In collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and local partners in Alaska’s rapidly developing Mat-Su Basin, Salmon-Safe has distilled more than a decade of experience in fish friendly urban design into guidelines for small-scale commercial and residential development. These environmentally innovative guidelines can be applied across projects in the Mat-Su at all scales of development through thoughtful site planning, implementation of low impact design solutions and materials, and maintenance practices that protect habitat and water quality.
Even aside from the ecological benefits of fish-friendly development, market analysis in the Pacific Northwest indicates that environmentally sustainable development enhances residential and commercial property values and often these projects can be built for the same cost–and sometimes less– than conventional projects, particularly for development that infiltrates stormwater on site rather than relying on highly engineered off-site delivery.
In addition to The Nature Conservancy, key project partners include Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as well as technical advisors Seattle-based Herrera Environmental and Palmer, Alaska-based Sustainable Design Group.
