Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2002-0049-0093
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-03-19T05:00Z

RECOVERY
PLANNING
FOR
WEST
COAST
SALMON
National
Marine
Fisheries
Service
Northwest
and
Southwest
Regions
October
1999
A
Conservation
Crisis
Over
the
past
several
decades,
populations
of
salmon
and
steelhead
throughout
the
West
Coast
have
declined
to
dangerously
low
levels.
Since
1991,
the
National
Marine
Fisheries
Service
(
NMFS)
has
listed
over
20
Evolutionarily
Significant
Units
(
ESUs)
of
West
Coast
salmon
and
steelhead
as
endangered
or
threatened
species
under
the
Endangered
Species
Act
(
ESA).
In
addition,
it
is
estimated
that
scores
of
historic
populations
are
now
extinct.

These
population
declines
and
extinctions
are
the
result
of
numerous
habitat­
affecting
factors
(
such
as
economic
development,
resource
extraction,
and
other
land
uses),
harvest
practices,
hatchery
production,
and
other
factors.
Human
actions
that
depress
population
abundance
have
also
caused
salmon
to
be
more
susceptible
to
natural
environmental
fluctuations
such
as
poor
ocean
conditions
and
drought.

If
this
pattern
is
to
be
reversed,
it
is
critical
that
comprehensive,
focused
recovery
efforts
take
place
throughout
the
region.
NMFS
is
committed
to
this
effort,
and
this
document
describes
the
approach
the
agency
will
take
in
planning
for
West
Coast
salmon
and
steelhead
recovery.

Response
to
the
Crisis
The
geographic
extent
of
declining
salmon
and
steelhead
runs
 
and
the
area
affected
by
ESA
salmonid
listings
 
includes
large
portions
of
the
states
of
Washington,
Oregon,
Idaho,
and
California.
State
agencies,
local
and
regional
governments
and
organizations,
tribal
governments,
Federal
agencies,
and
private
organizations
have
responded
to
this
conservation
crisis
by
developing
programs
to
help
protect
and
restore
salmon
and
steelhead
and
their
habitats.

These
tribal,
Federal,
state,
local,
regional,
and
private
efforts
will
play
a
key
role
in
recovering
threatened
and
endangered
salmon.
Also
contributing
to
recovery
will
be
the
regulatory
tools
provided
by
the
ESA.
These
tools
include
prohibitions
against
harming
listed
species
and
prohibitions
against
Federal
agency
actions
that
reduce
the
likelihood
that
the
species
will
survive
and
recover.

All
these
programs
together
provide
important
protections
but
add
up
only
to
a
piecemeal
approach
to
recovery,
and
that
is
not
sufficient.

Comprehensive
recovery
plans
are
needed
to
provide
a
framework
for
addressing
problems
across
entire
ESUs
and
among
all
of
the
activities
that
threaten
salmon,
and
for
prioritizing
actions
necessary
for
recovery.

Recovery
Planning
and
the
ESA
The
ESA
and
NMFS'
Recovery
Planning
Guidelines
require
that,
in
addition
to
evaluating
the
current
status
of
the
listed
population
or
species,
recovery
plans
must
(
1)
assess
the
factors
affecting
the
species,
(
2)
identify
recovery
(
delisting)
goals,
(
3)
identify
the
entire
suite
of
actions
necessary
to
achieve
these
goals,
and
(
4)
estimate
the
cost
and
time
required
to
carry
out
those
actions.

Evaluating
the
species'
current
status,
as
well
as
elements
(
1)
and
(
2),
are
largely
a
technical
exercise
with
policy
input,
while
elements
(
3)
and
(
4)
are
largely
a
policy
exercise
with
technical
input.
The
NMFS
will
address
elements
(
1)
and
(
2)
by
forming
geographically­
based
Technical
Recovery
Teams
(
TRTs),
in
coordination
with
existing
science
teams
and
ongoing
conservation
planning
efforts.
For
elements
(
3)
and
(
4),
NMFS
intends
to
work
with
state,
local,
regional,
tribal,
and
private
entities
to
craft
a
recovery
planning
process
suited
to
each
planning
area.

