DRAFT Coordinated Assessments Phase VII Work Plan
February 18, 2015
Draft
Coordinated Assessments for Salmon and Steelhead
2015 Work Plan (Phase VII)
The Coordinated Assessments (CA) Project is an effort to develop efficient, consistent, and transparent data-sharing
among the co-managers (fish and wildlife agencies and Tribes) and regulatory/funding agencies (BPA & NOAA) of the
Columbia River Basin (CRB) for anadromous fish related data. The project has been coordinated by the Pacific Northwest
Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP) and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) StreamNet
project. The CA project involves nearly a hundred biologists and data managers across the Columbia River Basin,
representing essentially all agencies and tribes with an interest in anadromous fish management and recovery.
This proposed work plan builds from the earlier CA work plans and identifies the next steps and expected activities in
2015 required to implement the Columbia River Basin Collaborative Data Sharing Strategy for Salmon and Steelhead
Population Abundance and Productivity Indicators (Strategy) and initiate data sharing consistent with the initial Data
Exchange Standard (DES) for those indicators.
A key output of the CA effort to date has been the development of an agreed upon data exchange standard (DES)
describing the data exchange templates (DETs) for specific data elements needed to support the exchange of four
salmon and steelhead VSP indicators and supporting metrics:
 natural origin spawner abundance,
 smolt to adult ratio, and
 recruits per spawner
 juvenile abundance
Documentation for the specific DETs and supporting materials can be found here:
http://www.streamnet.org/caxct.html.
Goals/Activities/Deliverables
1) Continue Phased Approach to Facilitating Implementation of Coordinated Assessments Project:

Maintain tiered-model for facilitating and managing CA project: Core Team/CA Planning Group/CA
Workgroup (periodic teleconferences, annual workshop)

Increase coordination with leadership in the co-managing and regulatory/funding agencies to ensure
that CA efforts are focused on CRB data priorities. Align CA project priorities with guidance as
established by the StreamNet Executive Committee, NOAA, the Northwest Power and Conservation
Council (NPCC), and other regional policy forums

The CA Core Team will meet bi-weekly, as appropriate, to manage the project; CAPG will meet
approximately bi-monthly or as necessary to implement 2015 Work Plan; and an annual workshop will
be held in the late winter to inform and interact with the CA Workgroup – approve DES modifications,
update CAX status, and approve annual work plan

The Exchange Configuration Team (XCT) will meet bi-monthly to coordinate and support communication
between the CAX node and partner databases

The DES Development Team (DDT) will meet as necessary to maintain existing DES tables and continue
development of new indicator tables
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DRAFT Coordinated Assessments Phase VII Work Plan
February 18, 2015

With successful approval of a 2016 EPA Exchange Network grant, expand CAPG and Workgroup to
include additional agencies/tribes and salmon populations outside the Columbia River Basin.

Outreach to policy and technical staff at agencies and tribes to encourage continued participation and
to ensure that realistic CA objectives are aligned with CRB data needs

