The Hood Canal Steelhead Project

Hood Canal steelhead are at the brink of extinction. In response, LLTK has partnered with NOAA Fisheries and six other entities to test and assess an innovative approach to boost the abundance of these fish: low-impact, time-limited hatchery intervention. The lessons we learn from this study will provide crucial information about the efficacy of hatcheries as conservation tools throughout the Northwest. Learn more>

Glenwood Springs Chinook Program

Hatcheries are vital in maintaining fisheries, meeting tribal treaty obligations, and compensating for depleted wild populations. But hatchery fish can compromise the genetic fitness of their wild counterparts if they are allowed to mate. Chinook reared at our Glenwood Springs Field Station, strategically located on Orcas Island, are geographically separated from wild Puget Sound Chinook, allowing us to provide a sustainable fishery in north Puget Sound without negatively impacting the wild stocks. Learn more >

The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project

The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project unites U.S. and Canadian researchers to determine why juvenile Chinook, coho, and steelhead are dying in our combined waters of Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia, collectively known as the Salish Sea. LLTK, in partnership with the Pacific Salmon Foundation of Canada, coordinates more than 60 organizations in conducting a holistic study of the physical, chemical, and biological factors impacting salmon and steelhead survival. This project serves as a model for ecosystem-scale collaborative science; its results will facilitate smarter management and stronger returns. Learn more>

Chinook Adaptive Management

Puget Sound Chinook salmon were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1999. In response, there was a bottom-up approach to planning that resulted in watershed-by-watershed recovery plans, drawing an unprecedented level of community involvement and support. These plans were approved by NOAA in 2007. Today, Long Live the Kings is working with agencies, tribes, and other partners at many levels to refine, improve, and manage Chinook recovery actions around Puget Sound. Learn more>

Steelhead Recovery Planning

LLTK staff are working with steelhead experts around the region to document linkages between human activities and specific impacts to steelhead survival by life stage. We’ve formally joined the NOAA-led Puget Sound Steelhead Recovery Team. To this effort, we bring our experience improving the Chinook recovery plans, drafting the technical basis for a steelhead plan for the four Hood Canal populations in 2014, and working continuously on steelhead survival via the Hood Canal Bridge Assessment, Hood Canal Steelhead Project, and Salish Sea Marine Survival Project.