07/03/09

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) _ Idaho officials are predicting that 300
to 500 sockeye salmon will return to Redfish Lake in central Idaho.

Jeff Heindel, conservation hatchery supervisor for the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game, says fish counts indicate this year's
run is returning early and could be larger than previously
forecast.

Through Thursday, 173 sockeye had been counted passing Lower
Granite Dam on the Snake River about 35 miles west of Lewiston.

For decades Idaho has been trying to boost the run of sockeye
that makes the 900-mile swim from the ocean to mountainous central
Idaho.

Just three fish completed the journey in 2006.

___

Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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