I guess I missed something in the article, but I didn't see anything that said the hatchery fish were GMOs. They are the exact same species, identical on a genetic level, to the wild trout. So they are not non-native trout. They are just domesticated. While the hatchery trout may not survive as long as the wild trout, they don't have to. They just have to survive long enough to spawn, and the offspring will be wild trout, indistinguishable from the adult wild trout. They will adopt the same habits and behavior. Every fish that spawns means several thousand new eggs, which means a lot more fish in the river. This means a faster recovery time for the species. Yes, hatchery fish may take different flies, but that's only a problem for a single generation.

There have been countless studies on crossing hatchery fish with wild ones. All of the legitimate studies (ones that did not have an ax to grind) showed that as long as they are the exact same species, the offspring were indistinguishable from their wild relatives, both genetically, and behaviorally. It's been successfully done with Bass, Striped Bass, crappie, Bluegills, rainbow and brown trout, and other species. Steelheads should be no different.

I don't understand a lot of the gripes about environmental issues. it seems that sometimes, people won't take 'yes' for an answer. They are fixing the river. As a scientist myself, I know that these highly educated biologists have done extensive research on the issue, and while they may occasionally make a mistake, most of the time, they know what they are doing. But they are looking at the Big Picture, 25-50 years down the road, not just next year's fishing season. Give 'em a chance.

I was being flippant about bringing them here, but we would probably give it a try. E. TN. is one of the best-kept secrets in the fly fishing world. We have both wild, and stocked populations of brown, and rainbow trout that freely interbreed. Our fishery rivals anyone's in any part of the world. Our rivers that can support trout are full of big, belligerent bruisers that are usually more than happy to smash your fly. Hatchery and wild mixes haven't hurt anything here. If it wasn't for that, all we would have is a few rivers high in the mountains that have little wimpy brook trout.

Anyway, I don't live in the area, so I don't have a horse in this race. I'm just trying to understand both sides of the issue.