The Willamette/Lower Columbia recovery domain includes the Willamette River basin and all Columbia River tributaries from Hood River downstream in Oregon and from the White Salmon River downstream in Washington. The domain contains six populations listed under the Endangered Species Act: lower Columbia River Chinook, lower Columbia River steelhead, Columbia River chum, upper Willamette River Chinook, upper Willamette River steelhead, lower Columbia River coho.

This planning area is complex and diverse. It includes two states, 28 cities, 14 port districts, and substantial areas of agricultural and forest use, including both public and private ownership. This domain includes major urban centers such as the cities of Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, and portions of the Gifford Pinchot, Mt. Hood, and Willamette National Forests, and major hydropower or flood control facilities on a number of Columbia River tributaries, including the Willamette, Clackamas, Cowlitz, and Lewis rivers.

Recovery planning for listed salmon and steelhead has been under way in this domain since the summer of 2000, when the Willamette/Lower Columbia Technical Recovery Team (TRT) was formed. The Executive Committee for Lower Columbia and Willamette River Salmonid Recovery, a coordinating policy forum, began work on recovery planning in the summer of 2001.

ESA recovery plans will be developed for all listed populations in this domain. Sub-basin plans developed for the Northwest Power and Conservation Council will provide building blocks for ESA recovery plans. Several regional planning groups will also play significant roles in recovery planning.