Cohoangler

I will attempt to answer your question that you given to me.

First, you asked me; "Personally, I would still strongly support wild steelhead even if it means fewer hatchery steelhead. Would CFM? I don't know but I will let him answer that."

My answer is; why would you want to replace a "mitigation responsibility" that produces harvestable stocks of steelhead with a program that only produces "wild" fish that can not be harvested? Am I for that? Absolutely not!

The original "restoration program" was started back in 1991 (I was part of the settlement that triggered it) and it was never intended to be a "replacement" for our hatchery programs (which at the time, I was the FOC's "legal representative" for the group). It was developed through a "Settlement Agreement" with the Friends of the Cowlitz and BPA.

The original "intent" was to "Reestablish-self-sustaining natural populations of anadromous in BALANCE WITH THE EXISTING NATURAL AND HATCHERY POPULATIONS and habitat available in the Cowlitz above Cowlitz Falls Dam and to provide harvest opportunity for anadromous adult's salmonids in the upper watershed."

The key word here is "Balance"! But what does WDFW know about "balance" anyway?

Several public meetings were held, and that is what was promised to us by the WDFW (I still have the document). Now they (WDFW) have signed a "private Settlement Agreement" that will change all of what was originally promised to us earlier!

Finally, you said: " I believe that not all anglers on the Cowlitz Rv. are focusing on providing meat for the freezer; but rather, the opportunity to catch (and release) a wild steelhead." I do know where you came up with that crook of $hit, "Not all", but 99999.9 % of the anglers who fish the Cowlitz keep what they catch! And I am NOT TALKING ABOUT just the BLUE CR. area!

I guess that most anglers don't mind catching and releasing those "wild unmarked hatchery fish" as long as they are being allowed to continue to catch good numbers of "legal" hatchery fish. But once they find that almost 90% of the fish that they are now going to be catching must be "release" so that Tacoma will not have to pay for those "hatchery costs"..........well that's another whole different story!

Since ALL "hatchery fish" WILL BE DENIED any access to the spawning grounds of these "wild" fish, why not have the bests of both worlds? Lots of hatchery fish for harvest, and 240 miles of some of the best spawning habitat that is left in Washington State for them to spawn and rear in!


Was that enough? If not, I have lots more to say!

Cowlitzfisherman