CHINOOK SALMON
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

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    SNAKE RIVER FALL-RUN ESU
LISTED THREATENED
    April 1992

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ESU* STATUS AND DESCRIPTION:  Listed as a threatened species on April 22, 1992 (see correction on June 3, 1992).  The listed ESU includes all natural populations of fall-run chinook salmon in the mainstem Snake River and any of the following subbasins: Tucannon River, Grande Ronde River, Imnaha River, Salmon River, and Clearwater River.

* An Evolutionarily Significant Unit or "ESU" is a distinctive group of Pacific salmon, steelhead, or sea-run cutthroat trout.

CRITICAL HABITAT:
Current Status - Designated on December 28, 1993.
Description - Critical habitat for the listed ESU is designated to include river reaches presently or historically accessible (except reaches above impassable natural falls, and Dworshak and Hells Canyon Dams) to Snake River fall chinook salmon in the Columbia River from a straight line connecting the west end of the Clatsop jetty (south jetty, Oregon side) and the west end of the Peacock jetty (north jetty, Washington side) and including all Columbia River estuarine areas and river reaches proceeding upstream to the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers; the Snake River, all river reaches from the confluence of the Columbia River, upstream to Hells Canyon Dam; the Palouse River from its confluence with the Snake River upstream to Palouse Falls; the Clearwater River from its confluence with the Snake River upstream to its confluence with Lolo Creek; the North Fork Clearwater River from its confluence with the Clearwater River upstream to Dworshak Dam.  Major river basins containing spawning and rearing habitat for this ESU comprise approximately 13,679 square miles in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.  The following counties lie partially or wholly within these basins:  Idaho - Adams, Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lemhi, Lewis, and Nez Perce; Oregon - Baker, Union, and Wallowa; Washington - Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Walla Walla, and Whitman.
            More detailed critical habitat information (i.e., specific watersheds, migration barriers, habitat features, and special management considerations) for this ESU can be found in the December 28, 1993 Federal Register notice. §

PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS: On April 22, 1992, NMFS published a final rule specifying that the Endangered Species Act's Section 9 take prohibitions relating to endangered species also apply to this ESU.

ESU MAPS AND DATA:

• View Detailed Snake River Fall-run Chinook ESU Map (Adobe Acrobat PDF format)
• View Range Map for all Chinook ESUs
• Download Chinook salmon ESU data in Arc/Info export and shape file format
• Download E-sized plot files of West Coast chinook salmon listings in RTL file format for large format plotters

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-35, February 1998
Status Review of Chinook Salmon from Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and California

STATUS REVIEW UPDATE MEMOS:
Status Review Update for Four Deferred ESUs of Chinook Salmon: Central Valley Spring-run, Central Valley Fall and Late-Fall Run, South Oregon and California Coastal, and Snake River Fall Run, 7/16/99 (9.1 mb pdf)

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES:
View Federal Register Notices for Chinook Salmon

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