WN1A is on to it...

Marine survival is a huge part of the picture. The 20 (or so) year stretch that ended in 1976-77 was the last long, consistent stretch of "cold" sea surface temperatures in our region. It was also the culmination of an ever increasing coastal coho harvest that reached record proportions in 1976. When catches from all fisheries are summed the harvest of coho off our coast was in the 2 million range that year. [note: this is also when the Fisheries Management and Conservation Act (the 200 mile limit act) went into effect. Clealry the state was overharvesting leading up to the implementation of federal management off our coasts. They slowly began to ratchet down the salmon harvests]

Will we ever see those catches again? Unlikley. Even if the marine conditions became favorable again (for higher local salmon stock survival) we don't have the habitat conditions that existed in the 1960's and early 70's. Many of the instream ecosystems that existed 40 years ago are diminished or simply gone. The trend for marine ecosystems is not looking all that terrific either.

It may sound kind of goofy when people like David Dicks, Bill Ruckelshaus and Billy Frank say... "this is our last best chance to save Puget Sound"... but they just might be right. The political will needed to lead this uphill battle may be hard to find however. The Gov and the Legislature are talking and money is being spent but are we really changing the way people treat the land, the water, the air, the resources, etc.? Is the kind of "sea-change" that needs to happen, about to happen? Someone needs to point out some indicators for me 'cause I ain't seeing it.