AuntyM -
To recreate much foraging habitat for the young salmon more than opening up access to the ditches and their tide gates would be needed. The farmers seem to have drawn the bay front and said no to any action that would affect their land. We as a society are asking the fishers to fish less (some want no fishing), the loggers to leave larger buffers along streams, that dams for water and/or power be operated in a more fish freindly mode, etc. If salmon recovery is to occur all of us will need to step up to the plate in some fashion; inlcuding the farmers. This will cost everyone - more for power, more for forest products, less fish for everyone, etc.

To restore much estuarian habitat for the fish what is really needed is the pulling back of dikes so that the low lands can flood on the high tide. This creates an productive environment for small bugs and shrimp like critters. As the tide recedes the fish collect in the "ditches" running through the flats and the fish feed on the food items as it is swept into the ditches. While restoration of such habitats is jsut starting and much of it is experimental any restoration is better than what exists. As with most such habitats what is really needed for full restoration is time for the various physical and biological processes to operate on the habitat to recreate what once was. The time frame is likely longer than us humans are used to dealing with. Just as it will take a century or more to restore the large trees along ripparian areas for needed wood debris it will likley take decades for restored areas to become fully functional.

It is much better and cheaper not to destroy what we still have rather than attempt to restore lost habitat. The first priority must be preservation of what habitat still is functioning.

As a whole I have found that we are not willing to pay the recovery costs needed. Recovery is great as long it is the other guy is paying. However we all are the other guy. For that reason I'm not hopefully that I'll live to see any meaniful recovery efforts. I have pretty much decided that all we can hope for is that through continued efforts to advance the conservation efforts the fish may hang on long enough that some future generation may value them enough to sacrifice to insure the fish's continued existence.

Tight lines
Smalma