We're all for conservation, as long as the other guy does the conserving.

It does need to be better thought out. Closing the lake to protect pre-smolt sockeye is not likely to work because as Smalma pointed out fish that young don't recruit to the fishery.

Closing the lake, at the appropriate times, would protect pre-smolt coho, steelhead, and cutthroat.

But, I seriously doubt WDFW wasnt to say that because there are a lot of lakes without dams that have steelhead and coho in them that would require the same sort of management.