Recovery of steelhead won't occur, I believe, until the number of salmon spawning in those streams drastically increases. They (SH) are showing a positive response to the big pink ecapements in S Prairie Creek.

In the absence of a lot of salmon, and the increase in productivity, steelhead smolts will get older (see Keogh R, BC) and fewer in number.

I believe, too, that this will lead to more "resident" trout. Also, in the major river systems where we are setting new flow regimes to improve spawning and rearing area in summer and fall we are actually making the streams more desireable for the resident life form. Studies on the east side suggest that "higher" flows and "cooler" water temperatures select for the resident form. Enhancing flows in the late summer/fall will come from the bottom of the reservoir.

As long as we view and manage steelhead as independent of the other fish in the stream and view resident and anadromous O. mykiss as different fish I don't think the anadromous form has a chance to recover.