On February 16, 1994, the Secretary of Commerce received a petition from the Oregon Natural Resources Council and fifteen co-petitioners to list steelhead populations in California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). On May 20, 1994, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) started an unprecedented review of scientific information to determine whether west coast steelhead populations (California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington) were threatened or endangered.Scientific Findings: Based on its scientific findings (Busby et al. 1995), NMFS is proposing to list ten distinct populations of steelhead in California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington as threatened or endangered species (see briefing package map for locations and threatened and endangered designations).