Large watersheds of western North America provide extensive habitat for Pacific salmon species. These fish are of great cultural, ecological, and economic importance to the peoples and ecosystems of these river basins. Some of these salmon watersheds remain relatively pristine while others have experienced decades of industrial development that have eroded their connectivity and productivity. This three-quarter-day symposium brought together scientists from academia, government agencies, First Nations, consulting companies, and non-profits to share their ideas on the tools needed within relatively pristine watersheds (e.g., Skeena River) to effectively assess the status of salmon and their habitats, and on the lessons learned from watersheds that have already incurred industrial development (e.g., Columbia River) about the successes and failures of different alternative science and management approaches. The 14 presentations at the symposium were arranged around four main themes: (1) historical watershed analyses (e.g., ecosystem and salmon population dynamics, baseline thresholds), (2) current status (e.g., population and habitat status, and trends, stressors), (3) range of possible futures (e.g., human impacts, climate change, other), (4) proactive/resilient management approaches. The symposium concluded with a lively panel discussion on ways to improve the identification and management of cumulative effects in large salmon watersheds. This included perspectives from panelists working in already heavily modified river basins (e.g., what can be done to restore such systems) vs. those working in ones still relatively untouched (e.g., what can be done to maintain what still exists). — Marc Porter, ESSA Technologies Ltd., [email protected] Read the symposium abstracts here.