"We took all we could handle at the hatchery," said Wolf. "We saw over 200 coho in Scott Creek and its tributaries, Mill and Big Creek, and we estimate that there were another 200 fish in the system that we didn't see."

The hatchery released 3500 coho smolts into the watershed in 1999, and approximately 15 percent of the planted coho returned to the stream as adults to spawn, according to Wolf.

The steelhead and coho are raised in the project's Kingfisher Flat Hatchery on Big Creek, a tributary of Scott Creek, which flows into the ocean north of Santa Cruz. The hatchery produces up to 60,000 steelhead smolts per year. Unfortunately, NMFS and the DFG now allow the project to release fish into only the watershed where they are captured.

"This has proven an extreme hardship on our Salmon and Trout Education Program (STEP) in our local schools," he said. "Prior to this, the DFG allowed us to release smolts into any stream flowing into Monterey Bay. For example, schools in the Greenfield and King City areas were able to release reared steelhead fry into the Salinas River. We are not able to do this anymore because of the decision by DFG that there be no inter basin transfer of steelhead."

All of the school children and teachers must now travel to the San Lorenzo River or its tributaries to plant the steelhead raised in their classrooms, noted Wolf.

However, the DFG is allowing the project to release coho salmon outside of the creeks where they are taken - in order to restore the coho run in those creeks. The program is tentatively planning to stock Soquel, Aptos and Pescadero creeks with silver salmon, where the Department wants the coho salmon to be reintroduced.

"The original argument of NMFS was that the hatchery fish were inferior," said Wolfe. "Now NMFS is saying that the genetics of the hatchery fish are just as pure as the wild fish, so they should be protected, too. Our fish propagation methods are so advanced that our hatchery fish are now considered genetically the same as wild fish."

The hatchery has a policy of spawning only wild salmon and steelhead. In addition, they will only spawn the fish once, so as to keep as much genetic diversity in the fish as they can.

"In that area, NMFS and DFG has provided leadership in providing genetic diversity," said Wolfe. "It's important that there be genetic diversity in hatchery as well as wild fish. There is no method to show any genetic difference between our hatchery fish and wild fish."

However, their success with steelhead has led to a problem; The DFG, in its "biological wisdom," tried last year to close the San Lorenzo River to the take of steelhead. The San Lorenzo is the only stream in the region where the hatchery fish can be caught and kept, even though the vast majority of anglers release their fish, whether "hatchery" or "wild."

The project volunteers went to commission meetings in Santa Barbara and Sacramento, as well as writing letters as individuals, to keep the San Lorenzo open to the take of hatchery fish.

Why are the returns of steelhead and coho salmon so good this year?

"We're seeing an abundance of returning wild and hatchery fish because of dramatically improved forage and water conditions in the ocean," explained Wolf. "The water has cooled off and there is much more bait in the water than there was over the last 20 years. Our efforts have kept the coho and steelhead fishery going since the project was started in 1976, through two droughts and two El Nino years. Now that good ocean conditions have returned, both species are thriving."

With the excellent return of steelhead on the San Lorenzo up to 14 pounds, Wolfe is hoping see a trophy steelhead in the 18 to 19 pound class this year, if the weather and water conditions are right.

In the early 19th Century, the San Lorenzo saw an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 adult steelhead return every year. However, during the late 1800's, every fishery between Carmel and San Francisco was virtually wiped out, due to overfishing and heavy logging in the watersheds. After 1892, the state government established a fish hatchery that began to plant fish in the San Lorenzo River and Scott and Soquel creeks, resulting in good runs on the recovering watersheds.

Now this year Wolf and other project volunteers hope to see 3500 adult steelhead return to the San Lorenzo. Last year, an estimated 3000 adult steelhead returned to the river, one of the most viable steelhead fisheries on the Central Coast.

Volunteers, companies, foundations and the DFG all contribute to the grassroots project, which only has one paid staff member, fishery biologist Dave Streig. If you want to volunteer time or money, your help will be greatly appreciated. For more information, call the Monterey Bay Salmon & Trout Project, (831) 458-3095 or (831) 688-4257.