File:Final Report.pdf

Final report for ESRP Learning Project (PRISM Project #18-2248 ) Greene and Chamberlin 2024 "Multi-scale assessment of population responses to estuary restoration for Puget Sound Chinook salmon" Chinook Response to Estuary Restoration

Brief Description:

Habitat restoration has been a primary focus of salmon recovery efforts even before many stocks were listed as Threatened or Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Tidal deltas of major rivers have been a focal habitat to support recovery for threatened Puget Sound Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) because of severe losses in these natal estuaries and increased understanding of their importance to juvenile life stages (Healey 1982, Simenstad et al. 1982, Collins et al. 2003, Beamer et al. 2005, Greene et al. 2021). However, while these efforts have undoubtedly created local benefits (Ellings et al. 2016, Greene et al. 2016) and verify that “if you build it, they will come,” their success as part of the recovery framework/toolbox is less understood. In fact, there remains very limited information about how restoration in natal tidal deltas is improving productivity of our Chinook salmon populations. Therefore, this report seeks to address the degree to which capital investments in tidal delta restoration have been successful in terms of realized benefits to Chinook salmon populations, and specifically upon improved growth and survival through juvenile life stages to adult returns.