Cowlitzfisherman -
I doubt I have any new ideas - folks alot smarter than I have struggled with these issues far long than I have.

However as a fisher and one who cares deeply about conservation I believe the following -

1) Success will depend on directing the obivous zeal and passion for steelhead and the other salmonids exhibited by nearly everyone visiting this board towards developement of solutions. First and foremost we must stop this wrestling over who gets what piece of the steelhead pie and work instead on increasing the size of the pie.

2) The focus can not be on a single species or several species but on the whole of the river systems. The various salmonid species of the region have evolued over many 1,000s of years in river systems that were very dynamic. These rivers were constantly changing; creating new channels, filling others, constructing log jams, washing out others, moving across the valley floor, filling and expanding estuaries, etc. The last 150 years we as a society have tried our collective best to reduce the rivers to a static environment. This static condition is the antithesis of a functioning river system and the biolgical resources they supports. Fish in such an environment become as plastic as hatchery fish.

3) The last century and 1/2 we have used more and more of the innate capacity of our rivers to support a variety of human needs (power, water, timber, agiculture, fishing, etc). For fishing to continue we as fishers need to demand that a portion of our rivers productivity be set aside to support fishing - we can argue later about how to allocate that productivity between various user groups. Without sitting aside that productivity your doomsday will certainly occur. If we aren't successful soon the demand from the competing uses will reduce the system's productivity to a point that even catch and release can not be supported. That may not occur in my lifetime but clearly that is where we are headed.

4) Taking no action is almost always wrong for the fish. We can not be afraid to move forward out of fear of making a mistake but rather do our collective best to make an informed decision as possible. That said we must admit past mistakes and learn from them. Heaven knows I have made more than my share of mistakes. Fish management must by its very nature must be a process of building and improving upon past actions.

5) I view my role as one of providing the best information (warts and all) that I have so that each of you can make informed decisions. In that line I'll give you a honest assessment of the pros and cons of actions that you or others may propose. If that makes me the local SOB, then so be it.

As I promised I have no "magic bullets". Much of the work will need to be piece meal - river by river. We'll need to work on details as we go along.

The cynic in me says that restoring rivers is impossible. The optimist says I must try.

To me it is not about just steelhead but rather about being able to wade rivers that are alive and supporting diverse naturally produced salmonid populations. A future where such opportunities are limited to remote areas and/or national parks is very bleak indeed.

Tight lines
Smalma