Double Haul -
An excellent article but unfortunately it is several years too late. Those horses have long escaped the barn. Construction on that $16.4 million hatchery began last year. The Elwha restoration plan is a done deal and it is unlikely we will see any significant changes in it until it is shown not to have succeeded.

However this has been an interesting discussion and clearly illustrates the complex world that our anadromous salmonids live in and the many and diverse pieces the various species and life histories require to thrive.

Dave Vedder -
Interesting that you mentioned the MF Snoqualmie and its CnR season. I grew up fishing the forks of the Snoqualmie and had fly fished the MF for more than 25 years prior to the start of the CnR season (1986?). Interestingly during the late 1950s through the 1960s the trout were much larger than today. In those days the norm were 10 to 16 inch cutthroat with 20 inch fish a possibility. By the mid-1970s the size fell dramatically with most fish 5 to 10 inches. Even the conservative management of the CnR season was not able to reverse that change.

I suspect the heavy logging of the MF valley during the 1950s and 60s the resultanting impacts of stream flows played a role in that decline. After fishing a number of PS streams over decades it is my observation that the really is a pretty good diversity of insect species found in our streams. However the biomass of those insect are less than what one would expect. Again my feeling that the altering of those streams hydrographs and simplication of the habitats are a major contributor to those cutthroat's decline.

Freespool -
In my career I found my various fishing rods the most valuable fisheries reserch tool I had. But then again that may account for why I was such a poor biologist!

CM -
Interesting that you mentioned how well the bull trout and sea-run cutthroat are doing. Since I happen to be near some of that success and spend a fair amount of time fishing for those critters I have thought a lot about why they have been so successful.

In the case of the Skagit/Sauk bull trout (a huge success story over the last 20 years) the key is clearly the quality of the critical habitat they use. The critical spawning and early rearing habitats are found in the uppper reaches of the basin and I estimated that 80% of the habitat is either pristine or near pristine - found in a National Park or wilderness areas. Once the bulls get a jump start in life their diverse behaviors allow them to take advantage of any potential rearing options.

The situation with the cutthroat isn't nearly as clear cut. However to no one's surprise I do have some thoughts/theories on their success. In watching the habitat they use it is pretty clear through out the Puget Sound lowlands there has been major changes in the small streams that the cutthroat and coho used. There has been major changes in those streams hydrographs; more frequent fall/winter flooding , lower summer flows, etc. In short in many cases what were historically mostly coho streams have been converted to cutthroat streams. That coupled with the lack of wild coho in many areas (less competition) those sea-runs have access to nearly as much habitat as they did decades ago.

BTW -
Regarding conservative harvest management - PS wild summer steelhead have been managed as conservatively as any group of fish in western Washington. Wild steelhead release for 25 years (as well as no tribal or ocean fisheries) and in places like Deer Creek on the NF Stillaguamish no hatchery fish and major portions of their freshwater habitats closed to fishing. Yet they continue to do as poorly as the worst of the other wild salmonids. just another illustration that restore our wild salmonids will require multiple and complex approaches.

Tight lines
Curt