Milt,

I don't want to write off freshwater habitat in the PS region. I've been convinced for several years now that the PS wild steelhead plight is a matter of low marine survival rates. Increasingly, data are reported that steelhead smolt productivity has remained fairly consistent despite some record low adult spawning escapements. In some cases, like the NIsqually, it's possible that smolt production has been sustained by contributions from resident rainbow trout. If so, that's truly a testament to species resilience.

A 5 to 10-fold increase in marine survival would result in adult returns as large as any we observed in the 1980s. All from the same degraded freshwater habitat. Speaking of habitat, even though human development pressure continues, there are bright spots of recovery. One large tributary in the Skagit basin that was nearly devoid of steelhead in the 1980s is now full of them year after year. With most of the timber clear cutting complete, and the improved forest practices resulting from the Timber, Fish, & Wildlife and later the Forest & Fish initiatives, some streams are showing signs of improvement.

Sg