Puget Sound Chinook salmon, also known as Kings; became so imperiled in 1999 they were listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. (ESA) Passed in 1973, the ESA-listing required development of recovery plans to identify actions needed for the conservation and survival of threatened and endangered species. The Puget Sound Chinook Recovery Plan was approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service in 2006. It has chapters for various watersheds where Chinook are in danger, including both a Dungeness and Elwha Chapter . It was developed collaboratively by local community representatives, governments and tribes. Puget Sound Chinook can not be “delisted” under ESA until both the Dungeness and Elwha Chinook populations have recovered. The Puget Sound Partnership, which is legally responsible for recovery of Puget Sound, Puget Sound Chinook, Puget Sound Steelhead and a portion of the Coastal/Puget Sound Bull Trout; looks to the North Olympic Peninsula Lead Entity to work collaboratively with our partners to advance local restoration efforts.

Another listed species is the Hood Canal/Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca Summer Chum. That species was also deemed at risk of extinction and added to the ESA list in 1999. The Hood Canal/Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca Summer Chum Recovery Plan was approved in 2006. The Hood Canal Coordinating Council is legally responsible for recovery of Hood Canal-Eastern Strait Summer Chum and we and other local partners such as the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and North Olympic Salmon Coalition work with them to advance chum restoration efforts.

Puget Sound Steelhead was listed in NOAA Fisheries listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2007. These fish can be found in many rivers and streams throughout much of the North Olympic Peninsula. NOAA Fisheries is now developing a long-term recovery plan with our federal, state, tribal, local, and private partners. A draft plan is expected to be available for public review in 2018, with a final plan completed in 2019.