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Develop biologically-based delisting goals for listed salmon and steelhead
Develop biologically-based delisting goals for listed salmon and steelhead
Problem Statement
More than two dozen "Evolutionarily Significant Units" (ESUs) of Pacific
salmon are already listed as threatened or endangered species under the
federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), and many
other wild salmon populations have declined throughout much of
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. Recovery plans will
succeed only if they are based on sound biological principles.
Critical Factors
- The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is legally mandated to conserve
and restore threatened and endangered salmon populations.
- The Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) is developing a sound
scientific basis for ESA recovery planning.
- Center scientists are working with colleagues from other agencies to
craft a recovery planning strategy that focuses on distinct geographic areas,
or domains. A Technical Recovery Team (TRT) will be responsible for recovery
planning within each domain. A NWFSC scientist will chair each team.
- Successful recovery efforts will require:
- securing cooperation among state, local, federal, and tribal governments,
plus international management agencies.
- integrating a wide range of scientific information over a broad geographic area.
- monitoring the health of salmon populations and their habitat.
- evaluating the impact of specific management actions.
- conducting research on factors that may promote or limit recovery success.
Status of Research
TRTs have been formed in two recovery domains (Puget Sound and Willamette/Lower
Columbia River). Each team is chaired by a NWFSC researcher and includes scientists
from federal, state, and local agencies, tribes, universities, and other
interested parties. Center scientists are working with TRT
members to apply the concepts described in the "Viable Salmonid Populations"
document (NOAA Tech Memo NMFS-NWFSC-42) to development of biologically-based
recovery goals. This process involves
identifying demographically-independent salmon populations, assessing their status,
and integrating
information regarding the status, distribution, and diversity of individual
populations to identify scenarios that lead to viability of an entire ESU.
Center scientists are also working to develop relationships between habitat
characteristics and fish productivity (see EC 6506). These relationships will be
used by TRTs to describe the amount, type, and distribution of habitat required
to support viable populations of salmon and steelhead. Center scientists
have worked with other regional biologists to develop a framework for
carrying out monitoring and evaluation as an integral part of formal ESA
recovery planning.
A Recovery Science Review Panel (RSRP) of
independent scientists with international reputations
(including three members of the National Academy of Sciences)
has been formed to help guide the scientific and technical aspects of
recovery planning. The Center has established a Recovery Planning web page
(www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/trt) that
facilitates document and information sharing among TRT members. The site
also provides a mechanism for disseminating information about recovery
planning to the general public.
Future Considerations
In FY01, formal ESA recovery planning is expected to expand from the
two current recovery domains to areas in California, southern Oregon, and
perhaps the upper Columbia and Snake Rivers. In addition, more details of the
framework for carrying out monitoring and evaluation of salmon recovery
will be developed as elements of specific management actions come into sharper focus.
Key Players
Conservation Biology (CB) Division, NWFSC
Environmental Conservation (EC) Division, NWFSC
Fish Ecology (FE) Division, NWFSC
Resource Utilization and Enhancement Technologies (REUT) Division, NWFSC
Cumulative Risk Initiative (CRI) Team, NWFSC
Northwest Regional Office, NMFS
Southwest Regional Office, NMFS
Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Forest Service
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Local government entities and NGOs
Environmental groups
Independent Science Panel (Washington)
Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team (Oregon)
Independent Science Advisory Board (Columbia River)
Contact: Dr. Robin Waples, (206/860-3254)
NWFSC Issue Paper SD 6018 (page 2 of 2 )(HQ ID 295)
Issue Papers Home
last modified 2002-07-30
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