Does anyone have the email address for Director Koenings? I would like to email him some questions about this decision. Questions like, how are they able to predict the amount of natives. Unlike hatchery fish, natives don't all center upon a single point like a hatchery. They'll spawn anywhere. How are they able to find, let alone count all the redds? I have fished the Green several times for natives and have never seen a game warden or fish checker or anyone asking how many fish are being caught. How is it possible to predict the amount of natives? The native run this winter seems to be better than the last 2 or 3 years put together yet they're closing it early. I would just like to know why.

Take the Snohomish system for example. Wasn't it about 6 or 7 years ago they made it C&R only through March? Now, the last 3 years they have closed it completely in March and yet they say the run is not improving. Obviously, if sportsmen aren't allowed to fish, they aren't the problem, so where does the problem lie? Do they just plan to close down all native fisheries at the end of February?

I read or heard somewhere that the department considers there to be somewhere around a 60 - 70% mortality rate on C&R fish. Obviously, this is not true, but if they do indeed have this idea, it's a lose/lose situation for the sportsmen. If sportsmen are catching a large amount of natives, a sign of a healthy run, they'll close the river to protect the fish from the realistically very small mortality percentage. Whereas if the sportsmen aren't catching very many, they'll close the river because obviously there aren't that many fish in the system and the few that are there need to be protected.