The culvert replacements will open a lot of smaller waters to salmon and steelhead. But we have to acknowledge that in some cases its a lost cause. We are spending billions on restoration and yet as has been said, we are still destroying much more habitat than is being restored. And what is the point of planting trees along a creek if downstream if flows thru shopping centers and developments with the associated runoff pretty much ensuring that very little is able to survive in those streams.

The state conservation office enthusiastically throws money at these projects and I am not convinced somebody is looking at the big picture before signing the checks. Its just a way to say, we are doing something. We really need to decide which waters are too far gone to waste another dime and which waters will give us more bang for the buck.

The soos creek plateau is just one example. The developers are going gangbusters and yet we still spend money on these little creeks which really don't have a chance. Yes, there were salmon in there many years ago. But that was before we all had children and they had children and everyone needs a place to live.

The green river will never be what it once was. We are not going to move the cities of Auburn, Kent, and Tukwilla along with all the floodplain that is now miles of industrial parks. There is virtually no estuary and the lower river is just a large channeled ditch.

Replacing a culvert on soos creek or little soos creek is just a feel good operation but will not put anymore fish in the system.

We are required by the ESA to make an effort. At some point, reasonable people need to talk about this and put an end to efforts that we all know will not amount to anything.