Project 1: the rogue fall chinook inventory project conducts standardized seining at river mile 8 on the rogueriver annually between july 15 and october 31

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Department of the Interior awarded $346,512 to the State of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), Salem Region Office under the Sport Fish Restoration program (CFDA 15.605) effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. This formula grant funds three integrated fisheries monitoring and management projects in southern Oregon that collectively support sport fish conservation, hatchery operations, and recreational fishing opportunities. Project 1 conducts standardized annual seining surveys at River Mile 8 on the Rogue River (July 15–October 31) to estimate abundance of fall Chinook, summer steelhead, half-pounder steelhead, and coho populations, a monitoring effort ODFW has maintained since 1978. Project 2 implements the Southern Oregon Northern California (SONCC) Adult Monitoring Project, which conducts spawning ground surveys (November 1–January 31) across south coast streams to monitor fall Chinook and ESA-threatened SONCC coho populations, providing fishery managers with data essential for managing in-river sport and ocean fisheries, hatchery production, and basin health assessments within the SONCC Evolutionary Significant Unit.

Project 3 funds one full-time employee position to coordinate fall Chinook and winter steelhead broodstock collection and monitoring on the Chetco River (November 1–April 30), including seining operations, coordination of angler-donated fish, and hatchery stray rate monitoring. Collectively, these projects deliver population abundance estimates, escapement forecasts, spawning surveys, and broodstock collection services that directly support ODFW's management of ocean and freshwater recreational fisheries, hatchery supplementation programs, and ecosystem stewardship across southern Oregon coastal watersheds.

The project is conducted to estimate the abundance of fallchinook, summer steelhead, half pounder steelhead, and coho returning to the rogue river. This project hasbeen conducted since 1978.project 2: the southern oregon northern california (soncc) adult monitoring project is an ongoing project thatprovides fishery managers with the necessary information to monitor the population status of both fall chinookand ESA threatened soncc coho salmon. Staff funded by this grant conduct spawning ground surveys in south coast streams between november 1 and january 31 to monitor spawning abundance of fall chinook and soncc coho. The information is used to manage in-river sport and ocean fisheries, hatchery fish production, and as an indicator of general basin health for the southern oregon coastal watersheds. Escapement and forecast estimates for fall chinook salmon is used in the management of ocean fisheries in the klamath management zone (KMZ). Watersheds monitored are within the soncc evolutionary significant unit (ESU), as designated by NOAA fisheries.project 3: the chetco river fall chinook and winter steelhead broodstock collection and monitoring project hires one employee who assists volunteers and other staff to conduct seining and tangle netting and also coordinates the collection of angler donated fall chinook on the chetco river between november 1 and april 30. The project collects fall chinook and winter steelhead broodstock for hatchery supplementation programs that contribute fish to ocean and chetco freshwater fisheries. This project also assists district staff in various other duties which may include monitoring the winter steelhead and fall chinook hatchery stray rates in the chetco river and surrounding watersheds by conducting spawning surveys conducting angler creel surveys and assisting hatchery personnel.project 4: rogue south coast multi species conservation and management plan (RSP) monitoring hires 2 employees from december 1 to april 30 to implement creel surveys identified in the RSP. The RSP was adopted in december 2021 by the odfw commission. The monitoring will be used to measure abundance, hatchery stray rates, and angler harvest rates for plan species. The information collected will be reported annually as part of the RSP reporting requirements.