To celebrate Earth Day, the Port of Seattle hosted residents from nearby communities to get a close up view of the many programs Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has in place to protect and improve the environment.
Sea-Tac airport neighbors first got a briefing from Sea-Tac sustainability and wildlife program leaders before taking a behind the scenes tour of the airport.
“We know that being a good neighbor means taking a leadership role in sustainable environmental actions,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Fred Felleman. “As a Port, we have a strategic goal to be the greenest and most energy efficient port in the nation. At Sea-Tac, we’re protecting our environment by providing charging stations for electric ground-support airport vehicles and a power system so planes on the ground can turn off their engines while at the gates.”
Sea-Tac airport is a lot more than jets and ground support equipment. Wildlife management plays an important role in safety for travelers and nearby communities. Sea-Tac began the world’s first airport wildlife program in 1976. The airport now employs two full-time wildlife biologists. Tour participants boarded a bus to do a circle tour inside the airport’s fenceline and see some unique ways the airport protects both airplanes and wildlife.
“Earth Day is a great time for all to remember that habitat management, even at airports, is the best way to help wildlife,” said Sea-Tac wildlife biologist Steve Osmek. “Conserving and enhancing habitat is one of the most important ways we can all protect the earth, one acre at a time.”

Among the things Sea-Tac does to keep people living around the airport safe include using goshawk traps to capture and relocate birds. This reduces the threat of bird strikes with aircraft. Sea-Tac is the world’s first airport to use avian radar to alert airport operations if there are birds on the airfield.
Tour participants also saw some of the 21 storm water and industrial wastewater ponds that are covered with nets to prevent birds from using the ponds. High density polyethylene side-liners prevent vegetation growth, which attract birds. The ponds collect all of the rainfall that comes off of the airfield in order to slowly release it back into local streams. Water containing wastes, such as spilled fuel or de-icing fluids, are cleaned in a treatment plant before being released.

Keeping airplanes warm or cool is something Sea-Tac is able to do without having airplanes run their engines. Those on the tour saw the Pre-Conditioned Air (PC Air) concept up close. A centralized plant delivers hot and cold fluids through 15 miles of pipes to each of the airport’s gates, where a unit then pre-conditions warm or cool air blown into the aircraft.
Some other facts tour participants learned, the airport is made up of 2,646 acres of large tracts of open, improved land that provide a safety and noise buffer.

Whether it’s wildlife management or recycling, Sea-Tac airport is taking the lead in being a good neighbor to both the environment and its residents.