There are a lot of posers, frauds and down right liars in the Pacific northwest. You hear them I'm sure.
The usually start out by joining a pseudo-conservation group like CCA or Northwest Steelheaders. They swear up and down that they want to fight hard for wild salmon and steelhead. Their main argument is getting the "Goddamn gill netters" off of the Columbia because they are using non-selective gear to harvest salmon and killing wild fish.
Gill nets do pretty much kill everything that runs into them so that argument is valid. The thing that troubles me enough to call people these frauds is when push comes to shove they only support wild salmon and steelhead as long as it doesn't inconvenience them or when conservation efforts cost them money.
We have the sulfite egg cure controversy. It has been proven that sulfite based cures are harmful to juvenile salmonids! Harmful enough to kill them.
All of the phony conservationists are crying foul. These folks are mostly bait guides that cannot get their clients into salmon and steelhead without the help of sodium sulfite cured salmon roe that they sell for $30 a quart. These guys will tell you all day long how much they love and care for wild salmon and steelhead....what a bunch of lying bullshitters they are.
Theses are the assholes who support the various steelhead broodstock programs because it makes them money.
I have never claimed to be a champion for the cause of wild salmonids. I know there is more I could and should do but I will say this much these guys are hypocrites in the worse way in my opinion. You just cannot be "sort of" in favor of saving wild salmon and steelhead. You cannot be "I'm for wild salmon and steelhead as long as it doesn't cost me money"
There is no half way here folks.
It all comes down to sacrifice and you and I have to ask ourselves what we would sacrifice for the betterment of cold water fisheries.
If you are not 100% for wild salmon and steelhead then you might as well be 0%
self interest is a powerful weapon. I don't think its so black and white though. Dealing with the many issues facing wild fish is a piecemeal process and I'll take whatever allies I can get. Sure people complained when water temps went up on the lower D, fishing was slower than the public has come to expect. While the Deschutes may have been slightly warmer historically, the Columbia was almost certainly alot cooler. So while conditions may be different today, the Deschutes is a crucial thermal refugia for migrating salmonids in the Columbia Basin.
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