Rich,

Don’t confuse habitat management with fish management. Much of the Queets system habitat has been nuked: the entire Clearwater sub-basin and the Queets tributaries from Sams River downstream. The pristine habitat is limited to the Queets and its tributaries upstream from Sams River.

The percent utilization of spawning habitat or potential spawning habitat has little to do with carrying capacity for chinook, coho, and steelhead. That parameter is only possibly relevant to species that are not stream rearing obligates like pink, chum, and most sockeye.

The unanswered question is whether the contemporary productivity and capacity of the Queets system is being utilized. It’s still considered one of the more productive systems for its size in the state, even if it’s much reduced from historic levels. But then, no river seems to be producing at historic levels. And to the extent that the Queets is managed for MSY/MSH, then it isn’t being managed for its productive potential. Perhaps it is at its maximum sustainable harvest level, tho.

I kind of agree with Stam; healthy runs continue to exist on OP rivers largely because they are not fishable with either gillnets or sport gear during much of the season when fish are running, and because most have headwaters protected in the national park.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.