It seems salmon aren’t the only species listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act that aren’t very endangered after all.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing the Truckee Barberry bush from the endangered species list because scientists have determined the Sierra Nevada evergreen shrub should never have been listed in the first place.

The bush, once thought to grow only along the Truckee River, was listed for protection under the ESA 23 years ago, but scientists now concede the Truckee Barberry is identical to a common shrub found from California to Canada.

Similarly, Pacific Northwest salmon listed under the ESA three years ago are now returning in record numbers. The Columbia River is experiencing the largest run of fall Chinook – nearly 660,000 – since the Bonneville Dam was built 65 years ago.

In fact, so many salmon returned to the Upper Columbia River this year that the state Department of Fish and Wildlife opened the first summer Chinook recreational fishing on the Okanogan and Similakameen rivers in at least 20 years.

These huge salmon returns have pushed salmon prices to their lowest levels in years. Commercial tribal fisherman are getting 35 to 40 cents per pound for upriver brights, and only about 10 cents per pound for daker tules.