The Fall Creek Hatchery coho situation, as depicted in a widely distributed home video, is a troubling issue for many Oregonians.

At the recent Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Reedsport, people asked: "Why werenât the salmon allowed to spawn? Why couldnât we fish for them?" Biologists explained the domesticated hatchery salmon were too genetically dissimilar to let them mix with the few remaining wild coho. Conserving the irreplaceable, locally adapted wild native stock took priority and fishing had to be curtailed because even incidental catch and release mortality would have caused unacceptable losses.

Some expressed skepticism about the value of native fish and questioned whether any non-hybridized wild salmon remain after decades of hatchery stocking. The biologists responded that native fish, which developed gradually over thousands of years through natural selection, are perfectly adapted to local environmental conditions, giving them a survival advantage over domesticated stocks. These genetically encoded adaptive traits are inherited by subsequent generations of wild fish. Despite the long history of hatchery stocking, genetically intact native salmon persist in almost all coastal river basins, although in reduced numbers.

Others said if hatchery salmon can make it to the ocean and back, then thatâs good enough for them. However, the Fall Creek Hatchery coho run, which had been domesticated for 46 years, experienced very poor returns relative to the numbers of smolts released and their cost. Furthermore, the smolt-to-adult phase represents only a portion of the salmonâs life cycle. Research shows hatchery salmon spawning together in streams produce insufficient viable offspring to replace themselves. The same is true when a hatchery-origin salmon crosses with a wild, native salmon; their offspring do not survive in sufficient numbers to replace the parents, either. Nonetheless, before succumbing to any of the may forms and causes of mortality, the ill fated hatchery and hybrid progeny compete for food and space with native juvenile salmon.

Natural selection with heritability of beneficial adaptive traits occurs throughout the biological world. An example near Reedsport, Oregon involving Douglas fir trees illustrates the folly of ignoring genetic differences and proves the superiority of native stocks.

After the 1951 Weatherly Creek fire, which burned 9,000 acres some 22 miles east of Reedsport, local reforestation seed was in short supply. Many foresters then believed Douglas fir trees were homogenous throughout their range, or, if there were differences, they thought seedlings could quickly acclimate. Consequently, much of the area was reforested using Douglas fir seed obtained from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Unfortunately, the Canadian trees performed poorly because they were out of sync with their new environment and couldnât adjust. Genetically programmed to deal with late frosts, they remained dormant, weeks longer than native trees, until available soil moisture was largely depleted. Their annual growth was reduced and many trees suffered increased insect damage and disease due to environmental stresses their genetic heritage had not prepared them for, such as hot, dry summer weather. Others were over-topped by faster growing wild trees. Today, the surviving Canadian trees are roughly half the size of native trees of the same age.

From 1974 to 1989, as a Reedsport area forester, part of my job entailed purchasing Douglas fir cones for see production. I avoided buying Weatherly Creek cones because, their normal appearance notwithstanding, they held few viable seeds due to delayed pollination timing. And, by then, it had become widely accepted that seedlings grown from local, native-origin seeds inherited adaptive traits favoring optimum survival and growth.

To the non-forester, the Canadian trees probably look fine. But to the forester interested in healthy forests, the Vancouver Island Douglas firs at Weatherly Creek provide an enduring lesson proving genetics do matter.

The same principle applies to salmon. Over the past 100 years, we have transferred salmon indiscriminately with little consideration for their genetic heritage. Millions of salmon were stocked in rivers for which they were poorly adapted and where they negatively impacted wild fish. The current depressed status of native salmon has, in large measure, been caused by these well-intentioned but misguided efforts.

Hatchery practices are changing. Our facilities are being operated in new ways to help restore locally-adapted native salmon and to augment wild runs for selective fisheries. We are on the right track. Iâm optimistic about the future of our native fish resources and the future of fishing in Oregon.

John L. Perry is a member of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission and lives near Junction City. March, 2000. This article has appeared in numerous newspapers in Oregon