I would be pretty concerned about the effect on the likely already overcrowded conditions in flowing sections of the lower river if we somehow managed to transport all these fish there. This is analagous to having a pasture that will support 100 cows - if you put 200 in there to try to save the 100 in another pasture that "dried up", you run the lilely risk of starving them all to death. Yeah, Ma Nature looks pretty cruel at the moment, but think about this - with El Nino coming the ocean is not going to be unable to support as many fish. The ones that will survive are going to have to be real big and healthy when they enter the ocean next year. When we finally do get rain, there will be little competition for food and space in the river, therefore, the few big healthy smolts that survived the drought to enter the ocean next year will likely survive, whereas if we let a bunch of sickly smolts out there it's belly up for most of them. So perhaps Mother knows best.