Focusing Restoration Efforts with Coho Life History Modeling

Historic land use practices and associated habitat degradation have led to large declines in Coho Salmon populations across California.  With limited budgets, and high costs of Salmon recovery efforts, it is important to prioritize restoration and recovery actions where they will have the highest potential for population response.  Population modeling offers a powerful tool in understanding Salmonid population dynamics as a function of management actions, and habitat restoration efforts.  One challenge in developing population models is obtaining parameter estimates specific to the population of interest.  As part of the California Coastal Salmonid Monitoring Plan, Life Cycle Monitoring (LCM) stations provide a promising source of population specific metrics for this effort.  This project utilizes 14 years of life stage specific survival and movement data collected on Freshwater Creek LCM in Humboldt County to build and parameterize a stage structured life history model.  Subsequent analysis evaluates sensitivity and population response to various restoration and management scenarios.  Questions this model addresses are: How do changes in juvenile survival and life history composition affect Coho Salmon population growth and stability? What management regimes will maximize population viability?  What are the projected population responses for Coho under various restoration scenarios?