Ministerial Conference of 1999 to Seattle, which met with massive protests. The resulting confrontation led to Norm Stamper's resignation as police chief of Seattle, and may have been a factor in mayor and former Port Commissioner Paul Schell's defeat in the 2001 mayoral primary election. Environmental issues Since at least the 1970s, the Port of Seattle has actively engaged with certain environmental issues, while being criticized on others. In the 1970s, Sea-Tac became the first U.S. airport to hire a full-time wildlife biologist, with the intent to control species that could be dangerous to aviation while promoting conservation of other species. When the Port purchased the heavily polluted Lockheed Yard 2 land north of Terminal 5 in the 1980s, Lockheed took on responsibility to remediate the land portion of the site, and the Port took on responsibility for the underwater portion. That site is now open to the public as Jack Block Park. Various engagements with community groups over recent decades have resulted in a significant number of parks on Port land{ref name=Oldham-94></ref> (see list below). In 2015, an agreement to berth Royal Dutch Shell semi-submersible offshore drilling rigs at the Port's Terminal 5 led to protests against Arctic drilling. Seattle–Tacoma International Airport The same 1941 state law that gave public ports special powers to issue defense-related bonds also empowered them to build and operate airports. King County-operated Boeing Field was already straining its capacity before the war. With the war (and the expansion of Boeing production), the military took over not only that airport but McChord Field to the south in Pierce County (still an Air Force base ) and Paine Field to the north in Snohomish County. In March 1942, the Port Commission voted to build Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (or as it is commonly known, Sea-Tac) south of town, half-way to Tacoma. The runways were completed by October 1944; during remaining months of the war, Sea-Tac was used almost entirely to ship out Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. Although a handful of commercial aircraft used Sea-Tac even during the war, and scheduled service began in 1947, the "primitive" facilities were clearly inadequate. A November 1946 bond issue resulted in construction of "America's most advanced airport terminal," which opened July 9, 1949 (at which time International was added to the airport's official name). The airport was repeatedly expanded over the years, The airport covers only , but serves an amount