I don't know the lakes you are talking about, but if that's true, you have nothing to worry about. In the remote backcountry of the Kern river headwaters you see the goldens disappear by 8000 ft. We have a couple lakes with goldens here in Idaho and except for the very high, almost sterile lakes, goldens just can't compete with rainbows, brookies, or cutts. I've also backpacked the last few years to some high lake in the Wind River range in Wyoming in search of big goldens(18"+) and have caught lots of cutts and some brookies, but no goldens.

Each species has certain genetic advantages and disadvantages. You put down cutts and while I agree I would rather catch a rainbow, in higher altitude lakes where rainbows just don't do well and brookie tend to overpopulate and stunt, cutts are more inclinded to grow big. A well run Fish and Game Dept will match the best fish to the water.

Of course I don't know if the Wash. Fish and Game is well run or a bunch of clowns like we have here in Idaho, but why don't you ask them the reason for the plantings? As bad as Idaho Fish and Game is, a few good people slip through the cracks and get hired. Henry Lake is planting more brookies and cutthroat-rainbow hybreds instead of the straight cutthroat. Of course I'd like to see more very restrictive limits or even C&R instead of stocking the K-mart specials they plant in most waters, but I take what I can get.