Spring Chinook Salmon – Upper Snake SMU

Chinook Salmon - Spring/Summer Run
Photo Credit: ODFW

Overview

  • Species Common Name Chinook Salmon
  • Species Scientific Name Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
  • SMU/ ESU/ DPS/Subspecies Spring Chinook - Upper Snake SMU (Snake River ESU)
  • Federal Listing Status Threatened
  • State Listing Status Threatened

Ecoregions

Special needs

  • Require streams with clean gravel, complex habitat, and cool temperatures for spawning and rearing.
  • Require access for anadromous migration.
  • Spring/Summer Run require cool, deep resting holes for holding over summer.
  • Productive nearshore marine habitat that provides high-quality prey in sufficient quantity for rapid growth at time of ocean entry.

Limiting factors

  • Area blocked by Hells Canyon Dam.
  • Populations functionally extinct.

Conservation actions

  • Restore passage above Hells Canyon Complex Dams.
  • Restore aquatic and riparian habitat.