Jan. 10, 2011:  NOAA Fisheries announced that it will prepare critical habitat designation proposals for lower Columbia River coho and Puget Sound steelhead listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and requested public comment. The areas under consideration include watersheds in the lower Columbia River basin in southwest Washington and northwest Oregon, and watersheds in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington. This advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) identifies issues for consideration and evaluation, and solicits comments on them and information about the areas and species under consideration. The comment period closed Mar. 11, 2011. See the Federal Register notice, below, for more information; or contact Steve Stone, 503-231-2317.

• Federal Register notice (PDF 163KB)
• Questions & Answers on ANPR to Designate Critical Habitat for Lower Columbia Coho River & Puget Sound Steelhead (PDF 54KB)
• References for ANPR to Designate Critical Habitat for Lower Columbia Coho River & Puget Sound Steelhead (PDF 24KB)
• Lower Columbia River coho habitat map (PDF 2.5MB)
• Puget Sound steelhead habitat map (PDF 2MB - revised Jan. 12, 2011)

Two public meetings were held for this ANPR, on Jan. 26, 2011, in Portland, Ore., and Feb. 1, 2011, in Seattle, Wash.