About the Team
The team is responsible for developing viability criteria for two evolutionarily-significant units (ESUs) of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss, anadromous form): the south-central California coast ESU, which is currently listed as threatened, and the southern California ESU, which is currently listed as endangered.
Viability criteria are necessary for determining what steps must be taken to recover each ESU such that it can be removed from the Federal Endangered Species List. The team is responsible for developing these criteria based solely on scientific considerations concerning the biology and ecology of each ESU, a pursuit known as "Phase 1 Recovery." The group is not responsible for writing a recovery plan, considering economic or social aspects of recovery, or implementing the recovery plan. These activities, referred to as "Phase 2 Recovery," will be pursued by a separate group, based on the viability recommendations of the TRT. Questions about phase 2 recovery should be addressed to the recovery coordinator, Mark Capelli.
Nominations for the team were submitted in the May and June of 2003 and underwent external review by the American Fisheries Society in the summer of 2003. The team met for the first time on 17 November 2003. Team members are responsible for gathering and synthesizing existing research relevant to Phase 1 recovery, conducting original analyses as needed, and writing final documents recommending specific viability criteria and describing their scientific basis.
Reports
Viability criteria for steelhead of the south-central and southern California coast
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SWFSC-407, July 2007 (1.0 MB)
Contraction of the southern range limit for anadromous Oncorhynchus mykiss
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SWFSC-380, August 2005 (1.5 MB)
Recent efforts to monitor anadromous Oncorhynchus species in the California coastal region: a compilation of metadata
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SWFSC-381, August 2005 (1.5 MB)
Potential steelhead over-summering habitat in the South-Central/Southern California Coast Recovery Domain: maps based on the envelope method
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SWFSC-391, July 2006 (11.6 MB)
Steelhead of the south-central/southern California coast: population characterization for recovery planning
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SWFSC-394, October 2006 (22.4 MB)
TRT Members
Dr. David A. Boughton (Chair)
Research Ecologist, NOAA Fisheries, SWFSC Fisheries Ecology Division.
Dr. Peter Adams
Research Fisheries Biologist, NOAA Fisheries, SWFSC Fisheries Ecology Division.
Dr. Eric Anderson
Research Geneticist, NOAA Fisheries, SWFSC Fisheries Ecology Division.
Dr. Craig Fusaro
Biologist, Joint Fisheries/Oil Liaison Office, Santa Barbara.
Dr. Edward Keller
Professor of Geology, University of California Santa Barbara.
Dr. Elise Kelley
Research Associate, University of California Santa Barbara and The Nature Conservancy.
Leo Lentsch
Fisheries Biologist, Entrix Environmental Consultants.
Dr. Jennifer Nielsen
Research Supervisor, United States Geological Service, Alaska Science Center.
Katie Perry
Statewide Steelhead Co-ordinator, California Department of Fish and Game.
Dr. Helen Regan
Assistant Professor of Biology, San Diego State University.
Dr. Jerry Smith
Associate Professor of Biology, San Jose State University.
Dr. Camm Swift
Biologist, Entrix Environmental Consultants.
Dr. Lisa Thompson
Assistant Specialist in Cooperative Extension, Anadromous & Inland Fisheries, University of California Davis.
Dr. Fred Watson
Research Scientist, Earth Systems Science & Policy, California State University Monterey Bay.
Recovery Coordinator
Mark Capelli, NOAA Fisheries, SW Regional Office, Santa Barbara
The recovery coordinator serves as a liaison between the team, which is composed of scientists, and the NOAA Fisheries SW Regional Office, which is the policy- and regulatory-arm of NOAA Fisheries. The recovery coordinator is not a member of the team.
Meetings
Meetings are scheduled ad hoc as needed, about once every two months. Discussions are completely technical in nature. The team does not address issues of policy, including the policy implications of their workâfolks interested in policy implications should refer their questions to the recovery coordinator listed above, or some other member of the NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources, SW Region (principally located in Long Beach and Santa Rosa). Observers may attend meetings but participation in discussions is limited to TRT members (who have undergone an external scientific review of qualifications) and researchers invited by the members on the basis of their specific biological expertise. We will attempt to post minutes of each meeting at this site in a timely manner.