About Dataset

In June, 2008, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northwest Region’s Salmon Recovery Division asked the Recovery Implementation Science Team (RIST) to review several draft monitoring and evaluation plans for ESA listed salmon species. Monitoring data are critical for several aspects of ESA recovery implementation, including conducting mandatory 5- year status reviews, conducting biological assessments and opinions of federal actions, implementing adaptive management of recovery plans, and ultimately making delisting or change-of-listing-status decisions. In requesting that the RIST provide a scientific review of several plans, NMFS intended that the review would be helpful to the plan authors as they update, revise, or implement the plans, and would assist others developing monitoring plans by promoting the successful elements of existing plans. The specific plans the RIST was asked to review were: • The Shared Strategy’s Monitoring and Adaptive Management Plan for Puget Sound Chinook salmon; • The Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board’s Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for Lower Columbia Salmon and Steelhead; and • The Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board’s Upper Columbia Spring Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring and Evaluation Plan This review provides comments on each plan organized by the NMFS management questions. In addition, the document identifies several key areas that could benefit from greater attention in all plans.