Fight to save the Puyallup steelhead

06:17 PM PDT on Wednesday, April 28, 2004
By GARY CHITTIM / KING 5 News KING

Puyallup River

BUCKLEY, Wash. - Ten years ago, they returned to the Puyallup River system by the thousands, but today, the famous steelhead run is just a trickle. Some biologists are taking drastic action to keep what's left of the once mighty steelhead run alive.

Today's surviving colorful, wild steelhead carries the genes of ancient steelhead that once thrived in the Puyallup River system, but is now struggling against extinction. "I think they are the most threatened species of salmon in South Sound," said Blake Smith, Puyallup tribal biologist.

Puyallup tribal biologists have made saving the steelhead their top priority.
They once gathered hundreds of steelhead from a fish trap, then transported them around impassable hydro and flood control dams to upstream spawning grounds.
Today they can't believe how few there are.
"This is April, the end of April, which is typically the peak month of returning steelhead here. We're at about 50 returning fish for the month, so we're in trouble," said Russ Ladley, Puyallup tribal biologist.

The one bit of good news is that each of the steelhead they pull up look pretty healthy, shiny and robust.

But that's where the good news ends.
Just five years ago, biologists counted 1,700 steelhead in the Puyallup system. Last year just 300.
"We don't want to just stand by and watch them go extinct. We're thinking about a wild brood-stock program," said Smith. The Puyallups may capture wild Puyallup steelhead to breed in captivity. It's a desperate and controversial measure, but they've tried everything else.
Restricting fishing has helped other salmon species return to healthy returns, but for some reason, not the steelhead.
"I wish I knew, nobody seems to have the answer to the problem," said Ladley.
And they fear, as they watch each truckload of the precious few wild steelhead released upstream, that answer may come too late to save the Puyallup steelhead.
The Puyallups have been counting returning Steelhead for the 60 years. They say last year was the lowest return ever and this year's looks even worse.