NMFS
believes
it
is
critically
important
to
ground
the
recovery
planning
process
in
the
many
state,
regional,
tribal,
local,
and
private
conservation
efforts
already
underway
throughout
the
region.
NMFS
intends
to
work
throughout
the
process
of
identifying
recovery
goals
to
develop
linkages
between
the
technical
process
and
these
ongoing
planning
efforts.
In
the
process
of
identifying
actions
to
achieve
the
goals,
we
hope
that
co­
managers
and
ongoing
conservation
planning
efforts
assume
a
major
role.
National
Marine
Fisheries
Service
2
Recovery
Planning
for
West
Coast
Salmon
Scope
and
Structure
of
NMFS
Recovery
Planning
The
species
scope
of
recovery
planning
will
encompass
Chinook
(
Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha),
Coho
(
O.
kisutch),
Sockeye
(
O.
nerka),
Chum
(
O.
keta),
and
Pink
(
O.
gorbuscha)
salmon,
and
Steelhead
trout
(
O.
mykiss).

Recovery
plans
will
address
all
salmonid
species
within
a
series
of
discrete
geographic
areas,
or
domains.
(
Formal
ESA
recovery
efforts
that
are
already
underway
for
listed
Snake
River
and
Sacramento
River
populations
may
eventually
be
integrated
into
this
process.)
Tentatively
identified
recovery
planning
domains,
and
the
currently
listed
ESUs
they
contain,
are:

1.
Puget
Sound
and
the
Olympic
Peninsula:
Puget
Sound
Chinook,
Hood
Canal
Summer
Chum,
Ozette
Lake
Sockeye.
2.
Willamette
and
Lower
Columbia
River
Basins
and
Southwest
Washington
Coast:
Lower
Columbia
River
Chinook,
Upper
Willamette
River
Chinook,
Columbia
River
Chum,
Lower
Columbia
River
Steelhead,
Upper
Willamette
River
Steelhead.
3.
Mid
and
Upper
Columbia
River
Basins:
Upper
Columbia
River
Spring
Chinook,
Upper
Columbia
River
Steelhead,
Mid
Columbia
River
Steelhead.
4.
Snake
River
Basin:
Snake
River
Fall
Chinook,
Snake
River
Spring/
Summer
Chinook,
Snake
River
Sockeye,
Snake
River
Steelhead.
5.
Oregon
Coast
(
Columbia
River
to
Cape
Blanco):
Oregon
Coast
Coho.
6.
Southern
Oregon/
Northern
California
Coast:
Southern
Oregon/
Northern
California
Coast
Coho.
7.
North­
central
California
Coast:
Central
California
Coast
Coho,
Central
California
Coast
Steelhead,
California
Coast
Chinook.
8.
South­
central
California
Coast:
South­
central
California
Steelhead,
Southern
California
Steelhead.
9.
California
Central
Valley:
Central
Valley
Steelhead,
Central
Valley
Spring
Chinook,
Sacramento
River
Winter
Chinook.

In
early
2000,
NMFS
will
begin
recovery
planning
in
the
Puget
Sound
and
Willamette/
Lower
Columbia/
SW
Washington
domains.
Recovery
planning
efforts
for
one
domain
in
California
may
also
begin
in
early
2000.
As
additional
resources
become
available,
the
effort
will
expand
to
the
other
domains.

