Thank you FishCounter, that is exactly what I was after. If they do these checks all the way to LaGrande it makes me wonder how many will return to the Mashal. If you want my honest opinion about the lack of fish call it siltation. Prior to 1996 the river was dangerously full of sand and silt, specifically along the diverted stretch. Both Salmon and steelhead suffered but steelhead needing very specific gravel washes suffered even more. In the spring of 1996 one of those major 500 year floods came through (I believe water was slopping over the top of Alder Dam) and did a great job of flushing the system clean. This year would be a couple of spawning cycles after the flooding so there is no reason why fish should not be making a comeback considereing the gravel conditions. I'll probably try to do my own checking at some locations and see if I can volunteer some time to both learn and assist.
If this river ever does come back maybe it should be fly-only.