Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 43.28
Liaison Adam Maurer
Submission Date Dec. 18, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

South Seattle College
OP-10: Biodiversity

Status Score Responsible Party
-- 0.00 / 2.00 Adam Maurer
District Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability

This credit was marked as Not Pursuing so Reporting Fields will not be displayed.

A full Environmental Impact Statement was conducted in 2006 prior to the last Major Institutional Master Plan in 2007. In 2003, South Seattle College conducted a survey of the vegetative buffer (2.75 acres total) located in the West Marginal hillside area of the West Duwamish Greenbelt. The purpose of the survey was to locate and identify exceptional trees in this area in accordance with teh City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development's (DPD) guidelines for identifying the presence of rare and exceptional trees (Director's Rule, DR6-2001).

From the 2003 survey, two trees were identified as "exceptional" within the study area. The first, Arbutus menziesii, commonly known as Pacific madrone, is located approximately 16 feet of South Seattle's perimeter fence. The second tree, Acer macrophyllum commonly know as bigleaf maple, is located approximately 120 fee west of the perimeter fence, alongside the east edge of the service road. Both of these trees are classified as native species.

The West Duwamish Greenbelt is one of Seattle's largest wildlife corridors. The greenbelt and upland contiguous sites, which include the undeveloped, wooded portions of the South Seattle campus (east) are home to many urban species. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildflife (WDFW) Priority Species and Habitats for this area include; 1) an Osprey nest on the 1st Avenue South Bridge near Terminal 150, seen in 2003, 2) a Bald Eagle nest in a cottonwood off of West Marginal Way, seen in 2002 and 3) a Great Blue Heron nest off of West Marginal Way, seen in 2003. Each of these habitat locations is over a mile from the campus. WDFW has developed management recommendations for Washington's priority habitats and species to provide planners, elected officials, landowners, and citizens with comprehensive information on important fish, wildlife, and habitat resources. These management recommendations are designed to assist in making land use decisions that incorporate the needs of fish and wildlife. However, none of the mapped locations for species are currently located close enough to the campus to require WDFW management recommendations.

The Pacific madrone is located in an area identified as steep slopes (greater than 40 percent) on the City's Environmentally Critical Areas (ECA). This tree appears to be located outside of the campus boundaries. Located within the campus boundaries, the bigleaf maple lies just outside the City's ECA. However, given its location relative to the ECA and the sloping, wooded area to the east, this tree may be regulated by the City. According to City requirements (SMC 25.09.320), a permit from DPD is required for the removal of trees and vegetation in an ECA when certain size-related thresholds are exceeded. Tree or vegetation removal shown as part of a Master Use Permit does not require a separate tree or vegetation removal permit.

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