TILLAMOOK The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will host public open houses in January to solicit public comment on a draft management plan for six coastal salmon and trout species, one of which will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Tillamook County Library Meeting Room, 1716 Third St. in Tillamook.

The draft Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan describes the conservation status of these species and outlines a suite of actions related to harvest and hatchery programs, predators and habitat to sustain these species and improve overall fishing. The goal is to better balance risks to wild fish populations by being conservative in some areas while also increasing fishing and harvest opportunities in others.

The species and area for the plan include spring and fall chinook, chum salmon, winter and summer steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout along much of the Oregon Coast from Cape Blanco to Seaside.

The draft plan was developed with input, compromise and consensus from four stakeholder teams distributed along the coast whose members represented recreational and commercial fishing interests, local watershed councils, conservation groups, resource producers, local government and Native American tribes.

In addition, the department conducted an opinion survey of anglers and nonanglers about their general views regarding fishing in Oregon and wild fish conservation, and received informal feedback from other individuals and groups, such as independent scientists and volunteer groups from the Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program.

Tom Stahl, ODFWs Conservation and Recovery Program Manager, said all of this input was used to help develop the draft plan, and the department is now seeking additional input from the public before finalizing recommendations to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission later this spring.

The Coastal Multi-Species Plan is the agencys first attempt to create a management plan for multiple species that are not listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act, and for which the state of Oregon has a fair amount of management flexibility due to the relative good health of the populations, Stahl said.

The plan takes a portfolio approach where, for example, a hatchery program change on one stream to protect wild fish could be balanced by an expanded hatchery program on a nearby stream.

Some key elements of the draft plan include: increasing fishing opportunities; providing more protection to wild fish by clearly identifying areas that will not have hatchery programs; proposing harvest opportunities for wild steehead in three new areas; proposing two new spring chinook hatchery programs; proposing managing wild coho, chinook and spring chinook harvest on a sliding scale; calling for anglers and guides to provide more data and a pilot program asking guides to keep logbooks of harvest; identifying actions to address the threat that marine mammal, bird and non-native fish predators pose; and providing guidance on how to prioritize habitat restoration and protection efforts.

Members of the public will find the draft plan on the ODFW website at: www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/CRP/coastal_multispecies.asp, and can comment on the plan at a public open house, or by sending written comments to ODFW.CoastalPlan@state.or.us by Feb. 10.