Two Bay Area men who serve on a publicly sponsored fisheries enhancement council - whose goal is to help bolster local fish populations - were cited this week by state fish and wildlife investigators with illegally harvesting Chinook salmon.

The charge has forced one of the men, Larry Cruthers, 62, of North Bend, to resign from his position as president of Coos River Salmon-Trout Enhancement Program - a volunteer-based fisheries program that last year released 1.6 million juvenile Chinook salmon into local waterways.

During an interview Tuesday afternoon, Cruthers said he was issued a hand-delivered citation Monday by an investigator from the Oregon State Police, charging he had transferred salmon eggs without a permit from the Noble Creek hatchery facility in Greenacres.

"The allegation is that he took salmon eggs and gave them to another private party," said OSP Sgt. David Gifford.

Gifford said to do so is a violation of how fish and their byproducts can be handled at a STEP facility and is considered a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,250 fine.

"It's a hatchery program where the eggs are utilized to further enhance the runs of the fish. There are very specific provisions as to what they can use the fish for," Gifford said.

He added that the alleged violations were an isolated incident and that there is no ongoing investigation into other suspects.

Investigators also delivered a citation to Richard Bramblett, 67, of Coos Bay, charging he unlawfully took a Chinook salmon for personal use. Bramblett was the original president of the Coos River STEP program when it was launched in 1982 and has served either as president or a board member until his resignation last fall.

The allegations against both men stem from incidents that investigators contend were carried out between the fall of 2003 and last fall. Gifford refused to say who sparked the initial allegations against Cruthers and Bramblett. Both men said investigators also refused to disclose who their accuser was. Both are scheduled to appear in Coos County Circuit Court in mid-September for arraignment hearings.

During an interview today, Bramblett said he did use a Chinook salmon from Noble Creek for educational purposes. He brought it to a local school for a presentation, he said.

Cruthers said his resignation was brought on not just by the recent citation, but by two years of continuing struggles within the organization.

"It's a grudge match is what it is and I have had it up to here," Cruthers said.

Cruthers said the charge against him was unjustified and believes the citation was issued based on what he characterized as a dispute with a fellow volunteer no longer associated with the program.

"I have never done anything wrong," Cruthers said. "This is just a 'he said-she said' thing. We're just a bunch of volunteers ... a bunch of old retired guys. We're not criminals."

He said the presence of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials at Noble Creek prevents anyone from stealing fish or eggs. Game officials are on hand to ensure that the volunteers are killing the correct number of fish based on state quotas.

Each year millions of eggs are discarded. Armand Pena, the president of the Eel/Tenmile STEP program, said the selling of salmon eggs could be a very lucrative business. The easiest way to make money would be by selling eggs from a hatchery, not first catching the egg-laden fish in a river.

"If we see something that looks suspicious, we check it out. But then again, I'm not a detective, I'm a farmer," said Clyde Haga, the owner of the Noble Creek facility, adding that it's ODFW's job to spot unlawful activities.

However, Cruthers said he has nothing to gain.

"I don't have any reason to do it," he said. "There is no gain. Why would I take eggs and jeopardize everything I have done. .... I love fish, and I think I do a pretty good job," Cruthers said.

Cruthers has been a STEP member for about 15 years, he said. As an approved agent, he is legally authorized to transport millions of eggs from the Noble Creek facility to Bandon where the eggs are raised into frys, fingerlings and smolts. Cruthers then brings the salmon to his facility at Daniels Creek where the young fish are raised and eventually released into Coos Bay, Isthmus Slough and the North and South Forks of the Coos River for local sport anglers.

He said he has given neighbors skeins of Chinook eggs from fish he has caught in area rivers, but not fish from the STEP program.

Whatever the outcome of the current battle, Cruthers said he will continue raising salmon for the foreseeable future. He said his goal is to release another 16 million salmon into local waters.

Both Cruthers and Bramblett said the citations would likely cast a shadow on the program. There are about 220 members in the Coos River STEP program who donate thousands of hours each year to enhance the fish populations for angling opportunities.

Cruthers credits the program's efforts for not only bolstering local fish populations, but also generating a significant interest over the last 10 years in sport fishing - thus tourism dollars - in the area.

"We have built one of the best salmon runs going on the coast. My goal was to have it be the salmon capital of the world. I still think it is possible," Cruthers said.

Pena is concerned about how the public will view the STEP program while the court proceedings unfurl.

"I know this is going to give us a black eye," Pena said.