A couple more thoughts....

While there have been decent arguments made that dredging doesn't significantly harm fish populations, you guys suggesting it actually helps them are really reaching. I don't have data to prove it, but I'm pretty sure that nature, which produced much larger populations of salmon and steelhead than we see today for millions of years without our help, would do fine without more of our brands of "help."

Bonaro: You say dredging is only allowed before fish spawning. Which runs of which species are the basis for that scheduling? I'm probably wrong, but I think most salmon and steelhead spawn between October and May, with most fry hatching by the early summer. Does this mean dredging is only permitted during the summer months? Just curious....

Finally, despite the fact that I've yet to encounter a suction dredging operation in my fishing adventures, it seems there have been enough permit applications in recent years to convince lawmakers there is money to be made by charging permitting fees. Where is all this stuff happening? Have shows like "Gold Rush" (based on a much more destructive form of mining, to be sure) led to an increase in permit applications?