Outreach is a key element in natural resource public participation processes in order to create an engaging, thoughtful, and productive environment for citizen involved decision-making. This project examined the utility of a needs assessment as an initial outreach tool within the context of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries) recovery planning for the Threatened Oregon Coast coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). I conducted an informational needs assessment of the Oregon watershed councils which reside within the area of the listed coho salmon evolutionarily significant unit. Through the use of the needs assessment, I was able to ascertain the informational needs of the watershed council coordinators regarding coho salmon topics, identify the resources coordinators use for this information, understand their usage of web sites, and learn their preferred mechanism of communication for recovery planning information. From collecting this information, I provide recommendations to NOAA Fisheries for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of their recovery planning outreach strategies and discuss the utility of the needs assessment as a tool for outreach personnel.