Larry -
You asked the question of what has changed?

The first as others have mention is the human population. Since 1980 the population of the State has increased from just over 4 million to about 7 million. 80% of that population live in the Puget Sound basin. We are all familiar with the long list of problems associated with that population growth.

The number of harbor seals have increased 10 fold since the marine mammal protection act. The numbers of harbor porpoises in recent years have increase from virtually none existent to now they are as abundant as harbor seals.

Because of the location of the Nisqually in relation to the Snohomish it should be clear that fish originating in the south sound are exposed to more and for a longer period of time the cumulative impacts associated with those changes.

One factor that is not commonly talked about is the changes in the regions river discharge patterns. Because of climate change (we will leave the cause of those changes to another debate) the timing of the freshwater discharge from our rivers have changed; and in some cases dramatically. Historically much of the freshwater entering Puget Sound was the result of snow melt which occurred in the spring/early summer. That large freshwater input increased the mixing of the waters of Puget Sound which coupled with the sun light of longer days drove a significant pulse of productivity. Today we see more of the run-off from floods/freshets during the fall and winter period and less snow-melt in the spring. The result is fewer and smaller productivity blooms at the critical time that smolts are entering and migrating through the Sound.

Curt