WHEN IN DOUBT, schedule more meetings.

One public comment session was not enough to decide the fate of the Snider Creek steelhead broodstock program.

Thus, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife will hold a second collection of meetings in Forks and Mill Creek next week to discus the future of a program that’s been around on the Sol Duc River for 25 years.

The Forks meeting will be held June 7 from 6-8 p.m. at the West End Sportsman Club, 243 Sportsman Club Road, Forks.

Among the four options to be presented by the state at that meeting: elimination of the program, relocation to another West End river (Calawah), renewal with additional requirements and renewal of the status quo.

Members of the Olympic Peninsula Guides’ Association, which has run the program jointly with the state since 1986, are obviously hoping for the latter.

With their agreement with the state expiring at the end of the month, it won’t be much longer until they get an answer.

“We’ll do anything it takes to make this thing happen because we know this thing is working — and it’s working really well,” association vice president Larry Scott said.

“We wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t get the returns.”

State analysis

After receiving public input on the program last fall, Fish and Wildlife staff developed an analysis of the program as well as the range of options that will be presented at next week’s meetings

According to the state’s review, the project has succeeded in its intended purpose of providing additional fish for harvest.

The sport fishery has averaged 131 Snider Creek-origin steelhead per year since the 1999-2000 season, with a range of 40 to 293. Furthermore, the Quileute tribal gillnet fishery averaged 47 during the same time frame.

There are also indications are that the 2010-11 season produced catches in both fisheries exceeding the previous highs.

“I’ve seen a lot of stuff come and go,” said Scott, a West End fishing guide since 1977. “We’ve seen some really good runs.

“This last year was off the charts for steelhead. It was literally off the charts.

“There’s a lot of us who were catching several Snider fish a day. That means there’s a lot of fish in that river.”

Broodstock fish

Snider Creek fish are considered a broodstock because they are spawned from wild fish.

The association collects 50 wild fish from the Sol Duc each year to spawn 50,000 smolts at the Sol Duc Hatchery.

After the fish have their left ventral fins clipped, they are taken to another location near Snider Creek where they are taken care of by longtime association member Sam Windle Sr. for several months until being released.

Surviving fish typically return as adults two years later between late December and early March, peaking in January.

One of the main problems opponents of the program have with it is the removal of those wild spawners (about 4.5 percent of the early-timed run).

There are also concerns about the effects the Snider Creek fish have interacting with wild juveniles and adults.

Changes in management policies for hatchery fish and steelhead since the program was first developed 25 years ago is a major force for change as well.

That’s why each of the four options developed by the state includes the establishment of wild steelhead gene banks — waters where no hatchery steelhead would be released — in the Clearwater River.

Cash money

One thing that shouldn’t derail the program, however, is money.

According to Scott, the guides’ association has volunteered to take care of all costs to make sure that it continues.

“I’ve been in this project for 25 years,” he said. “I’m not about to let them jerk it out from beneath us.”

The management options and the analysis of the Snider Creek steelhead program are available on Fish and Wildlife’s website at http://tinyurl.com/2uqhc33.

Those who would like a copy of the information on a compact disc can call 360-249-4628.

Comments on the management options can be submitted by email to snidercreek@dfw.wa.gov or by U.S. Mail to: Snider Creek, 48 Devonshire Road, Montesano, WA, 98563.

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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.