Coondog,

There is no record, at least no official or unofficial record, of a spring chinook population in the Satsop River. Historically, there may and likely were some dip ins from the Chehalis River population, and less likely, from the few Wynoochee fish. (Officially there was no Wynoochee spring chinook population either, but there is enough unofficial evidence to suggest that a small population existed.)

It would make more sense to attempt enhancing the existing Chehalis springer population (which the Chehalis Tribe is planning to do) then to begin a program on the Satsop. The Satsop watershed is not typical spring chinook habitat, and is more likely than not unsuited to spring chinook. If it were suitable, there should be at least some historic record of a population occurring there. Westside spring chinook generally occur in snow melt and glacial watersheds, and the Satsop is primarily rain fed. It's headwaters have no summer snow melt and definately no glaciers, so it's not surprising that there is no record of native spring chinook occurring there.

Sg