The Washington Coast Salmon Recovery Region extends from Cape Flattery in the north, to Cape Disappointment in the south and east to include the Chehalis River Basin.

The region encompasses 3,750,025 acres, 395 marine shoreline miles, and 4718 miles of fish-bearing rivers and streams – all Washington watersheds which drain directly to the Pacific Ocean.

Particularly relevant to salmon recovery and management in the region, an important part of our partnership is with six recognized Indian Tribes: Shoalwater Bay, Chehalis, Quinault, Hoh, Quileute, and Makah. All but the Chehalis and Shoalwater Bay are Treaty Tribes and are responsible, with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, for co-management of the regional salmon fishery

The Coast’s four Lead Entities are geographically located in five Watershed Resource Inventory Areas (WRIA) which were established as part of the Washington Water Resources Act of 1971. WRIAs are geographic areas defined on the basis of surface water resources.

The Washington State Legislature created Lead Entity organizations in 1998 to support locally conceived and administered habitat restoration and salmon recovery efforts. The statewide program has been built from the ground up with the involvement of local stakeholders who represent diverse interests – fishermen, timber companies, tribes, landowners, government agencies. The aim is to involve communities directly and reach agreement on how best to protect and restore habitat.

The Lead Entities are:

North Pacific Coast in WRIA 20

Quinault Indian Nation in WRIA 21

Grays Harbor County, in WRIAs 22 and 23

Pacific County in WRIA 24