Redfish Lake sockeye salmon success

Is it a good idea to spend $Millions$ on heroic efforts to rescue sockeye salmon in Redfish Lake? I'll admit to being skeptical of the heroic Redfish Lake sockeye rescue program. Just like I was skeptical about the California condor rescue effort.

Well, it's a pleasure to report that Redfish Lake sockeye salmon are doing well this year, and the rescue effort may ultimately prove worthwhile.

I doubted that we'd succeed in maintaining sockeye salmon in Redfish Lake. And, if successful, I thought the remaining fish would be too domesticated. I think results show we can maintain a living sockeye population in Redfish Lake. Now, officials are releasing some to spawn in the wild, and we'll see whether they're too domesticated to survive.

There's still the nasty issue of downstream dams that kill too many fish. This year's good news is not anything close to full recovery for Redfish lake sockeye salmon. But now it looks like we just might have some sockeye around when the dams ultimately come out (dams are not forever).

Intensive care for sockeye salmon is looking good this year at this magnificent lake in the sky (some 900 miles from the ocean at 7,000 feet elevation).

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