If funding is forthcoming, expand the CA project to additional species and geographic areas
Deliverable: Maintain progress in developing consistent salmon and steelhead data sharing systems across agencies
and tribes within the Columbia River Basin; maintain communication between data providers and data users to
make data sharing more efficient; expand the project to new species and geographic areas to the degree that
support and funding is available; and, facilitate discussion and communication among interested parties regarding
the sharing of fisheries data.
2) Maintain DES tables and develop new indicator tables (DES Development Team (DDT)):
 Continue to support data sharing and exchange through outreach to partners
 Conduct periodic technical review of DES tables and make adjustments in a clear and well-supported
regional process
 Closely coordinate with NOAA 5-year status assessment needs and reporting and NPCC high level indicators
reporting effort
 Develop new indicators as priorities are established by the co-managing and regulatory/funding agencies
 Ensure that development of new indicators is aligned with regional data needs and is supported by the
agencies as a priority within available funding
 Work with the CAPG to develop new tables and review them at an annual CA workshop
Deliverable: Maintain DES tables, making adjustments as issues arise. Adopt annual modifications to DES tables to
make corrections and add additional indicators. Facilitate discussion of creating new tables and modifying existing
indicator tables. Align DES development with regional priorities.
3) Track sharing of indicator data by population and organization:
 Establish and track quantitative targets by organization for population scale indicators with guidance as
established by the StreamNet Executive Committee, NOAA, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, and
other regional policy forums
 Discuss expectations for data flow with CA partners and develop annual plans for providing priority data
 Routinely monitor and report availability of CAX indicators by population and organization
 Evaluate data gaps and provide outreach to agencies and tribes to support sharing data where it exists but is not
being shared with the CAX
 Provide support to agencies and tribes to identify funding opportunities to fill data gaps in CAX indicator
database
 Facilitate discussion with data users (NOAA, NPCC, others) to ensure that their data priorities are aligned with
the CA project and data sharing is implemented
Deliverable: Develop an annual quantitative target of populations and indicator data that will be reported and meet
target expectations as possible with available funding and support. Maintain the CAX database to provide the greatest
extent of existing data. Assess status of CAX database and provide outreach to maximize participation and coverage.
Deliver available indicators to the CAX by October 2015.
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DRAFT Coordinated Assessments Phase VII Work Plan
February 18, 2015
Coordinated Assessment Indicator Data FY 2015 Predicted Data Flow
NOSA
(2015)
Recruits per
Spaw ner
(2015)
Sm olt to Adult Ratio
(2015)
When DES is
finalized: Juvenile
Abundance
Estim ate (2015)
131
34
7
25
8
0
0
0
139
34
7
25
TRT Populations
Unlisted Populations
Total Populations*
218 TRT Populations in the Columbia Basin
Predicted reporting for NOSA by organization;
Predicted reporting for TRT populations in FY 2015 is therefor;
NOSA
131/218
60.1%
ODFW
39
RperS
34/218
15.6%
IDFG
23
SAR
3/218
1.4%
WDFW
62
Juvenile Abundance
25/218
11.5%
TRIBES*
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* this data is comprehensive only for StreamNet partner agencies and may not include
populations or indicators collected by others, such as tribes
4) Implement EPA grant to create and maintain the Coordinated Assessments Exchange (CAX) as a node on the EPA
exchange network:

CAPG will provide project oversight and coordination to integrate implementation of EPA grant within
the CA Project

The Exchange Configuration Team (XCT) will guide development of a Virtual Node on the EPA exchange
network

Continue to support the states and tribes in developing systems capable of sharing the CA DES indicators

Implement enforceable data sharing control mechanisms with the CAX

If a new grant is received from EPA, implement outreach strategy to new potential participants to
broaden data sharing by species and geography. Integrate expanded CAPG oversight and planning, as
needed
Deliverable: Meet all deliverables identified in EPA grant on time and within budget. Produce and maintain EPA
Exchange Network virtual node for salmon and steelhead indicators by June 2015. If new grant is received initiate
planning and expand CAPG, as needed.
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DRAFT Coordinated Assessments Phase VII Work Plan
February 18, 2015
Timeline
Start Date
January 2015
January 2015
February 2015
April 2015
End Date
December 2015
December 2015
February 2015
April 2015
April 2015
July 2015
September 2015
June 2015
July 2015
December 2015
January 2015
September 2015
Activity
Data sharing from partners to CAX database for all available indicators
Tribes with developing systems implement automated data sharing as available
CAPG Approve CA Phase VII Work Plan and Workshop Agenda
CA Workshop to review 2015 Work Plan (Phase VII), review CAX process, approve
DES tables, and recommend new indicators
StreamNet staff register CAX as a Virtual Node on EPA EN client server
Notice of award of EPA grant for FY 2016
Expand CA Planning Group and CAX populations to include PNW if successful for
FY16 EPA Grant
Report on actual vs. expected data flow for CA indicators into the CAX database
More information on the CA project may be found here: http://www.pnamp.org/project/3129
Or by contacting Tom Iverson (Project Coordinator, 971-221-8561), Chris Wheaton (StreamNet, 503-595-3100), Jen
Bayer (PNAMP, 503-201-4179) or Brodie Cox (WDFW, EPA CA Project Leader, 360-902-2776).
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