[QUOTE]Originally posted by Fun5Acres:
[QB] I have yet to hear WDFW publicly say, "Boy, we, your trusted public servants, have really screwed up the fishing, and we need your help." Instead, I've heard, "The habitat is the problem." or "The ocean is the cause." or etc., etc., etc. Always pointing a finger elsewhere, instead of stepping up and accepting that the responsibility of mismanagement of the fishery rests SOLELY on the sholders of the state.

How can I respect that?

C'mon Fun5Acres. You must be looking for a scapegoat here. Don't get me wrong, I'm more suspicious of government than most.

However, the state doesn't solely manage the runs. They co-manage with the tribes. The state doesn't control many aspects curcial to healthy runs How can the state be solely responsible?

You try to downplay habitat and other factors as not being important; anyone that faces the biological facts will realize that habitat is paramount to healthy runs.

You're right, habitat is not under the control of the state (although I think it should be); development has in the past and continues to run rampant in our Westside watersheds.

People on this board often blame the state for mismanaging the runs when a run is depressed (ie steelhead this winter), but never give them any credit when there is huge run (like the humpies and silvers 2 years ago). If you blame them for mismangaging a run when its depressed then you have to give them credit when there is an bumper run. Personally, I don't think they deserve blame or credit for either. These are due to habitat issues and natural cycles.

I think the long term decline in our steelhead and salmon runs is almost certainly more due to habitat degradation rather than overfishing. Salmon populations can recover from poor managment much more rapidly than habitat destruction.

I think political efforts of fishers like you and I should focus on protecting and restoring habitat rather than second guessing run managment issues. I think we can all agree that protecting spawning and rearing stream habitat will help fish.

Just my $0.02