O’Neal, J.S., Riordan, C., Jay, J., Lowery, E.D., LeMoine, M. and Dickerson‐Lange, S., 2024. Variables influencing stream‐type juvenile Chinook Salmon density within floodplain habitat in the Skagit River basin, Washington. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 153(3), pp.267-288. [NOTE: The download link for this document leads offsite]

Despite decades of restoration work, Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in the Pacific Northwest remain under the protection of the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Chinook Salmon in the Skagit River basin play a vital role in the abundance and recovery of the Puget Sound Chinook Salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit, which is currently listed as threatened under the ESA. The stream-type juvenile (STJ) life history pattern of Chinook Salmon in the Skagit River has higher ocean survival to the adult stage (i.e., productivity) than that of parr or fry out-migrants, and improvement in STJ Chinook Salmon habitat could increase abundance and diversity in the Skagit River basin. Our objective was to provide recommended ranges of variables shown to influence habitat selection in floodplains by STJ Chinook Salmon.