Vigor in the News: Seattle's new waterfront is alive — if you know where to look

The Seattle Times recent story regarding the opening of Seattle's new waterfront and the vibrant marine world it gives many residents and tourists access to, also features the newly-constructed salmon habitat restoration site at Harbor Island. This project has been a long-time effort by Vigor Marine Seattle, as well as partners from Long Live the Kings, the University of Washington and others.

From the story:

"Vigor Shipyard in 2024 completed a $30 million project undertaken as part of the company's responsibility in the Harbor Island Superfund Site cleanup. The company over two years tore out two derelict piers and a wooden shipbuilding dock and modified just under 3 acres to create habitat for native plants, insects and salmon. It was a big cleanup, too: including removal of about 4,000 pilings, imbued with creosote, a toxic wood preservative, and 10,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment. Gone."After tearing out the bad, the goal was to construct some good: a pocket estuary, intended to be a kind of salmon rest stop. Crews shaped an embankment to create an intertidal mud flat area and adjacent marsh that floods at high tide. On the upland backshore, plantings of native vegetation were selected to attract insects, which can provide higher quality food for juvenile salmon as they migrate to the ocean."

This project is a shining example of how a vibrant, working waterfront and a clean, safe environment can coexist for the benefit of all who live and work here. To read more, go to the Seattle Times.