Report on a review of the Oregon coast and Southern Oregon Northern Californai Coastal spring Chinook salmon ESU configuration

On September 24, 2019, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) received a petition (OCC petition) from the Native Fish Society, Center for Biological Diversity, and Umpqua Watersheds to identify an Oregon Coast (OC) spring-run Chinook salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) and list that ESU as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). On April 13, 2020, NMFS announced a “90-day” finding on the petition, determining that the petitioned action may be warranted (85 FR 20476). On May 4, 2020, NMFS received a petition from Mr. Richard K. Nawa of Selma, Oregon, to evaluate Southern Oregon and Northern California Coastal (SONCC) spring-run Chinook salmon for listing under the ESA (SONCC petition). On May 1, 2020, the NMFS West Coast Region (WCR) requested that the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) conduct an analysis and review of the OCC petition’s claim that Oregon Coast spring-run Chinook salmon should be considered a separate ESU, and, if so, provide a description of the demographic risks to any new ESU described as a result of that evaluation. To conduct this evaluation, the NWFSC set up a review panel consisting of NWFSC and Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) experts. On May 14th, 2020, the WCR requested that the review panel concurrently evaluate the SONCC petition’s request that SONCC spring-run Chinook salmon should be considered a separate ESU. On March 16, 2021, NMFS announced a 90-day finding on the SONCC petition, finding the action may be warranted (86 FR 14407).