Snake River Basin (DPS)

This inland steelhead Distinct Population Segment (DPS) occupies the Snake River Basin in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho and includes all naturally spawned populations of A-run and B-run steelhead in the Snake River and its tributaries (U.S. Office of the Federal Register 1997). The Snake River steelhead DPS was originally listed as threatened on August 18, 1997 (U.S. Office of the Federal Register 1997) and was reaffirmed on January 5, 2006 (U.S. Office of the Federal Register 2006). A draft Recovery Plan is being developed for the Snake River steelhead DPS to guide recovery of these populations.

The Snake River basin encompasses an area of approximately 107,000 square miles, of which the northeast Oregon region comprises 4,880 square miles. Three major rivers in Oregon flow into the Snake River drainage: the Grande Ronde, Imnaha, and Wallowa Rivers. The Interior Columbia Technical Recovery Team (ICTRT) identified 29 populations in the Snake River Steelhead DPS. The populations were grouped into six Major Population Groups (MPGs) distributed across the DPS from southeastern Washington, through northeastern Oregon, and central Idaho. Two MPGs, the Grande Ronde River and Imnaha River are located in northeast Oregon. Recovery status and methods used to generate the current status review of the Snake River steelhead DPS are described in the ICTRT Viability Criteria Report.

Oncorhynchus mykiss