The author of the article is being needlessly pessimistic. Taking out Elwha and Glines Canyon was never going to immediately produce 100lb Chinook. The purpose of removing the dams was for ecosystem restoration, a component of which was the return of Pacific salmon to the reaches upstream of the dams. That has been a smashing success by any measure.

Will the Elwha River ever seen really big Chinook returns, in both body size and abundance? Yes, but it's going to take time, and a significant reduction in ocean harvest. That harvest reduction may come sooner than we think.

The WFC lawsuit on the SE AK troll fishery is almost final. (See FishDoc's previous thread on Lo Holing in Alaska on this BB.) It's likely going to shut down that fishery for awhile. Not sure what the future holds but there is no reason for needless pessimism. In fact, I've never been more optimistic.