Six of fourteen salmon and steelhead species in the state of Washington that are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act are showing modest improvement. However, according to the 2024 State of Salmon report by the Washington Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office, eight species are still struggling and face extinction.
Four species have improved since the previous bi-annual report released by Washington in 2022, but one species – middle Columbia River steelhead – have declined. Even with some improvement over the past two years, salmon and steelhead continue to face challenges that are exacerbated by climate change, a Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office news release says. Those challenges include loss of habitat, waters that are too warm and more wildfires that destroy shade-providing trees on riverbanks.
“Salmon are critical to our economy and way of life,” said Megan Duffy, director of the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, which staffs the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office. “They support our commercial and recreational fishing industry. They are food for other animals including endangered Southern Resident orcas. They are key to Tribal culture and treaty rights and they support many tourist communities. It is encouraging to see there is progress but the number of salmon populations still struggling reminds us that now is not the time to let up. We must continue investing in saving salmon so we all may benefit.”
The 2024 “State of Salmon in Watersheds Executive Summary” is here: https://stateofsalmon.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ExecSummary-2024.pdf. A state of the salmon website is here: https://stateofsalmon.wa.gov/
Salmon populations in Washington have been declining for generations. As Washington grew, many places where salmon live were altered or destroyed. In 1991, the federal government declared the first species of salmon in the Pacific Northwest as endangered. By the end of that decade, salmon and steelhead listings covered three-quarters of the state, the news release says.
“Salmon face many challenges throughout their lives,” said Erik Neatherlin, director of the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office. “Climate change causes more flooding that flushes young salmon downstream before they are ready. It is warming the ocean, which also is becoming more acidic. And when salmon return home, they face rivers that are too warm and don’t have enough water. The restoration projects happening all around the state are an essential piece of the puzzle for reversing these trends.”
The report says that while too many of the state’s salmon and steelhead species are still in crisis, there are signs of modest improvements among some of the species.
“This is good news and suggests that progress is possible. The question is whether these modest improvements can be sustained for those species and whether progress is possible for other species in the state,” the report says.
Species that have changed their status since the 2022 report are:
- Lower Columbia River coho have improved from “making progress” to “approaching abundance goals.”
- Columbia River chum have improved from “not keeping pace” to “making progress.”
- Upper Columbia River steelhead have improved from “not keeping pace” to “making progress.”
- Upper Columbia River spring Chinook have improved, but within the category of “not keeping pace.”
- Middle Columbia River steelhead have declined.
On the positive side, three species are approaching their abundance goals, including Hood Canal summer chum, Snake River Fall Chinook and lower Columbia River coho, according to the report.
Also three species that the report says are making progress include Columbia River chum, lower Columbia River steelhead and upper Columbia River steelhead.
However, Snake River basin steelhead, lower Columbia River Chinook and upper Columbia River spring Chinook, according to the report are not keeping pace.
The five species most in trouble, which the report lists as in crisis, are Snake River spring/summer Chinook, Puget Sound Chinook, Lake Ozette Sockeye, Middle Columbia River steelhead and Puget Sound steelhead.
At stake are the economy, recreation and treaties, the report says.
- About $1.5 billion spent by people harvesting fish and shellfish recreationally in the state, resulting in about 23,000 jobs.
- Every $1 million invested in habitat restoration projects generates up to $2.6 million in economic activity.
- Salmon are a keystone species: some 138 species of wildlife, from whales to insects, depend on salmon for their food.
- Trees and shrubs use marine-derived nutrients from salmon as fertilizer.
- Salmon are an icon of the Pacific Northwest. From the earliest times, people of the Northwest have identified themselves with salmon. Tribes, the state’s first inhabitants, defined themselves as the Salmon People.
- Salmon are woven throughout Tribal lives as a source of food, work, art and literature, heritage, and celebration.
- Through treaties with the federal government in the mid-1850s, Washington is obligated to uphold fishing rights for Tribes and has a duty to ensure salmon are abundant enough for harvest.
“Tribes co-manage the state’s salmon with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and work with the federal government to set fishing seasons,” the report says. “Tribes are foundational for salmon recovery in Washington. Tribes have thousands of years of knowledge, expertise, and insight into salmon stewardship. They have led salmon recovery efforts throughout the state, serve on salmon recovery boards, and work with partners to advance recovery priorities. Tribes have led many of the largest restoration efforts in the state. And Tribes employ a range of scientists and policy staff who advocate for salmon recovery, lead planning and implementation efforts, and monitor progress toward recovery.”
“Habitat protection and restoration is one of the most important factors for salmon recovery,” the report says. “Salmon need cool, clean rivers and streams, estuaries (where rivers meet saltwater), and healthy oceans through the different stages of their lives.”
However, Washington habitat has been degraded by humans in the past 150 years due to straightened streams and cleared logs and root wads (which biologists later discovered were important habitat for salmon). In addition, people built roads, levees and ditches that disconnected rivers and floodplains.
To rebuild salmon and steelhead runs to healthy and harvestable salmon populations requires funding. A 2011 study estimated the state-wide cost of habitat improvements identified in the regional salmon recovery plan at $4.7 billion. Since the estimate was made, some $2.1 billion has been spent, but funding is lagging behind what is needed, the report says.
Challenges to this effort are climate change, quantity and quality of water, pollutants, fish passage barriers, predation by pinnipeds, birds and fish, harvest, hydropower and hatcheries, but significant improvements have been accomplished in these areas. Between 2005 and 2024 the state and its partners have corrected 3,866 fish passage barriers, some 39,447 riparian acres have been restored, 5,102 miles of stream have been made accessible to salmon and steelhead, 13,918 acres of estuaries and near-shore areas have been restored and 3,443 miles of riparian shoreline have been restored.
For background, see:
— CBB, January 13, 2023, WASHINGTON STATE OF SALMON REPORT: ‘TOO MANY SALMON REMAIN ON BRINK OF EXTINCTION, TIME RUNNING OUT’, HTTPS://COLUMBIABASINBULLETIN.ORG/WASHINGTON-STATE-OF-SALMON-REPORT-TOO-MANY-SALMON-REMAIN-ON-BRINK-OF-EXTINCTION-TIME-RUNNING-OUT/
— CBB, January 15, 2021, WASHINGTON STATE SALMON RECOVERY REPORT: MOST POPULATIONS NOT MAKING PROGRESS, SOME ON PATH TO EXTINCTION, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/WASHINGTON-STATE-SALMON-RECOVERY-REPORT-MOST-POPULATIONS-NOT-MAKING-PROGRESS-SOME-ON-