Federal Listing for Oregon Coast Coho Salmon

Federal Listing for Oregon Coast Coho Salmon



October 2007

 A federal judge has declared 
illegal the Bush administration's decision to remove endangered species 
protections for Oregon Coast coho salmon. 
Today, U.S. District Judge Garr King adopted in its entirety the July 2007 
recommendation of Magistrate Judge Janice Stewart that the 
administration's refusal to list the coho be set aside. 
The judge ruled that coho's legal status as a Threatened species be 
reviewed and a new listing decision be finalized within 60 days. 
Restoration of the Endangered Species Act listing would prohibit actions 
that harm the species and require the government to prepare recovery 
plans. 
The decision comes in response to a lawsuit filed by fishermen and 
conservation groups last year. 
Historically, more than two million coho salmon spawned in Oregon's 
coastal rivers. Due to decades of aggressive logging and poorly managed 
fishing, those numbers collapsed. Runs bottomed out at about 14,000 in 
1997, a decline of more than 99 percent from historic levels. The runs 
were listed under the Endangered Species Act the following year. 
Coast coho returns showed some improvements in the early 2000s but have 
generally declined since then, and still remain at a small fraction of 
historic levels. 
A slight rebound between 2001 and 2003 prompted the state of Oregon to 
prematurely declare Coast coho sufficiently recovered to be stripped of 
federal protection. 
The National Marine Fisheries Service, NMFS, has twice proposed to list 
the Oregon Coast coho salmon as a threatened species under the Endangered 
Species Act, but has twice withdrawn the proposed listing at the urging of 
the state of Oregon. 
Today, of 27 salmon and steelhead populations in the Pacific Northwest and 
California, the Oregon Coast coho is the only population not listed under 
the Endangered Species Act. 
The decision to withhold endangered species protections from the coho was 
based on Oregon’s viability analysis which states that "coho populations 
are inherently resilient at low abundance." 
In rejecting that analysis, the court cited extensive scientific critiques 
of that theory from government scientists, who said that it was unreliable 
and failed to pass the "red-face test." The court ruled that the new 
theory did not represent the "best available science"as required by law. 
The federal agency charged with administering the fishery, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, overruled its own scientists who raised grave doubts 
about Oregon's novel population analysis as well as the status of the 
species. The Oregon coho lost their federal endangered species protection 
in 2006. 
"This is a victory for good science and for Oregon's future," said 
Earthjustice attorney Patti Goldman, who argued the case for the groups. 
"Restoring protections for these salmon today means a greener and 
economically vibrant Oregon tomorrow." 
"Oregon coast coho are still on life support, and recovery depends on 
protecting and restoring the rivers and streams these fish depend on," 
said Dr. Chris Frissell, former Oregon State University salmon biologist 
and senior staff scientist with Pacific Rivers Council, one of the 
plaintiff groups. "This decision restores vital habitat protection so that 
the coho can begin moving toward recovery." 
The plaintiffs include the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's 
Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Pacific Rivers Council, 
Trout Unlimited, Oregon Wild, Native Fish Society, and Umpqua Watersheds. 
Once a staple of Oregon's salmon fishing fleet but now off-limits to 
commercial fishermen, coastal coho runs have sharply declined from their 
historic abundance. "For the sake of our fishing families and communities, 
now is not the time to slack off on habitat protections for coho salmon," 
said Glen Spain, with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's 
Associations. 
"Eliminating these protections shifted the conservation burden onto the 
backs of fishermen, without protecting the rivers and streams the coho 
depend on. With federal habitat protections restored, coho have a chance 
to recover and, one day, draconian fishing restrictions can be lifted," 
said Spain. 
Coast Range Association Director Chuck Willer said, "Let's put the legal 
issues behind us and get on with the work of restoring coastal freshwater 
habitat and returning the coho to abundance." 

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