The Coastal Lakes Strategic Action Plan for Coho Salmon Recovery FIP Draft Copy June 28 2018 Note: This SAP is still under development, and is near final draft version at the time of the FIP application deadline. Coastal Lakes Strategic Action Plan for Coho Recovery Page 0 Contents Contributors and Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ 3 Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 6 1. Introduction: Why Coho? ........................................................................................................ 9 1.1 A Keystone Species ......................................................................................................... 10 1.2 An Indicator Watershed Function .................................................................................. 11 1.3 A Threatened Species ..................................................................................................... 12 1.4 A Unique Opportunity for Recovery .............................................................................. 12 1.5 A Locally Led Partnership ............................................................................................... 12 1. An Overview of the Siuslaw Coho Partnership and the Coastal Lakes Plan ......................... 13 2.1 Our Vision of Recovery ................................................................................................... 17 2.2 SAP Implementation: Long-Term Outcomes & Short-Term Goals ................................ 17 2.3 Scope of this Strategic Action Plan ................................................................................. 18 2.4 Guiding Principles for Plan Development ...................................................................... 19 3. The Coastal Lakes Watershed ............................................................................................... 22 3.1 Physical Geography ........................................................................................................ 23 3.2 Hydrology and Water Resources .................................................................................... 23 3.3 Biotic Systems ................................................................................................................ 27 3.4 Indigenous Communities of the Coastal Lakes .............................................................. 27 3.5 European Settlement and the Rise of a Resource Extraction Economy ........................ 28 3.6 The Coastal Lakes Economy today ................................................................................. 29 3.7 Advancing the Restoration Economy ............................................................................. 31 Restoration investments benefit the local economy ........................................................... 31 Restoration investments create local jobs ........................................................................... 32 Restoration investments are Investments in Our Community ............................................. 33 4. Coastal Lakes coho and their habitat needs ......................................................................... 33 4.1 The coho lifecycle ........................................................................................................... 34 4.2 Watershed Components and Coho Habitat Types ......................................................... 36 4.3 Wild Coho Distribution, Abundance, and Productivity .................................................. 38 5. Impaired Watershed Processes and Stresses on Coho Habitats .......................................... 43 Coastal Lakes Strategic Action Plan for Coho Recovery Page 1 5.1 Modified Watershed Processes in the Uplands, Tributaries, and Off-channel Habitats 43 5.2 Modified Watershed Processes in Mainstem, Estuary, and Off-channel Habitats........ 47 6. Development of the Coastal Lakes River Strategic Action Plan ......................................... 48 6.1 Visioning ......................................................................................................................... 48 6.2 Creating the Coastal Lakes Common Framework .......................................................... 48 6.3 Evaluating Habitat Stresses ............................................................................................ 49 6.5 Locating and Prioritizing Projects ................................................................................... 49 6.6 Monitoring and Indicators ............................................................................................. 52 6.7 Estimating Costs ............................................................................................................. 52 6.8 Community Outreach ..................................................................................................... 52 7. The Strategic Framework: Restoration Strategies and Key Geographies ............................. 53 7.1 The High Ranked Sub Watersheds ................................................................................. 53 7.2 Habitat Stresses, Limiting Factors, and the Anchor Habitat Approach ........................... 0 7.3 Strategies to Conserve Critical Coho Habitats in the Coastal Lake Watersheds .............. 0 8. SCP Implementation Plan: Goals & Actions (2019-2025) ....................................................... 3 9. Funding Needs: Estimated Costs .......................................................................................... 12 10. Evaluation and Adaptive Management ............................................................................... 0 10.1 The Monitoring Framework ............................................................................................. 0 10.2 Data Gaps and Priorities for Data Collection ................................................................... 0 10.4 Sustainability ..................................................................................................................... 0 11. References ........................................................................................................................... 0 Coastal Lakes Strategic Action Plan for Coho Recovery Page 2 Contributors and Acknowledgements The Siuslaw Coho Partnership is a committed group of public and private partners dedicated to the broad sense recovery of Siuslaw Coho salmon. This Strategic Action Plan (SAP) was developed by a “core planning team” of these partners, which included: Siuslaw Watershed Council (SWC) – Mizu Burruss, Eli Tome, Liz Vollmer-Buhl, Dan Carpenter Siuslaw Soil and Water Conservation District (Siuslaw SWCD) – Seth Mead Siuslaw National Forest (SNF) – Paul Burns, Ana Hernandez Natural Resource and Conservation Service (NRCS) – Kate Danks Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians – Ashley Russell, Margaret Corvi Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Stan van de Wetering National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries / National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) - Jeff Young Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) – Dan Avery, Renee Coxen, John Spangler The Wild Salmon Center – Mark Trenholm Most importantly, the SCP wants to especially thank Mark Trenholm who is responsible for writing the bulk of this plan and guiding partners through the process. Without Mark, we wouldn’t have these Strategic Action Plans and the SCP is extremely grateful for his writing, facilitation and guidance in the creation of both the Siuslaw and Coastal Lakes Strategic Action Plans. Furthermore, the SCP thanks Mark and the Coho Business Planning team for their creation of the common framework and coordination among the many organizations engaged in coho restoration efforts across Oregon. The team has been invaluable in knowledge, as well as in attracting and marketing to funders for our restoration efforts. This core planning team would like to thank the Business Plan Steering Committee for their support of the planning process. Special thanks to the NOAA Restoration Center for providing extensive GIS support to locate and prioritize the projects contained within this plan, and to the Wild Salmon Center for its role in facilitating the process, producing the plan, and working so diligently to get the initial work on the ground funded. We’d also like to acknowledge the critical contributions of several project consultants, including: PC Trask for producing the literature review and bibliography; TerrainWorks for generating the Netmap layers and conducting the initial spatial analyses and; Barbara Taylor for the editorial support. Coastal Lakes Strategic Action Plan for Coho Recovery Page 3 The Siuslaw Coho Partnership would also like to thank the funders of both the planning effort – the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) and Oregon Community Foundation – and the first partners that stepped up to support implementation – the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the NOAA Restoration Center. This plan represents a cooperative effort on behalf of all of these partners to assimilate, focus, and build on the vast body of knowledge available on the Siuslaw watershed to accelerate the strategic protection and restoration of