the Willamette River steelhead are salmonid species that are listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) as an endangered species and a threatened species, respectively. (11) Federal, State and tribal estimates indicate that sea lions are consuming at least 20 percent of the Columbia River spring chinook run and 15 percent of Willamette River steelhead run. (12) In recent years, California sea lions have congregated with greater frequency near Willamette Falls and the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River and have entered the fish ladders that salmon use to return to the historical and biological spawning grounds of the salmon. (13) These California sea lions have not been responsive to extensive hazing methods used to discourage predation. (14) The process established under the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994 ( Public Law 103–238