Lots of good thoughts above.

ondarvr, if you still have the handout from the Nov. meeting, in the preseason summary it listed that the 1500 fish for natural Baker Lake reproduction were part of the total 8296 (including test fishery fish) required for escapement.
This total number is deducted from the "anticipated" run, before deciding on harvest surplus.

The challenge with natural lake production as I understood it, was that the draw down of the lake coincides with the spawn and potentially leaves many reds high and dry. The timing and extent of this draw down is in the agreement for dam/power operation and is non-negotiable.