Tacoma city Light when they put up the dams had to put in the hatcherys as part of the deal. They are required by the State to have x amount of fish returning to the river. They have not met their escapement goals for years but that is besides the fact. I believe there are very few if any wild fish left in the Cowlitz. The unclipped steelhead you see once in a while are most of the time escaped hatchery brats I know a guy who works for the hatchery and he told me they once accidently pulled the wrong lever and released thousands of yet unclipped hatchery steelhead into the river. The only way to let that river go back to wild only, would be to remove the dams and stop all fishing for years so I believe that rumor is just that a rumor.
tight lines
RAMPRAT