Looks like the rivers closed to sportfishing are the ones being fished by the Quinault Tribe. I wasn't there, so don't know who said what to whom. First I heard that WDFW and QIN didn't come to an agreement. However, a member of the QIN fish management committee said WDFW " . . . never got back to them." So who knows why recreational fishing is closed, but it more likely than not isn't due to conservation concerns.