Based on a decade of work with more than 300 urban and agricultural landowners across the Pacific Northwest, Salmon-Safe brings a new project-specific, collaborative, peer-reviewed approach to residential certification that is unique among certification programs.

Download the Residential Development Standards

Our Standards for Residential Development are a guide for site developers, designers, and land managers interested in developing residential communities that demonstrate environmental stewardship by minimizing the impacts of development on sensitive aquatic and upland resources, and enhancing salmon habitat. These development standards, a follow-up to the 2005 Salmon-Safe Certification program for corporate campuses and other urban institutions, are the most recent effort by Salmon-Safe to promote development that emphasizes landscape-level conservation and protection of biological diversity.

An interdisciplinary Evaluation Team of qualified experts is assigned to the project certification candidate to work with the development team during each stage of the design development process. This team is "on-call" for the life of the project to work with the client in navigating standards and performance requirements. The Evaluation Team can evaluate project decisions and provide consultation at key points throughout the development process, minimizing project design costs by providing recommendations before project decisions are final.

Even after a project is certified, Salmon-Safe ensures the long-term environmental performance of certified sites through an annual verification process. This process reviews landscape management practices, habitat restoration progress, facility performance, and other program elements to make sure the project is functioning as designed.

Please contact us for more information about seeking Salmon-Safe certification.