At this week’s virtual LIVE annual meeting of environmentally innovative Pacific Northwest winegrowers, Salmon-Safe presented our 2021 Hero of Salmon award to Ron Bitner of Idaho’s Bitner Vineyards for holistic and low input farming practices that protect water quality in the Snake River watershed while improving the health of the soil and providing forage for bees.
As the first Salmon-Safe and LIVE certified vineyard in Idaho, Bitner Vineyards also is certified Bee Friendly by Pollinator Partnership, working with farmers to help protect, preserve, and promote pollinators. As a professional entomologist, Ron Bitner also serves on a national board that promotes bee health.
Constructed from a reclaimed Oregon highway sign, the Hero of Salmon wall mountable salmon sculpture is awarded each year to a Pacific Northwest vineyard for exceptional conservation of biodiversity. Bitner’s estate vineyard is Salmon-Safe certified through our partnership with winegrower certification initiative LIVE.
