Actually metalhead, grandpa mentioned all that stuff, regarding what I might be prepared to do to achieve my "hidden agenda" (which I'm still waiting to hear defined). I don't believe I've ever given anyone ANY hint of a reason to accuse me of those things. But he wants to disrupt our party, and I just hope it doesn't get out of hand.

I don't know what "meeting" you're talking about. We're going to have dinner, probably a little wine. We're gong to listen to a speech by Bern Shanks (I thought he was a bit of a hero to WA sportfishers). We'll auction off items to raise money. The people coming are hoping to have a good time and support WT because they believe in it. It's a night I know many of them look forward to every year. They are good people who share a set of principled beliefs. None of them are trying to give anybody the shaft, grandpa's delusional world view notwithstanding.

Some of the money we raised at the 2002 auction supported our efforts to curtail the 2003 spring-chinook commercial fishery on the Lower Columbia. The by-catch of steelhead in that fishery in 2002 was 20,000 steelehead, with a mortality of almost 50%. In 2003, thantks to the work of WT and others, the bycatch of steelhead from that fishery was in the hundreds of fish. Some of the money went to forcing timber companys to leave trees in floodplains so rivers have room to meander and change channels, in other words function like rivers that can support healthy populations of salmon and steelhead. Some of the money went to restore salmon and steelhead habitats in the Snohomish, Stillaguamish, and Washougal watersheds. Some of it went in to valuable field research throughout the state that influences policies to protect native fish habitas and poulations.

And yes, some of it went into challenging current hatchery practices. We are suing to challenge those practices. We believe that if those practices can't or won't be improved, then the hatcheries should be closed. There IS a difference between that and just saying hatcheries should be closed. I'll ask again: do you believe those practices can be improved without closing the hatcheries? I have said here and elsewhere that WT is skeptical, but if WDFW thinks they can be, then they should propose and implement those changes, and quit just talking about them without even naming them. WDFW talks about the HSRG process, but I cannot find any of the HSRG recommendations incorporated into WDFW's proposed hatchery plans.

Ours is not an extreme position. It is well within the mainstream of current scientific opinion. It is shared by the BPA Independent Scientific Review Board, the NMFS Salmon Recovery Science Review Panel, the National Research Council, and literally scores of independent researchers.

But be all that as it may, I concede that many reasonable people will continue to disagree with WT's position and actions regarding hatcheries. I'm just asking for a little reason, a little less emotion, and a little more attention to the truth. If you feel you must come and demonstrate your beliefs at our party (which you're invited to if you want to pay the $55), I just hope you'll do it honestly, and that you'll care to do it civilly, without trying to ruin anyone's evening. And once again, I would hope that everyone would consider EVERYTHING WT does before they decide what they think they must do.

I don't Know why that should sound unreasonable or deceptive.

Ramon Vanden Brulle,
Washington Trout