ADMINISTRATION’S SALMON RECOVERY EFFORTS REMAIN ON TRACK

Thanks to an emphasis on cooperative conservation, local recovery planning and technological improvement, salmon in the Northwest are continuing a trend of six straight years of strong returns.

“We have entered a new era in salmon recovery,” said Bob Lohn, Northwest regional director of NOAA Fisheries. “As our effort to develop subbasin recovery plans illustrates, this new era is one in which citizens at the local level are driving salmon recovery. Only by engaging in cooperative conservation with citizens around the region will we be able to achieve recovery for endangered species listed salmon.

“With the Federal agencies spending approximately $6 billion over ten years on salmon efforts in the Columbia/Snake River Basin-- the most significant program for Columbia and Snake River Salmon ever-- we are aggressively pursuing strategies that increase salmon returns while still preserving the quality of life those in the Northwest have become accustomed to.”

Last week, NOAA Fisheries Service released the first-ever comprehensive science-based recovery plans for three of the 12 Endangered Species Act-listed Columbia/Snake River species in the Lower Columbia River Subbasin in Washington state. Locally developed plans for the other nine ESA-listed Columbia/Snake River stocks in the Snake River, Upper Columbia, Mid-Columbia, and Lower Columbia River basins are being developed now and should be completed by late 2005 or early 2006. A map showing the Northwest recovery plan areas can be found online: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1srd/Recovery/domains/willow/WMU_Plan/Map_status-of-plans.jpg.

A detailed summary of the federal salmon budget over the past five years and the proposed budget for FY 2006 can be found online: http://www.salmonrecovery.gov/Implementation/FY_06_SALMON_CROSS_CUT.pdf

Updated statistics for salmon and steelhead returns through 2004 are online: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1srd/Recovery/domains/willow/WMU_Plan/SalmonReturns.pdf