The Stronghold Approach to Wild Salmon Conservation

Wild salmon populations have generally been declining in the southern range of North America since the mid 1800s. More than 29% of the estimated 1,400 populations of native salmon and trout in the contiguous western United States have been lost (Gustafson et al. 2007), and roughly one third are currently listed under the Endangered Species Act.  As efforts to recover these populations continue, significant threats to healthy wild salmon ecosystems persist, threatening the long term viability of currently strong populations.  Declines in these strong populations could not only limit the effectiveness of recovery efforts, but also reduce the resilience of populations to environmental changes triggered by climate change, population growth, and other challenges.    

To ensure that currently healthy populations do not suffer the same declines as listed and extirpated populations, a consortium of state and federal agencies, private organizations, and tribes has convened to establish the North American Salmon Stronghold Partnership. The Stronghold Partnership is a voluntary, incentive-based effort intended to supplement ongoing ecosystem protection and restoration efforts by promoting the conservation of the healthiest remaining wild Pacific salmon ecosystems – salmon strongholds – and the wild populations which rely on them.  The core of the Partnership’s work focuses on defining and advancing “the stronghold approach”, which seeks to: 1) scientifically identify a network of salmon strongholds; 2) promote the development and implementation of prevention-based strategies to protect strongholds from emerging threats; and 3) examine the root causes of limiting factors in strongholds and support innovative approaches to address them.  This presentation will describe the stronghold approach, underscoring its value as the cornerstone of an effective salmon conservation strategy.