Keith served as the State of Washington’s policy leader for the planning, design and construction of the Cle Elum hatchery complex and the design of the research, monitoring and evaluation program.
The YKFP, in whole, is a large, multi-agency fish restoration, supplementation production and evaluation program that involved significant capital investment in salmon rearing and acclimation facilities, research design, adaptive management principles, and complex project management structure. This was a coordinated effort done in conjunction with the Yakima Nation; Bonneville Power Administration; the Northwest Power Planning Council; the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority.
Keith supervised the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife science staff and agency administration to insure appropriate project direction, implementation and evaluation. The hatchery complex capital expenditures were approximately 64 million dollars, with another 8 million in research and monitoring dollars to support this aspect of the YKFP program.