Guys,

Rome was not built in a day. Yeah, my suggestions seem a little wild - - today. But will they looking back at today from 20 - 30 years in the future? We can do this via sharp organizations like Washington Trout and the Wild Steelhead Coalition. The pendulum will swing the other way. It always does to check and counter-check swings in social and political policy. Steadfastness. One small step; one small well placed lawsuit; maybe even one small well-heeled initiative drive.

I've been involved in fish conservation for nearly 30 years. If you had told me 20 years ago that 27 salmon and steelhead populations would be listed as ESA today, I would have thought you nuts. There have been a lot of changes, but mostly of the tweaking and twitching kind, when major overhauls are called for. Major overhauls become easier when tribes and commercials - or sports for that matter - are pushing too far. If the Columbia tribes keep pushing too hard, that is more likely to bring about a major shift. Somebody influencial is going to check the law and agree that as a nation of laws, we'll stick to that and not something else.

There may be spurts of good prices for these fish, but the long term trend will be downward. Fish are sold in a finicky market, and they will never be able to compete with the higher quality available from other vendors. I think we've only begun to see the trend in which river-caught salmon are more valuable for their roe than their flesh in the marketplace. Certain of these commercial fisheries are dinosaur industries. Like making buggy whips.

Be steadfast. Build strong coalitions about one small common-sense step at a time. The longest journey begins with a single step. We need to learn to walk. The Washington Wildlife Commission meets and votes in 3 weeks. Let's just take this one step at a time.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.