In my opinion a river needs to have a hatchery to sustain the populations given the fishing pressures that usually exist on said rivers. For example, the Cowlitz has a steelhead fishery because of it's hatchery. Likewise, the Columbia, Snake, and Grande Rhonde Rivers also have a fishery because of the rather extensive hatchery system in place over there.

Many steelhead fishermen in Western Washington prefer natural fish and go as far as to actually despise hatchery fish. The state cannot afford to restore or naturally manage even one river in western Washington, let alone the dozens that are over here. The federal government is concerned only with salmon (for commercial and/or Indian harvest) and do not care a whit about steelhead. Mix all these factors together and you get what we have.