You're right, you do sound like a politician.
You sound like you want more than anyone can give you: the exact percentage increase in Snake R stocks that will occur if the dams come down. Nobody can give you or Slade that any more than they can tell you which year will for certain be the last one that a wild spring chinook swims upstream past Lewiston if things don't change.

I remember those threads last fall and I remember that very few posts said dam removal was a "golden nugget". Most posts said that out of the options we have, dam removal is the single sustainable and controllable option that would have the greatest effect. Consider the following recovery options:

Reduction/Elimination on Indian netting: Never Happen

Ocean conditions: not controllable

Domestic commercial harvest of Snake R. stocks: Almost nil already

Foreign commercial harvest: not controllable

Tributary habitat improvement: This would help springers more than fall chinook (falls are main stem spawneres) but it takes decades for changing land use practices to result in good habitat

Barging/Hatchery Option: really worked great so far!

This years good runs are probably due to good ocean conditions and, like B-Run said, the high water years of 95-97. If we had those conditions all the time then we probably wouldn't be having this discussion.