As
mentioned
above,
NMFS
will
appoint
a
TRT
for
each
domain.
Prior
to
that,
the
NMFS
will
also
establish
a
Recovery
Science
Review
Panel
("
Panel")
to
guide
the
recovery
planning
process
throughout
the
four­
state
area.
The
Panel
will
(
1)
review
the
credentials
of
candidates
nominated
for
TRTs
to
determine
if
they
meet
established
criteria
for
technical
expertise;
(
2)
review
core
principles
and
elements
of
the
recovery
planning
process
NMFS
is
developing;
(
3)
ensure
that
well­
accepted
and
consistent
ecological
and
evolutionary
principles
form
the
basis
for
all
recovery
efforts;
(
4)
review
processes
and
products
of
all
TRTs
for
scientific
credibility
and
consistency;
and
(
5)
oversee
a
recovery
plan
peer
review
process.

Recovery
Goals
The
TRTs
will
be
asked
to
(
1)
identify
population
and
habitat
goals
for
recovery;
(
2)
identify
the
factors
for
decline
and
limiting
factors
for
each
ESU;
(
3)
identify
the
early
actions
that
are
important
for
recovery;
and
(
4)
identify
research,
evaluation,
and
monitoring
needs.

Recovery
goals
must,
at
a
minimum,
restore
listed
ESUs
to
levels
at
which
they
are
no
longer
threatened
and
can
therefore
be
delisted
under
the
ESA.
The
TRTs
may
also
be
asked
to
consider
setting
population
abundance
and
productivity
levels
that
provide
opportunities
for
specified
levels
of
sustainable
harvest.
If
that
occurs,
the
NMFS
will
work
with
state
and
tribal
co­
managers
and
stakeholders
to
identify
target
harvest
levels
for
the
technical
teams
to
consider.

TRTs
will
identify
recovery
goals
for
all
listed
ESUs.
Although
the
TRTs
will
not
identify
formal
recovery
goals
for
candidate
species,
they
will
identify
factors
of
concern
and
measures
to
ensure
the
long­
term
conservation
of
such
species.
In
addition,
as
recovery
measures
are
eventually
proposed,
their
effects
on
non­
listed
salmonid
species
will
be
evaluated
to
ensure
that
actions
benefitting
the
listed
or
candidate
species
do
not
place
non­
listed
species
at
significant
risk.

The
TRTs
will
work
closely
with
existing
technical
teams,
such
as
the
Independent
Multidisciplinary
Science
Team
in
Oregon
and
the
Washington
Independent
Science
Panel.
The
TRTs
will
be
guided
by
the
Recovery
Science
Review
Panel.

In
some
areas,
state
and
tribal
managers
and
others
have
already
begun
the
work
of
establishing
recovery
goals,
and
where
this
work
has
already
occurred,
NMFS
intends
that
the
TRTs
will
consider
this
work.
There
will
be
considerable
opportunity
for
public
involvement
throughout
the
entire
process,
and
TRT
work
products
will
be
peerreviewed
and
distributed
for
public
comment.

Recovery
Measures
The
planning
component
of
the
ESA
recovery
planning
process
will
focus
on
identifying
the
measures
and
actions
necessary
to
achieve
the
recovery
goals
identified
by
the
TRTs.
Important
steps
in
this
process
will
include:
(
1)
National
Marine
Fisheries
Service
3
Recovery
Planning
for
West
Coast
Salmon
inventorying
all
ongoing
state,
tribal,
local,
and
Federal
conservation
plans
and
planning
efforts,
as
well
as
all
existing
Habitat
Conservation
Plans
and
4(
d)
rule
components
in
each
planning
area;
(
2)
evaluating
these
existing
conservation
plans
and
efforts
to
assess
how
well
they
address
identified
factors
for
decline
and
limiting
factors,
and
the
extent
to
which
they
collectively
achieve
the
identified
recovery
goals;
(
3)
identifying
and
evaluating
any
additional
or
alternative
measures
necessary
for
achieving
the
identified
recovery
goals;
(
4)
prioritizing
the
required
recovery
measures
and
identifying
the
entity
or
entities
responsible
for
implementing
them;
and
(
5)
estimating
the
costs
and
time
needed
to
carry
out
the
identified
recovery
measures.

