Coho salmon were exterminated in the Clearwater River following the installation of the Lewiston Dam in 1927. Early restoration efforts by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDF&G) were attempted from 1962 to 1968 in the South Fork of the Clearwater River. Coho salmon were officially declared extirpated from the Snake River Basin in 1986. This loss was unacceptable to the Nez Perce Tribe, which recognized the cultural and ecological importance of Coho salmon to the Clearwater River. In 1994, the Nez Perce Tribe’s Clearwater Coho Restoration Project (CCRP) was initiated. The CCRP began in 1994 as a result of a U.S. V. Oregon agreement, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (representing the four Columbia River Treaty Tribes) with State and Federal agencies. In this agreement, surplus Coho eggs from Lower Columbia River hatcheries were used to reintroduce Coho salmon in the Clearwater sub-basin. The overall goal of the CCRP is to restore Coho to the Clearwater River sub-basin at levels of abundance and productivity to support sustainable runs and annual harvest. Current production activities for the CCRP occur at three sites: (1) Dworshak National Fish Hatchery (Ahsahka, ID), (2) Kooskia National Fish Hatchery, (near Kooskia, ID) and (3) Eagle Creek National Fish Hatchery (near Estacada, OR).
Project Objectives are:

1. Establish a localized Clearwater River Coho salmon brood-stock via supplementation.
2. Establish natural spawning populations of Coho salmon in the Clearwater sub-basin.
3. Utilize hatchery production to achieve optimal production effectiveness while meeting priority management objectives for natural production enhancement, diversity, harvest, and minimizing impacts to non-target populations.
4. Restore and maintain treaty-reserved tribal and recreational fisheries.
5. Monitor and evaluate program activities and communicate program findings to resource managers.