FNP,

I agree that it's only a conservation hatchery if it actually conserves the fish. Given the experience the Stilly Tribe has had with the NF chinook over the years, I'm inclined to think that the Hood River steelhead reproductive effectiveness values don't apply to summer chinook like these. If they did, the run sizes they have achieved would not have occurred, although I can't verify that without the data.

Maybe it would be kinder to just pull the plug. The Stilly most likely will never recover to be premium chinook habitat. However, I think it can recover to the point that it can sustain a chinook run. Considering that, I'm unwilling to tell those folks that they shouldn't try to conserve the population.

BTW, those costs are atypical, and I wouldn't expect that $/fish to be operable over the life of the project. Obviously, the Tribe has been doing it the last 20+ years for a lot less. The project was started on a shoestring by some biologists with a strong "can do" attitude.

Sg