The nation's biggest salmon-recovery plan ever, which aims to restore threatened Puget Sound Chinook salmon runs, was unveiled in Tukwila on Jan. 19.

Adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the plan was developed over the past five years by local communities across the 14 river basins that drain into Puget Sound.

Required by the Endangered Species Act, it is the largest and most comprehensive salmon-recovery effort ever approved by the federal government, according to officials with the fisheries service-an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Puget Sound Chinook, along with Hood Canal summer chum salmon and Lake Ozette sockeye salmon, were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1999.

The listing of Puget Sound Chinook was the first of its kind in a heavily urbanized area.

Locally generated recovery plans for other listed salmon populations in the Northwest are expected this year and next.

Highline-area streams that flow into Puget Sound include the Duwamish River and Des Moines, Miller, Salmon and Walker creeks.

"Recovery of salmon depends on a healthy and sustainable Puget Sound basin. We can't save one without the other," said King County Executive Ron Sims, an early advocate for the plan.

"We all have important contributions to make and this grass-roots plan gets us going in the right direction. Now we need to make good on our commitments."

Gov. Christine Gregoire recently proposed a $200-million state investment to restore and protect Puget Sound by 2020, with more than $50 million dedicated to salmon-habitat-restoration projects.

The federal recovery plan was developed through the Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, a collaborative conservation effort that includes state, tribal and local governments, industry and conservation groups.

"This is a plan built on local salmon-recovery efforts and remarkable cooperation...," said Bob Lohn, head of the NOAA Fisheries Northwest regional office. "You can't get a better foundation for recovery than that."

Federal approval now sets the region's course for bringing salmon back to healthy numbers and provides a cornerstone for Puget Sound recovery efforts.

In addition to lasting measurable results for salmon, the plan's actions are expected to provide important ecological benefits to the overall health of Puget Sound.

Local watershed leaders across the region have identified key projects in the recovery plan to be completed in its first three years.

Recovery plans for threatened or federal officials typically write endangered species.

But, Lohn said, the NOAA Fisheries philosophy for salmon recovery plans throughout the region is that a cooperative approach that builds on local salmon recovery efforts will be more effective.

"Solid, locally developed salmon recovery plans, unique to each watershed, are essential for guiding the funding of critically needed habitat restoration projects," said Jeff Koenings, director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"Scarce dollars need to be spent very wisely to keep the public's confidence and trust in what we do."

The plan integrates management of what NOAA Fisheries Northwest lists as "three H's - habitat, harvest and hatcheries - that are considered the keys to salmon recovery" and must be managed together.

In addition, it addresses the needs of people and fish together, and provides a tailored approach to recovery based on local characteristics and conditions.

It also considers the entire Puget Sound basin ecosystem from the Canadian border to Olympia, which is expected to benefit a wide range of other fish species and wildlife in general.

"This is a comprehensive plan that offers real hope for salmon recovery," concluded Billy Frank Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

The plan is posted at www.nwr.noaa.gov/.