Setting Goals and Strategies for Sustaining Coho Salmon in the Russian and Klamath Rivers of Northern California in the Face of Climate Change from a Foundation's Perspective

Billions of dollars have been spent over the last 30 years trying to recover wild populations of Pacific salmon.  Numerous biological opinions and recovery plans have been written and rewritten during this time.The population targets for restoration are usually targeted to be met in 60-100 years.  This is a major short-coming which does not allow for mid-course corrections because of the open-endedness of the plan and biologists not wanting to be held accountable for numbers which are influenced in many complex ways.  Most of the restoration funding has been targeted toward hatcheries, freshwater passage, and freshwater habitats.  Positive recovered population results have been mixed to nonexistent.  Many in the NGO world are questioning the rational of investing  more money when the population gains are so few for the amount of dollars invested.  The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation working with numerous local groups, academicians, federal and state biologists developed 10-12 year business plans for restoring populations of coho salmon in the Russian river and Klamath river basins.  Drawing on NMFS biological assessments and opinions and habitat conservation plans,  measurable outcomes and  12 year population goals were established.  Coho were chosen because of their rigid life history and ability to rapidly respond to positive conditions even if year to year numbers of returning adults are more volatile than chinook or steelhead which have more flexible life histories.  The Russian River was chosen due to its historical importance for the ESU, existing, available time data on coho returning adults, a brood stock program, and over summer and winter survival rates for juveniles.  In addition, the coho watersheds were in the fog zone and the community was grappling with different ways to manage water for people, agriculture, and fish.  The Klamath coho was selected because of its' historical importance for the ESU, available historical data on a couple of major tributaries for returning adults, smolts out, and over summer survival.  Additionally there was opportunity to improve cold-water habitat from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean.  Short term population goals were established and logic and results chains developed to guide the attainment of these goals.  Securing more instream water at crucial times for coho was a major goal in both basins, and would benefit chinook and steehead as well.