feature an innovative cellular exoskeleton, giving the building a striking honeycomb appearance.

The building is designed to achieve LEED gold certification (core and shell). It will be PV ready, allowing solar panels to be added in the future. Research on greenhouse gas emissions was used to inform materials selection. As well, rainwater harvesting was investigated for all building run-off.

Progressive feature noted by the Salmon-Safe assessment team for the certification include:

  • Water consumption in the building will be reduced by 30% compared to the code baseline through use of low flow/low flush plumbing features.
  • The landscape will heavily feature native and adapted trees, shrubs and ground cover plant species, many of which were selected with pollinators and the City of Vancouver’s list of bird- and bee-friendly plantings in mind.
  • Run-off from the external honeycomb structure and balconies will be routed to bio-retention areas, and an under-drain will facilitate the flow of treated stormwater. This stormwater infrastructure is supplemented by rooftop and balcony planters, and at-grade landscaping covering roughly 50% of the site, which will treat the rainwater that lands on them.
  • The building envelope will primarily consist of a triple-glazed curtain wall that is finished with a coating that minimizes downstream impacts on water quality and aquatic life.
  • Erosion control has been implemented, and a commitment made to higher-than-required weekly inspections during construction.
  • There is a commitment as a certification condition to comply with Salmon-Safe landscape management practices. The site will be managed pesticide-free or under an integrated pest management plan that prohibits use of pesticides on the Salmon-Safe High Risk Pesticide List.

The building was designed by DIALOG, the first design firm to receive Salmon-Safe BC certification.

  • Marcon’s Hue Condominium in Port Moody earned Salmon-Safe BC certification. This development safeguards local salmon and trout habitats through sustainable construction and landscape practices.

Certification of Marcon’s Hue Condominium in Port Moody

September 2023

Congratulations to Marcon for achieving Salmon-Safe BC certification of its new condominium development “Hue” in Port Moody. The site borders School House Creek, home to both salmon and trout, so protection and conservation of the local ecosystem is important to everyone in the community.

Marcon ensured its site redevelopment followed Salmon-Safe construction guidelines, as by controlling on-site erosion and sediment, treating sediment runoff prior to discharge, and limiting track-out of debris. Going forward, there’s a commitment to incorporate Salmon-Safe landscape management practices. These include managing without pesticides or creating a plan that prohibits use of high-risk pesticides and following a water conservation strategy.

FBC’s Salmon-Safe program recognizes eco-friendly management practices that protect Pacific salmon habitat and enhance water quality on agricultural and urban lands.

Learn more about the program below and on the Salmon-Safe BC website.

  • Salmon-Safe certificate presentation photo (Sept 26): Tim Croyle (Chief Operating Officer, BC Transit), Theresa Fresco (Regional Manager, Fraser Basin Council), Aaron Lamb (Chief Sustainability Officer, BC Transit), David Marshall (CEO, Fraser Basin Council) and Melissa Zimmerman (People & Culture Vice President, BC Transit).

Certification of BC Transit’s HandyDART Facility Site in View Royal

September 2022, Updated February 2023

In September 2022 Salmon-Safe BC announced its first certified site on Vancouver Island — BC Transit’s new HandyDART site in View Royal. With a salmon-bearing stream running along the perimeter of the site, BC Transit’s project team took important measures to preserve and restore the health of the wild salmon habitat and the Craigflower Creek watershed overall. The site design incorporates nine rain gardens to capture and treat stormwater on site before releasing it back into the environment. Restoration of the stream provided an acre of additional instream and riparian habitat. Read about it! Media Release and Backgrounder.

See the BC Transit video too!  Our New #SalmonSafe Facility

In February 2023, young salmon and trout made themselves at home on the site. Biologists counted 27 fish (20 juvenile Coho salmon and seven cutthroat trout) in the newly constructed stream that connects with nearby salmon-bearing Craigflower Creek. Well done, all!

