West Coast Steelhead
(Oncorhynchus mykiss)
March 1998
ESU* STATUS AND DESCRIPTION:
Listed as a threatened species on March 19, 1998. The ESU includes all naturally
spawned populations of steelhead (and their progeny) in the Sacramento and San Joaquin
Rivers and their tributaries. Excluded are steelhead from San Francisco and San
Pablo Bays and their tributaries.
CRITICAL HABITAT:
Current Status - Designated on
February 16, 2000.
Description - Critical habitat is designated to
include all river reaches accessible to listed steelhead in the Sacramento and San Joaquin
Rivers and their tributaries in California. Also included are adjacent riparian
zones, as well as river reaches and estuarine areas of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,
all waters from Chipps Island westward to Carquinez Bridge, including Honker Bay, Grizzly
Bay, Suisun Bay, and Carquinez Strait, all waters of San Pablo Bay westward of the
Carquinez Bridge, and all waters of San Francisco Bay (north of the San Francisco/Oakland
Bay Bridge) from San Pablo Bay to the Golden Gate Bridge. Excluded are areas of the
San Joaquin River upstream of the Merced River confluence, tribal lands, and areas above
specific dams or above longstanding, naturally impassable barriers (i.e., natural
waterfalls in existence for at least several hundred years). Major river basins
containing spawning and rearing habitat for this ESU comprise approximately 13,096 square
miles in California. The following counties lie partially or wholly within these
basins (or contain migration habitat for the species): Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras,
Colusa, Contra Costa, Glenn, Marin, Merced, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Francisco, San
Joaquin, Shasta, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba.
More detailed critical habitat information (i.e., specific
watersheds, migration barriers, habitat features, and special management considerations)
for this ESU can be found in the February 16, 2000
Federal Register notice.
PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS: On July 10, 2000, NMFS published a
final rule that identifies several exceptions to the Endangered Species Act's Section 9
take prohibitions.
ESU MAPS AND DATA:
STATUS REVIEW UPDATE MEMOS:
Status Review Update for West Coast Steelhead from Washington,
Idaho, Oregon, and California, 7/7/97 (5.5 mb pdf)
Scientific Disagreements Regarding Steelhead Status under the ESA,
7/18/97 (0.8 mb pdf)
Update for Deferred and Candidate ESUs of West Coast Steelhead,
12/18/97 (4.8 mb pdf)
Update for Deferred ESUs of West Coast Steelhead, Hatchery
Populations, 1/13/98 (2.3 mb pdf) |
