Apr. 26, 2011: NOAA Fisheries released the 2011 Implementation Status Assessment Final Report, a qualitative evaluation of implementation of the Puget Sound Chinook Salmon Recovery Plan. The Fisheries Service adopted that plan in 2007. NOAA commissioned this report to determine whether recovery plan implementation is on track across the Puget Sound region and to identify where course corrections may be needed.
The report describes the plan's recovery objectives for habitat, harvest and hatchery management, and assesses the progress made in each since recovery plan completion. It includes regional- and watershed-level evaluations of salmon recovery implementation progress, and provides specific recommendations for future action to expedite plan implementation throughout Puget Sound.
Dec. 29, 2010: NOAA Fisheries announced availability of a draft technical framework for ranking recovery potential of populations of Puget Sound Chinook salmon and the watersheds supporting them. The Population Recovery Approach relies on the best available scientific information to prioritize Puget Sound Chinook populations according to risk. This framework will focus recovery efforts on those populations and habitats with the greatest ability to contribute to species recovery. The comment period closed Feb. 22, 2011. See the Federal Register notices, below, for more information; or contact Elizabeth Babcock, 206-526–4505.
If you'd like a CD of these documents, please contact Joanna Donner, 503-736-4721.
It's NOAA Fisheries policy to work collaboratively with local interests on Endangered Species Act programs and recovery plans. The Shared Strategy for Puget Sound was a voluntary coalition of federal, tribal, state, and local governments, and business and environmental organizations that worked to protect and restore regional salmon populations. Watershed groups across the sound drafted recovery plans for their areas. NOAA Fisheries worked with Shared Strategy participants and the Puget Sound Technical Recovery Team to combine those plans into a single plan.
In June 2005, the Shared Strategy presented its regional plan for ESA-listed Puget Sound Chinook to NOAA. The Northwest Region then prepared a supplement that clarified and expanded on ESA recovery requirements. Following public comment on the proposed plan, NOAA finalized these two documents in early 2007. Together the Shared Strategy plan and NOAA Fisheries supplement comprise a final recovery plan.
Puget Sound Chinook Recovery Plan Summary (PDF 361KB)
Jan. 19, 2007: NOAA Fisheries Service adopted a final ESA recovery plan for Puget Sound Chinook.