Reconstructed stream at BC Transit site in View Royal

The stream features riffles and pools

Environmental monitoring

Juvenile fish during monitoring count and measurement

  • FBC CEO David Marshall (centre left) presents Vancouver International Airport President and CEO Tamara Vrooman with a certificate to recognize the Salmon-Safe recertification of YVR in 2022. Joining the event were Morgan Guerin, Senior Marine Planning Specialist of Musqueam First Nation (right), and Andrea McDonald, FBC Program Coordinator, GVSS region.
    Photo: YVR

YVR Recertification

April 22, 2022

In 2023 the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) was recertified by FBC’s Salmon-Safe BC program to recognize YVR’s ongoing commitment to progressive land and water management practices that benefit Pacific salmon habitat and water quality. YVR was the first airport in North America to achieve Salmon-Safe certification in 2016 and is now the first organization in Canada to be recertified.

YVR has integrated Salmon-Safe principles into its operations, such as by taking steps to reduce harmful pesticides; implement a comprehensive stormwater management plan; reduce site-wide water consumption and ensure zero sediment runoff during future construction activities. YVR’s commitments are important, given its location in a busy and growing metropolitan area at the mouth of the Stó꞉lō / Fraser River — one of the world’s most important salmon-bearing rivers.

The Salmon-Safe BC recertification assessment was undertaken by a team that included an Indigenous knowledge holder from Musqueam First Nation on whose traditional territories the airport is located. Including Indigenous ways of knowing in the Salmon-Safe process offers essential insights in the assessment and brings together knowledge streams to reinforce a commitment to stewardship and to reconciliation.

There is opportunity for many other BC businesses, industries, communities and organizations to seek Salmon-Safe certification for sites they manage. This includes offices, retail centres, parks and campuses in urban and suburban areas. Check out the YVR blog and video.

For more, see Certified Sites on the Salmon-Safe BC site.

About Salmon-Safe BC Certification

There are three areas in which to seek Salmon-Safe certification: urban certification, design firm accreditation and agricultural certification.

Urban Site Certification

Commercial, industrial and residential sites, even those not immediately adjacent to streams, rivers or coastal waters, have long-term cumulative impacts on fish and other aquatic and terrestrial species. Contaminants, for example, can affect groundwater and be transported through storm drains into rivers and marine waters.

Salmon-Safe urban site certification is available to BC municipalities and regional districts, developers and other landowners and property managers in both the private and public sector. The certification can apply to such places as parks and natural areas, college or university campuses, business sites and residential developments in urban, suburban and rural settings. Land with or without watercourses on it can be certified.

Salmon-Safe standards can help landowners and property managers improve urban land management practices by:

  • Capturing and infiltrating stormwater on site
  • Maintaining a buffer of trees and vegetation along streambanks
  • Restoring streams and watercourses that were diverted or buried by previous development
  • Increasing the use of permeable surfaces to reduce runoff
  • Using integrated pest management techniques to control weeds and pests
  • Reducing water use through more efficient irrigation and drought-resistant landscaping

Martin Nielsen of the design firm DIALOG. In February 2021, the Vancouver studio of DIALOG became the first Salmon-Safe accredited firm in Canada, based on its commitment to sustainable design and environmental protection. The Vancouver DIALOG team has developed a number of projects in Metro Vancouver that align with Salmon-Safe BC urban development standards.

Design Firm Accreditation

Salmon-Safe firm accreditation is available for design consultants, land developers and construction firms that want to respect key principles of urban watershed stewardship while undertaking work on buildings, streets, parking areas and related infrastructure.

Through thoughtful site planning, implementation of low-impact design solutions, and use of eco-friendly materials, site designers have the opportunity to contribute to the restoration of urban watersheds.

Agricultural Site Certification

Salmon-Safe works with agricultural producers to adopt agricultural practices that better protect water quality and salmon habitat. Erosion and runoff, excessive irrigation, excessive manure and nutrients, pesticide use and lack of vegetation are examples of how farms can negatively impact water quality and habitat for fish and wildlife. Salmon-Safe standards help agricultural producers to better protect stream habitat and water quality by:

  • Optimizing water use
  • Applying natural methods to control farm pests
  • Reducing nutrient runoff
  • Controlling erosion
  • Maintaining healthy riparian and in-stream habitat conditions
  • Protecting wetlands and natural areas
  • Promoting plant and wildlife diversity

Contact

To learn more, contact the Salmon-Safe BC team.

Visit the Salmon-Safe BC site and follow Salmon-Safe on social media!