Pretty darn good rant Salmo.

Easy to blame the department that has to try and muddle through the mess (status of these animals) that the State's citizenry has handed it.
Btw, if you want to know why you couldn't have your three fish impact for your Stilly gamefish fishery, ask your saltwater fishing brethren, who were actually at the meetings and helping set priorities for the available impacts. I don't recall hearing one person at the public NOF meetings talk about non-salmon fishing- Orcas yes, gamefish no.

It's also supremely easy to post-hoc argue from a unrealistic standpoint - that we could have better fishery outcomes if we were to just ignore the conservation limits for the weak ESA stocks, cause they are not going to make a difference anyway.

I'm not at all saying that people should not be upset about the way that the seasons shaped up. But, pretending it could have been a lot different if only we suspend reality, is not helpful.

Get involved, more than just bemoaning fishery decisions after the fact, get involved at the municipal and county levels where the land-use decisions, the ones that even Salmo G would agree are the real culprit, are made. Make sure that they know that every bit of new land that gets turned under the plow for houses and strip malls and whatever else, in the name of short-term economic gain, is another nail in the coffin for these animals and will result in further restrictions on all fisheries.

I guess that is my counter-rant. (Let the flames begin...)