Auntie,

No government official, local, state, or federal, is particularly committed to salmon preservation or recovery. Salmon are their biggest headache! They would all be happy to see the wild fish extinct, replaced entirely by enough hatchery fish to keep tribal, commercial, and sport harvest interests happy. That would not only get you off their backs, but then they wouldn't have to do any of the hard work that will be necessary to reform the agricultural, forestry, development, hydroelectric, and industrial practices that destroy salmon habitat. You don't need healthy rivers, forests, and other ecosystems to run a hatchery. Everybody wins! (Except the fish and the environment of course, but they're used to losing.)

The question I have is this. Does that future sound good enough for you? (I mean the "you" rhetorically; you don't have to answer.)

Ramon Vanden Brulle
Washington Trout