Submitted by chris_wood on Mon, 2014-12-01 12:54 Stream Ambassadors Conservation The Front Porch Trout Magazine Outdoor Communicators National Leadership Council - NLC Vote Up Down +7 + Oncorhynchus_nerka.jpg It is so familiar to hear how climate change/urbanization/energy development/pick your issue are degrading fish habitat and leading to species decline. We should celebrate when the obverse is true. There is a great essay in this month's American Fisheries Society journal, Fisheries, and an excellent distilation of it that shows how Snake River sockeye are coming back from the edge of extinction. Although the conservation hatchery program is working well, not surprisingly, the wild fish are the ones showing the highest return rates. I began my career 22 years ago as a volunteer in Idaho when I learned about Lonesome Larry--the one sockeye who made the 850 mile journey from the Pacific to the Sawtooths, climbing 8,000 feet in elevation, traversing eight dams, and never feeding only to arrive at Redfish Lake and find that no other salmon made it back. From one fish to 1,600 this year. Hoo-rah!