The premise that WDFW always brought forward was that it needed to manage its hatcheries in WB to prevent the populations there from being listed. Their logic in regard to HSRG recos was that if taking the HSRG approach would be accepted for listed ESU's, then it would also prevent ESU's from becoming listed. What Salmo g. is suggesting is that someone (WDFW as manager, I believe) needed to say is "the habitat wasn't good for Chinook in the first place, the already poor habitat has been terribly degraded, it's not going to get better, the populations are already trashed, they're not going to get better. Screw it....let's produce a bunch of hatchery fish, go fishing and be happy."

If that had been the approach that WDFW had taken prior to the HSRG reviews of WB, I can write the reviews for all the former fall Chinook programs in one line: "The programs are being operated in a manner consistent with the manager's short and long-term goals for the populations." That would have been very simple, but would also have required someone from the department to make the case that Salmo g. is making. No one did. No one has since then. I'm pretty sure the old Fish and Wildlife Commission would have had the head of anyone espousing that position. The new one....not so much. One man's opinion above.