I think the difference between the Elwha and any other river systems that we can try this on is the healthy trout population in the upper reaches. many of those fishes offspring will likely out-migrate. creating once again a robust steelhead population. (I hope)

the reason the Cedar fish "lost out" to becoming steelhead is due to predators at the locks made the survival of the out-migrants to low to sustain them. I would bet many still try to leave the river but are wiped out. either in the lake trout fisheries or to the same death as the rest of the Puget Sound Smolts.

the Elwha fish on the other hand may actually be encouraged to smolt due to better estuary conditions being created now and the benefits of size at spawning. it may not be a quick fix... but a natural one. and yes strays will help. its all part of the natural process... to me thats what national forests are for, seeing how nature works.