NOAA Fisheries Service has announced its intent to develop recovery plans for 16 evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) of Pacific salmon and steelhead that are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA requires NOAA Fisheries Service to develop and implement recovery plans for endangered and threatened species. Recovery plans include:
- a description of site-specific management actions as may be necessary to achieve the plan’s goals for the conservation and survival of the species;
- objective, measurable criteria, which when met, would result in the species being removed from the list; and
- estimates of the time and costs required to achieve the plan’s goal and achieve intermediate steps.
In order to develop recovery plans that address multiple species in an ecosystem context, NOAA Fisheries Service has organized the listed and proposed ESUs in the Northwest into six recovery areas or “domains” (Puget Sound, Upper Columbia, Middle Columbia, Snake River, Oregon Coast, and Willamette/Lower Columbia). Each domain will have a recovery plan that addresses all listed salmon and steelhead ESUs within that area. NOAA Fisheries Service is working with state, Federal, tribal and local entities in Washington, Oregon and Idaho to produce draft recovery plans by December 2005.
The public is invited to provide relevant information that should be considered during preparation of these draft recovery plans. Information should address the following factors:
- criteria for removing the ESUs from the list of threatened and endangered species
- factors that are presently limiting, or threaten to limit survival of the ESUs
- actions to address limiting factors and threats
- estimates of time and cost to implement recovery actions; and
- research, monitoring, and evaluation needs.
All information must be received by 5pm on September 6, 2005.
Information may be sent to RecoveryInfo.nwr@noaa.gov. Please include in the subject line of the e-mail comment the identifier “Information for ESA Recovery Planning, Attention: (insert name of appropriate NMFS Recovery Coordinator)” and specify the recovery domain to which your information applies. Regional recovery coordinators are listed here:
Puget Sound Recovery Domain: Elizabeth.Babcock@noaa.gov
Upper Columbia Recovery Domain: Lynn.Hatcher@noaa.gov
Mid Columbia Recovery Domain: Paula.Burgess@noaa.gov
Willamette/Lower Columbia Recovery Domain: Patty.Dornbusch@noaa.gov
Oregon Coast Recovery Domain: Rosemary.Furfey@noaa.gov
Snake River Recovery Domain: David.Mabe@noaa.gov
Click here to read the Federal Register notice. Additional salmon-related materials are available at: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov.
