Comment from N/A N/A

Recent evidence indicates that that spring run Chinook are behaviorally and genetically divergent from fall run Chinook on the Trinity and Klamath Rivers. Based on this I believe that spring run Chinook should be listed as a separate ESU from fall run Chinook in the Upper Klamath and Trinity Rivers Basin ESU. Very few natural spring run Chinook exist in the Klamath basin above the confluence with the Trinity River. The population in the South Fork Trinity has declined to very low numbers in recent years. Spring run Chinook in the rest of the basin have not had good escapements in recent years. Escapement numbers continue to decline. Overfishing, introgression with hatchery brood stock, landslides, excess sedimentation, and other factors may be responsible for the decline. Protection from overfishing could be afforded to this sub species if it were federally listed. Trinity and Iron Gate hatchery fish probably drive up the numbers of ‘natural” spring Chinook seen in the mainstem Trinity and Klamath rivers below the hatcheries. I firmly believe that natural populations of spring run Chinook will continue to decline to a point where another catastrophic landslide in the south Fork Trinity or overfishing could eliminate the natural component still remaining in the basin within the next 5 years. I believe the spring run Chinook in the Upper Klamath and Trinity Rivers Basin ESU at a minimum are threatened.