Your posts are interesting and good to see other perspectives from real world research. I noticed earlier this year steeping into some slow water on china creek that there were a good number of casings in the water for that stream. I don't fish it often but it have fished it for many years and was surprised to see them all. I believe that is caused by a boost of sunlight onto the river which wasn't there before, from the logging of the whole river basically leaving damn near completely open where as it used to be in a cave from the heavy tree coverage on the banks. Chinas only a matter of time though before it collapses too its not as though the fishing there is getting better its just not collapsing at the same rate. Take a stream across the canal from china very similar stream only it was logged many years before it held up for a good while but has since declined hard. The damage done by heavy silting and too many highwater events lasting longer and removing much of any nutrients to feed a river properly. China creek also doesn't have a hatchery robing from the wild stocks the next generation and continued numbers of fish. It also doesn't have a net fishery on it just as kelts are returning to the ocean. the number of steelhead caught in nets on the somass represents a huge amount of fish never returning. Seals are unable to get far up china, however I have seen them in stamp falls pool in the winter and watched them eat many steelhead and seen them early this winter in the lower somass having their way with what I could only guess were steelhead for a couple days. The Stamp and gold have more problems than just aquatic life but I agree its a problem but look at how many wild salmon spawn in these river and there is the answer this isn't fake news its the reality. Salmon feed the streams end of story other things can boost or take away from that but without salmon on streams steelhead will decline. Im not a scientist but I imagine the only reason steelhead exist is because of salmon and their abundance in rivers just like the cuttys and other trout that show up at spawning time. The Golds recent decline is mainly a result of logging and silting in the gold just like the stamp the egss are either sufficated or just wash away along with all the limited number of salmon carcasses that would normally feed the river. The stamp is so filled in the lower river that once good spots no longer hold fish at all(if there were any). Pretending that both the stamp and gold decline isn't because of the increased logging in the last 15 years and the lack of regulations is missing the biggest key to their demise. Both rivers get super hi and super low very quickly and these huge fluctuations are destroying the balanced eco system of many thousands of years that created these fish. Scientists aren't the enemy they have the answers on a level that us kicking around stones cant achieve just like we have the answers they cant get in a lab although most scientist get their info from the real world as well and dismissing them as if they have an agenda, when it sounds like the agenda is blame anything except logging and over fishing. I don't doubt acid rain is a possible impact or it could be all the ddt that was sprayed all over the forests for years as best logging practices and is now being released from the lakes that are warming up and turning over deeper where those chemicals are being stored. or it could be jet boats driving over redds or bridge trolls harassing kelts for 3 months of the year as they rest before descending into the river. Once stocks are so low it doesn't take much to push them over the edge which is why these rivers should be regulated better and protected more. All the research in the world wont make governments act if there are special intrests in the back yard trying to get out the last of the trees as fast and cheap as possible before the majority of people take notice, but its good to know all the possible causes.