In 1998, Puget Sound Chinook salmon were listed as “threatened” under
the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This designation meant that these
fish were vulnerable to eventual extinction and required urgent
development of a recovery plan to protect them.
A key part of the recovery plan adopted for Puget Sound Chinook was
the Watershed Planning Act (WPA- RCW 90.82), that allowed each region to
assess its own water situation and to set goals and objectives for
water resource management by developing a watershed management plan.
