From Regs to Redds: Navigating the Regulatory and Social Raceways for Salmon Reintroduction

Reintroduction of endangered salmonids is a complex and challenging undertaking.  The Endangered Species Act (ESA) has many regulatory tools to aid in striking a balance between public concerns and fisheries agencies' ultimate objective of recovery.  These regulatory tools include experimental population designations, enhancement of species permits, and take exceptions.  The key to enabling fish reintroduction is forming collaborative relationships with public entities and learning how to best utilize these complex regulations. Spring-run Chinook salmon were extirpated from the San Joaquin River over 60 years ago when Friant Dam operations fully commenced, dewatering large stretches of the river; the San Joaquin Restoration Program (SJRRP) will revive the river and restore the spring-run Chinook salmon population. The enabling statute of the SJRRP requires use of the ESA experimental population designation and 4(d) rule to avoid impacts to third parties that could result from such reintroduction Innovative collaborative methods, such as extensive outreach and education programs combined with personal one-on-one relationship building with stakeholders, were used to craft these rules.  These methods may benefit other efforts to develop safe-harbor or experimental population rules for highly migratory and anadromous fish species.