First milestone in Klamath Integrated Restoration and Monitoring Plan complete

ESSA has completed a Synthesis Report for the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission in support of the development of an Integrated Fisheries Restoration and Monitoring Plan (IFRMP or Plan) for the Klamath Basin. Once complete in 2019 the Plan will help agencies and Tribes with fisheries management jurisdiction to wisely allocate funds in a coordinated manner to support the most effective restoration and monitoring work in the Klamath Basin. A key principle underpinning this Plan is that native fish species will be able to return to the upper basin either through removal of the four lower Klamath River dams or by adding extensive new and enhanced fish passage infrastructure that allow native fishes to effectively find and migrate past the dams. Removal of the four Klamath Dams would be the largest dam removal and fisheries restoration effort in U.S. history.

ESSA is proud to have collaboratively reached this important first milestone in the development of the Plan. Considerable effort has and will continue to be made to engage a broad, representative and inclusive group of agencies, cooperating partners and interested participants. We sincerely thank the multitude of federal, state, tribal, NGOs and private sector participants for their time, expertise and assistance providing information at our November workshop, during interviews, phone calls, and providing review comments on the Public Draft Synthesis Report in June and July 2017.

Emphasizing an adaptive management mindset and the associated best practices, the next stage of the project will develop a clear vision for restoration in the Klamath Basin, establish subregional workgroups, develop a suite of conceptual models for each phase of restoration, establish a clear objectives hierarchy and key performance indicators (including interim benchmarks, decision criteria and triggers). With agreement on problem definition and objectives from the preceding steps, ESSA will guide restoration co-managers, practitioners and interested participants to help map candidate restoration actions, assessments and monitoring approaches that may need to be made annually and periodically during each phase of restoration.

For updates and more information see: http://kbifrm.psmfc.org.