This program will establish watershed- based programs to monitor for Viable Salmonid Populations parameters and will provide for intra-NOPLE coordination to compile and report data/findings for EDT/AHA. The following presents details on the Dungeness. As the program develops, appropriate programs would be developed for other watersheds.

Dungeness Chinook Population Analysis and Modeling to Support Harvest, Hatchery and Habitat Management and Planning
This is a high priority program because it addresses immediate needs for population analysis and modeling to help reduce uncertainties and close gaps in the Dungeness recovery plan, including those identified by the Puget Sound Technical Recovery Team (TRT)*. The immediate need for improving the recovery plan and its ongoing and pending recovery measures is necessary for effective adaptive management. Accordingly this program should be put in place as soon as possible and operate at least over the next three years.

Dungeness Chinook Biological Monitoring Project
A biological monitoring project is proposed to augment the current biological monitoring of spawning escapements (that includes determining natural and hatchery origin of Chinook spawners), and juvenile out-migrant trapping on Matriotti Creek. This project is intended to collect life history and distribution information on Chinook in the watershed and Dungeness estuary, and also on other salmonids that may interact with the Chinook. Data collected over the long-term would provide for monitoring biological changes or trends in relation to recovery actions and to test assumptions made in recovery planning.
The project was identified in the Dungeness recovery plan as a critical part of the hatchery and harvest components. The TRT stated that the most important way to improve certainty of an effective hatchery strategy was to improve adaptive management.*