California's Approach to Restoring and Recovering Salmon and Steelhead

California's salmon and steelhead occupy 100's of miles of coastal watersheds, the Cascade, Klamath, Sierra Nevada provinces, and the Central Valley, which runs through two-thirds of the California.  Several important principles contribute to how the Department of Fish and Game pursues restoration of estuarine and riverine salmon and steelhead habitat and recovery of anadromous populations. Four elements play a signficiant role in restoring and protecting aquatic habitat and species- ensuring scientific principles, analyses, and data are central to decisions, engaging acitively in land management; providing leadership, technical, and financial support to restoration and recovery activities; and collaborating with local, regional, and agency organizations. Historic and current habitat and fish population information, along with hydrologic and geomorphologic information, are central to the scientific and salmon mamanagement investigations DFG uses to evaluate species management, restoration and recovery.  This information is integrated with current and forecasted land use practices and environmental conditions.  DFG and other agencies assesses aquatic habitat conditions, including instream and riparian condition, fish passage, stream flow, and water quality.  DFG also coordinates with other organizations (e.g., the Wildlife Conservation Board, State Coastal Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy) that focus on bringing lands into conservation management or manage lands for their natural resource value (e.g., U.S. Fish and Wildlfe and Forest services).  DFG provides substantial technical support, from scientists, hydrologists, geologists, and other specialists to evaluate and prioritize salmon restoration and recovery planning and activities across the state.  It also manages restoration programs that provide federal and state grants to restore for salmon and steelhead.  Two key programs are the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program and Ecossytem Restoration Program, that focus on coastal watersheds and the Central Valley, respectively.  DFG has now commenced to utilize its State Wildlife Grant Program to focus on key assessments and conservation actions for anadromous salmonids across the State.  A final key element to restoring and recovering salmon and steelhead is collaboration.  Central to this collaboration is the relationship with NOAA Fisheries in working together on developing and implementing the six federal recovery plans and implementing the State's recovery strategy for coho salmon and with U.S. Fish and Wildlife in managing anadrmous salmonids in the Central Valley and Klamath-Trinity Rivers.  In addition, DFG facilities many, multi-organization advisory committees, involved in a wide array of salmonid conservation issues.