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.

This recovery planning domain has two sub-domains:  Willamette and Lower Columbia.