“Salmon is a big part of the Pacific
Northwest’s culinary history and cultur-al
history,” said Tyler Thrussell, sales and
marketing manager and assistant vineyard
manager for Sage Hills.
“People here are aware that our salm-on
runs are threatened, and when they hear
that we’re doing our part to try to assist and
rehabilitate our salmon populations, I think
people are really enthusiastic and excited
by that. They want to support a business
that has an interest in looking beyond just
the bottom line.”
Salmon are considered an impor-tant
bioindicator species, which means
they serve as a valuable early warning sys-tem
for environmental problems. When
salmon populations decline, it’s a sign that
issues like water pollution, soil contami-nation
and habitat fragmentation may be
to blame. When their populations thrive,
there’s a good chance the ecosystem they
live in is thriving as well.
The Salmon-Safe program started in
the U.S. in 1996, and five years later it was
established in B.C. under the leadership
of the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the
Fraser Basin Council. In 2018, Salmon-
Safe BC fully transitioned to the Fraser
Basin Council.
“People here are aware
that our salmon runs are
threatened, and when they
hear that we’re doing our
part to try to assist and
rehabilitate our salmon
populations, I think people
are really enthusiastic and
excited by that. They want
to support a business that
has an interest in looking
beyond just the bottom line.”
– Tyler Thrussell, Sage Hills Estate Winery and Vineyard
Theresa Fresco, a regional manager
with the Fraser Basin Council, oversees the
stewardship efforts by wineries, vineyard
operators and other agricultural producers
which participate in the program.
“We’re looking at not just salmon, but
the broader diversity of species that inter-connect
with the watershed and the land
base as well,” she said.
To this end, Salmon-Safe certification
is tied to the following set of environment
standards:
•• Stream habitat protection and restoration
•• Riparian and wetland vegetation
protection and restoration
•• Water use management and water
quality protection
•• Erosion prevention and sediment control
•• Integrated pest management
•• Animal management
•• Landscape level biodiversity
To join the program, a vineyard or
other agricultural operation must pass an
on-site inspection by a Salmon-Safe asses-sor.
Certification lasts for three years,
subject to annual verification of any rec-ommendations
related to improvements
in management practices or restoration
efforts. Program participants can apply for
recertification after the three-year period.
“We try to take in account the con-text
of the site and work with that con-text,
rather than just having a very rigor-ous
checklist that we would then try to
prescribe to or enforce with a particular
producer,” said Fresco. “I think that’s what
makes Salmon-Safe quite different and
attractive to many producers.”
Positive feedback
Fresco says in addition to Sage Hills
Estate Winery and Vineyard these other
Okanagan wineries and vineyards are cur-rently
Salmon-Safe certified:
•• St. Hubertus & Oak Bay Family
Estate Winery
•• Seven Stones Winery
•• Tantalus Vineyards
•• Nk’Mip Cellars
•• Tinhorm Creek Vineyards
•• vinAmite Cellars (Coulombe Vineyards)
•• Culmina Family Estate Winery
•• Intersection Winery
•• Here’s the Thing Vineyards
•• Osoyoos Larose
Thrussell says when you go to Sage
Hills, a prominent Salmon-Safe sign is on
F E AT U R E
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