According to your analogy, which I understand, then the hatchery/man dependant runs of fish would have to be replentished by those hatcheries if their numbers slip to a level low enough to be listed; like they do at the zoo. That's a rough deal. Because many credible signs point to the hatchery fish being detrimental to the native fish runs. That's the hallmark reasoning for the NMFS to have cut the smolt plantings down and to club hatchery coho to death by the thousands! And hatchery programs are failing for reasons not attributed to habitat degredation. We do agree on one cetain outcome - "score one for the forces of habitat degredation". And to me, score a big one toward the detriment of saving runs of remaining viable true native fish in the places they still exist. And maybe even score one for returning to much of the status quo of the failing maximum yield management of the hatcheries, amide emence multi-factored pressures to keep them off the endangered list? Not a good deal here in the long run. And I thought we had finally learned that phenomenon!

Obviously we should also be including in discussions and actions the subject of much needed improvement in hatchery practices; if they are attainable in the near and distant future, given expected political and natural environments. In a hurry!