The Oregon coast coho evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) restoration area consists of numerous stream and river systems draining west into the Pacific Ocean. These systems vary in size from 1 or 2 km to more than 7,000 km in length. All, with the exception of the largest, the Umpqua River, drain from the crest of the Coast Range. The Umpqua transects the Coast Range and drains from the Cascade Mountains. This area covers cities along the coast and inland, including Tillamook, Lincoln City, Newport, Florence, Coos Bay and Roseburg, and has substantial amounts of private forest and agricultural lands. It includes portions of the Siuslaw and Umpqua National Forests, lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the Tillamook and Elliott State Forests.

The NOAA Fisheries Service 1993 review of West Coast coho salmon populations identified six coho ESUs, including Oregon coast coho. This assessment identified the ESU as encompassing all naturally spawning populations of coho salmon in Oregon coastal streams south of the Columbia River and north of Cape Blanco. NOAA refers to this geographic region as a restoration area for salmon conservation efforts.

NOAA Fisheries Service first listed Oregon coast coho as threatened under the ESA in 1998. The listing of this ESU has been the basis for on-going legal action under a 2001 U.S. District Court ruling in Alsea Valley Alliance v. Evans (Alsea decision). The fisheries service announced in February 2008 that it was listing the Oregon coast coho ESU as threatened under the ESA.

NOAA Fisheries Service began ESA recovery planning for Oregon coast coho in October 2002, shortly after the Oregon and Northern California Coho (ONCC) Technical Recovery Team (TRT) was formed. This TRT is divided into two working groups: one addressing the southern Oregon/northern California coast coho ESU, and the other addressing Oregon coast coho.