The Salmon Learning and Understanding Group (SLUG) was formed in 1996, in order to identify watershed restoration and protection issues upon which the diverse group of stakeholders within and related to the Salmon River watershed could find common ground. The SLUG has worked together on some of the most important issues for improving and protecting Salmon River watershed health, including fire, roads, noxious weeds, and spring-run chinook.

The mission of the SLUG is to facilitate a coordinated resource management approach to restoring the Salmon River sub-basin. The Salmon River Spring Chinook Recovery Workgroup, a committee of the SLUG, is focused on recovery of the Salmon River spring chinook run. The Spring Chinook Recovery Workgroup's approach to the recovery of Salmon River anadromous fish involves in-depth consideration of the conditions of the entire Klamath Basin, including the estuary and ocean.

The Salmon River Spring Chinook Recovery Workgroup includes representatives from federal and state managing agencies (such as the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, California Fish and Game, United States Forest Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service), Siskiyou County Planning Department, Klamath River tribes (including the Yurok, Karuk, Hoopa, and Klamath Tribes), river guide and fishing groups, the Salmon River Restoration Council, other environmental and conservation-based organizations, local elementary schools, academic researchers affiliated with higher academic institutions, other interested specialists, and local residents.