The
structure
and
timing
of
this
portion
of
the
recovery
planning
effort
will
depend
to
some
extent
on
what
processes
are
already
underway
in
a
given
area.
In
some
cases
it
may
be
appropriate
for
NMFS
to
establish
a
planning
team
by
adding
to
the
TRT
individuals
possessing
a
wider
range
of
expertise
(
such
as
policy,
economic
analysis,
land
use
planning,
etc.)
or
representing
ongoing
planning
efforts.
In
other
cases
it
may
be
appropriate
to
appoint
a
separate
policy­
oriented
planning
team
and
have
the
technical
team
serve
in
as
science
advisors
to
that
team.
In
still
other
cases,
it
may
be
that
local
efforts
have
matured
to
a
point
where
it
is
unnecessary
to
appoint
a
formal
recovery
team
for
the
planning
process.
In
such
cases,
the
TRT
could
serve
as
science
advisors
to
the
planning
team.

Regardless
of
how
the
planning
aspect
of
recovery
is
structured,
the
NMFS
will
need
to
ensure
that
all
recovery
plans
are
assessed
to
determine
whether
they
will
achieve
the
recovery
goals,
in
what
time
frame,
with
what
degree
of
certainty,
and
at
what
economic
cost.

The
TRTs
will
thus
continue
to
play
a
role
in
the
planning
process
by
evaluating
whether
proposed
recovery
measures
will
achieve
the
desired
recovery
goals.
In
addition,
the
draft
plans
will
be
peer
reviewed
and
undergo
public
review
and
comment
to
further
ensure
that
they
are
scientifically
credible
and
contain
implementable
measures
that
are
publically
supported
and
will
lead
to
recovery.

Appointing
the
Recovery
Science
Review
Panel
The
Recovery
Science
Review
Panel
will
consist
of
three
to
five
highly
qualified
and
independent
scientists
with
strong
records
of
sustained
scientific
contributions
in
a
field
relevant
to
salmon
recovery.
Members
of
this
Panel
should:

1.
Be
scientists
of
international
reputation
who
have
distinguished
records
of
scientific
accomplishment
in
the
fields
of
ecology,
evolutionary
biology,
conservation
biology,
fisheries
biology,
or
salmon
biology.
2.
Have
held
positions
of
scientific
leadership
during
their
career.
3.
Have
demonstrated
fairness
and
cooperation
during
their
career.
4.
Meet
National
Research
Council
standards
for
independence
and
conflict
of
interest.

Candidates
for
the
Panel
are
being
solicited
through
a
Federal
Register
notice
(
see
64
FR
56329,
October
19,
1999)
to
encourage
a
broad
set
of
nominations
from
scientific
societies,
academic
institutions,
established
scientific
bodies
in
the
region,
tribes,
states,
other
co­
managers
and
stakeholders,
and
Federal
agencies.
The
nominations
will
be
reviewed
by
an
independent
panel
of
scientists
who
will
forward
a
list
of
qualified
candidates
to
NMFS
for
selection.

The
Panel
will
not
have
any
NMFS
members,
but
one
or
more
NMFS
scientists
will
be
associated
with
the
Panel
to
(
1)
facilitate
coordination
with
Technical
Recovery
Teams,
(
2)
provide
background
information
and
an
historical
context
for
salmon
management,
and
(
3)
help
fill
any
information
requests
from
the
Panel.

Initially,
the
Recovery
Science
Review
Panelists
will
be
appointed
for
a
three­
year
term.
At
that
point,
the
terms
for
all
members
will
be
reviewed,
taking
into
consideration
workloads,
other
commitments,
and
recovery
planning
progress
and
future
needs.

