Coordination of Effort
Among Contributors to OCSRI

The actions of government, alone, are not sufficient to conserve and restore salmon across the landscape. Oregon's Conservation Plan recognizes that conservation and restoration of coho and other species must be accomplished by local communities and landowners, with local knowledge of problems and ownership in solutions. Watershed councils, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the OSU Cooperative Extension Service, and other grassroots efforts are vehicles for getting the work done. State and federal agencies and programs will provide regulatory foundation and technical support to the watershed councils, but the bulk of the work needed to conserve and restore watersheds will be done by local people.

State and federal agencies are responsible for many management programs and the administration of Statutes and Administrative Rules that fundamentally affect natural resources, including:

• fishery harvest management,
• production of hatchery fish, and
• a wide variety of habitat alteration, protection, and restoration activities.

Previously, each of these agencies conducted business independently. Salmon suffered because its life cycle crosses the physical and jurisdictional boundaries of all of these agencies. Salmon suffered because they were affected by the actions of all the agencies, but no single agency was responsible for comprehensive, life-cycle management. Under Oregon's Conservation Plan, all state and federal agencies that have an impact on salmon are held accountable for conducting business in a coordinated manner that is consistent with the Conceptual Foundation and the Goals and Strategies of the OCSRI.

Leadership

To date, the essential mechanism in Oregon's CSRI Plan has been the Governor's leadership. It has brought management agencies and affected stakeholders together, developing solutions to long standing problems. The OCSRI recognizes that leadership of this nature is essential to achieving the Goals of the Conservation Plan.. While the institutional arrangements that allowed salmon to decline will not be resolved quickly, effective leadership has the best opportunity of resolving the inherent conflicts that exist. Maintaining momentum in Oregon's Coastal Salmon Restoration Initiative Plan hinges on continued leadership of state agencies and coordination with federal agencies with potentially conflicting missions and competing constituencies. This essential leadership will be maintained through the Governor's role with the Salmon Strategy Team.

Coordination and accountability of state agency effort under the OCSRI will be accomplished through the Salmon Strategy Team (SST), including directors of the following agencies:

• Agriculture Department Director
• Economic Development Department Director
• Environmental Quality Department Director
• Fish and Wildlife Department Director
• Forestry Department Director
• Land Conservation and Development Department Director
• State Lands Department Director
• Water Resources Department Director
• AOC/LOC representative
• NMFS representative
• A representative of the Pacific Salmon Coordinating Committee
• A representative of the Oregon Progress Board

The SST shall convene as directed by the Governor at regular intervals that may vary from weekly to monthly, depending on the urgency of matters to consider.

Coordination of Effort

Much of the work essential to conservation and restoration of Oregon's salmon populations will be accomplished through the efforts of local Watershed Councils, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, private and industrial landowners, and similar grassroots efforts. Technical support, scientific expertise, and access to relevant data will be provided by cooperating state and federal agencies and the and the OSU Cooperative Extension Service.

Continuing Role of NMFS

NMFS will evaluate Oregon's progress towards goals to determine annually if coho or other species should be listed under the Federal ESA. NMFS will review recommendations of the Independent Scientific Review Group and the Coordinated Monitoring Program Annual Report to assess whether management measures proposed under Oregon's Coastal Salmon Restoration Initiative Plan are being accomplished as promised. Evidence that state partners are deficient in taking action, or the status of salmon stocks or supporting habitats have worsened, will be considered a basis for NMFS to establish a listing.