OncyT,

You've taken the jist of my opinion a tad too far. Yes, the WB environment was not well suited, mainly due to stream size, to significant Chinook production historically. That habitat has been degraded and will remain so for all the foreseeable future because of the dominant land use functions of agriculture and tree farm forestry.

If politics demands that there be a WB stream designated as primary for Chinook, then as best I can tell based on watershed condition and stream channel morphology, then the Naselle is the better candidate stream. Unless I'm mistaken, the Naselle has a slightly higher stream gradient in the Chinook spawning area than does the Willapa. Even though bother watersheds are heavily logged, the gradient factor should equate to higher egg to fry survival in the Naselle. If that is true, then the Naselle has the better chance of hosting a naturally self-sustaining Chinook population than the Willapa River.

I would not disagree with Geoduck than none of the WB rivers is worthy of primary designation for Chinook. Only that the Naselle has a better shot at success over the Willapa.

If I could be fish czar, I would end Chinook production at both the Naselle and Nemah hatcheries because they are poor investments of tax dollars. (That could be said about most salmon hatcheries, but I'll save that discussion for another day.) I would restore maximum Chinook production to Forks Ck hatchery because it is the better producer for the WB region, and contributes to WA fisheries. I would prioritize recreational angling and use commercial fishing for mop up duty only.

WB as an ecosystem is best suited to natural coho and chum salmon production, along with modest steelhead and cutthroat populations. Rather than trying to fight or control nature, I'd manage the WB regions for what it's naturally best suited to. Commercial fishing would phase out because it isn't economical without the subsidy provided by taxpayer funded hatcheries. Over the long run reasonable Chinook and coho salmon fishing would be sustained by a combination of hatchery and natural fish production.