Ikiss -
nice "Dolly"!

It should be noted that the steelhead fry/parr/presmolts require much the same freshwater habitat whether they are summer or winter fish. Typically in Puget Sound rivers the only difference is that summer fish are found in a different protion of the basin (usually in upper portions of the basin not easily accessible to the winter fish).

Whether the freshwater water habitat is good or back when there is a large variation in marine survival we see a wide swings in run sizes. You mentioned the situation on Vacouver Island. At the Koegh River on the north end of the Island they have study the situation with steelhead since the late 1970s. As part of those studies they have counted the number of wild smolts leaving the system and the adults coming back. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s the average smolt to adult survival was about 15% (as high as 25% one year). In recent years it has been 3% or less.

If the Snohmish summers or winters (hatchery or wild) are seeing similar declines in survival (a lowering of survival by 5 fold which appears to be similar here in Puget Sound) can we be surprised that the resulting runs are smaller?

I'm really curious as to what addition or new
"management actions" that critics would suggest that WDFW adopt?

A common suggestion is use a different hatchery brood stock. Given that the wild populations have similarily collapsed how would using them as a brood source lead one to believe that they would experience higher survivals? Just curious>

Tight lines
Curt