Steeliedrew,

Thread drifting somewhat, but recovering wild salmon and steelhead on the Cowlitz isn't a pipe dream. Fundamentally it's a matter of having an effective downstream fishway, and that is currently on the drawing board. Even with the ineffective system present now, wild coho in significant numbers (1,000s) from upstream of the dams have become a regular occurrence on the Cowlitz. A few hundred wild steelhead and now even some wild fall chinook from Tilton/Mayfield are taking hold. With good juvenile fish passage, recovering viable wild runs on the upper Cowlitz will be a reality in the foreseeable future. Of course, just like in PS, there won't be many harvestable wild steelhead, because that just isn't in the cards for that species.

Furthermore, the barrier dam on the Cowlitz greatly facilitates the separation of wild and hatchery fish, so the numbers of hatchery fish allowed to spawn naturally in the upper basin can be strictly controlled.

Why are WDFW and WFC going to be researching a Skagit wild steelhead broodstock program in the coming years? Excellent question. I'd say it's because it was a negotiated term of settlement. The Skagit tribes are wondering why WDFW made WFC a third "co-manager." I think they are more than slightly pissed about that. Anyway, agreeing to research a topic can be a long ways off from coming up with a viable program. Maybe it was a throw away measure used to get agreement, maybe both parties are serious. I don't know.

I also don't know what WFC's plans are regarding going after Skamania steelhead. Doing so actually makes more biological sense than going after the Chambers Ck stock on the grounds they alleged. Skamania hatchery spawning time overlaps with wild winter steelhead far more than does Chambers Ck, so there is a substantially higher likelihood of H x W crosses and genetic introgression there, but I'm not so sure that biological integrity is the primary parameter for lawsuit selection. Since WFC (as WT) went after PS hatchery chinook before, I think it's highly likely that they will again. And that's a big deal. It would affect folks known as the movers and shakers and influential members of society and government.

Backtrollin,

I think there is a mix of endemic native wild summer runs that are free of significant or measurable Skamania introgression and some that are mixed. We don't have much summer run genetic data, so I'm speculating based on what the existing information has shown and the spatial spread of native populations and Skamania stocking.

Sg