Petition To List the Washington Coast Chinook Salmon As Threatened or Endangered Under the ESA

We, NOAA Fisheries, announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list spring-run Chinook salmon on the Washington Coast (WC) or, alternatively, list the existing WC Chinook salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) as threatened or endangered under the ESA. The petitioners also request the designation of critical habitat concurrent with ESA listing. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific and commercial information indicating the petitioned action to list may be warranted. We will conduct a status review of Chinook salmon on the Washington Coast to determine whether the petitioned action to list is indeed warranted.

To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial information pertaining to Chinook salmon spawning north of the Columbia River and west of the Elwha River from any interested party.