Appointing
Technical
Recovery
Teams
Technical
Recovery
Team
members
will
consist
of
an
appropriate
mix
of
experts
in
salmon
biology,
population
dynamics,
conservation
biology,
ecology,
and
other
disciplines
relevant
to
the
planning
area.
Each
TRT
will
have
at
least
one
member
with
experience
working
in
the
geographic
area
in
question
and
extensive
knowledge
of
the
area
and
the
anadromous
salmonids
that
inhabit
it.
Team
members
will
be
screened
for
compliance
with
the
criteria
listed
below.
Each
member
must
satisfy
the
first
three
criteria
(
numbers
1­
3)
and
at
least
one
of
the
remaining
three
criteria
(
numbers
4­
6).

1.
High
achievement
in
a
relevant
discipline,
which
may
include
ecology,
genetics,
fisheries,
hydrology,
river
geomorphology,
or
other
appropriate
disciplines.
2.
High
standards
of
scientific
integrity,
independence,
and
objectivity.
3.
A
demonstrated
interest
in
and
ability
to
work
effectively
in
an
interdisciplinary
team
setting.
National
Marine
Fisheries
Service
4
Recovery
Planning
for
West
Coast
Salmon
4.
Extensive
knowledge
of
West
Coast
salmon
biology,
status,
or
habitat.
5.
A
record
of
scientific
accomplishment
documented
by
contributions
to
peer­
reviewed
literature
or
other
evidence
of
success
in
creative
scientific
endeavor.
6.
A
demonstrated
ability
to
forge
creative
solutions
to
complex
problems.

NMFS
will
solicit
nominations
for
TRT
members
broadly,
from
state,
local,
tribal,
and
Federal
co­
managers,
academic
institutions,
stakeholders,
scientific
organizations,
and
other
interested
parties.
The
Recovery
Science
Review
Panel
will
review
nominees
to
ensure
they
meet
the
criteria,
and
NMFS
will
appoint
the
team
from
among
the
qualified
candidates.

We
anticipate
that
each
TRT
will
consist
of
six
to
nine
members.
We
also
expect
that
each
TRT
will
include
at
least
one
scientist
from
the
NMFS
Northwest
or
Southwest
Fisheries
Science
Center
(
who
must
meet
the
same
selection
criteria
as
other
members).
In
addition,
a
representative
from
the
NMFS
Northwest
or
Southwest
Regional
Office
will
serve
as
the
recovery
plan
coordinator
for
each
team
to
provide
ESA
policy
guidance
and
ensure
that
the
team
receives
the
administrative
support
it
needs.

Initially,
TRT
members
will
be
appointed
for
a
two­
year
term.
At
that
point,
the
terms
for
all
members
will
be
reviewed,
taking
into
consideration
workloads,
other
commitments,
and
recovery
planning
progress
and
future
needs.

Additional
Information
As
mentioned
above,
NMFS
will
begin
recovery
planning
in
the
Puget
Sound
and
Willamette/
Lower
Columbia
River/
Southwest
Washington
domains
in
early
2000.
Recovery
planning
efforts
for
one
domain
in
California
may
also
begin
in
early
2000.
Please
visit
the
NMFS
Northwest
Region
website
at
http://
www.
nwr.
noaa.
gov
for
updates
on
the
status
of
recovery
planning,
or
contact
the
appropriate
area
representative
as
indicated
below:

Puget
Sound
Elizabeth
Babcock
206­
526­
4505
Elizabeth.
Babcock@
noaa.
gov
Upper
Columbia
Basin
Mike
Grady
206­
526­
4645
Michael.
Grady@
noaa.
gov
Mid­
Columbia
Basin
Kate
Vandemoer
503­
230­
5422
Kate.
Vandemoer@
noaa.
gov
Lower
Columbia
River
Rob
Jones
and
SW
Washington
503­
230­
5429
Rob.
Jones@
noaa.
gov
Willamette
Basin
Patty
Dornbusch
503­
230­
5430
Patty.
Dornbusch@
noaa.
gov
Oregon
Coast
Patty
Dornbusch
503­
230­
5430
Patty.
Dornbusch@
noaa.
gov
California
Craig
Wingert
562­
980­
4021
Craig.
Wingert@
noaa.
gov