Why Salmon-Safe Matters: How Our Farm Protects Waterways, Wildlife, and the Future

What is Salmon-Safe?

Salmon-Safe is one of the nation’s leading ecolabels. Through their peer-reviewed certification and accreditation program, this organization promotes farming practices and developments that protect water quality, maintain watershed health, and restore habitats to help both salmon (and humans!) thrive.

The Importance of Salmon

Did you know that certain populations of salmon, like sockeye salmon, coho salmon, chinook salmon, and Atlantic salmon are listed as endangered?¹ The Pacific Northwest is home to sensitive populations of wild salmon, and as a company with deep roots in Oregon, protecting them is something we take seriously. Salmon are integral to the ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest. 137 different species depend on the marine-rich nutrients wild salmon provide.² Throughout the West Coast of North America, Indigenous communities once sustained some of the highest human populations on the continent because of abundant salmon runs.²

Salmon is an integral part of the culture, spiritual practice, and physical sustenance for the Columbia River Basin tribes of the Pacific Northwest, too. Salmon are honored as a traditional “first food” along with wild game, roots, berries, and pure water.³

Our Conservation Practices

The waterways near our farm, including Williams Creek and Munger Creek, are areas where salmon come home to spawn. The salmon need deep gravel beds and slow-moving waters. We regularly tend to and plant native trees and shrubs along the creeks to keep water temperatures cool and reduce bank erosion from upstream logging and developments. We also place logs and gravel in the stream to restore the habitat for local salmon to deposit their eggs. Additionally, on our Regenerative Organic Certified^® farms, we carefully monitor water use and conserve water wherever we can.

Stewardship for the Future

Our commitment to Salmon-Safe and all of the ecological practices we prioritize go beyond protecting waterways. It’s about learning to farm in harmony with the environment around us. From Salmon-Safe to Regenerative Organic Certified^®, these practices lay the foundation for a livelihood that honors the land, water, and communities (both human and wild). Conservation isn’t another box to check or sticker for our labels, it’s a commitment that shapes everything we do.