The founder of our organization, Patricia Nadananda Hamilton is a champion for the Wild and Free Eel River. Seeing the Eel and its fisheries in decline in the early 1990s, she began organizing for an Eel River freed of PG&E’s Potter Valley Project dams and restored to natural productivity. Nadananda has a gift for relationship building and compelling storytelling. She built a community of supporters for the Eel River. Friends of the Eel River’s bi-annual Eel River Reporter showcased local businesses’ support for river recovery and fisheries while providing education and updates to locals and the Redwood Region’s many visitors.
Beginning with a Friends of the Eel River interest group in late 1994, Nadanada’s vision led to 30 years of effective advocacy for the Eel River. In addition to our work to remove the Eel River dams, Friends of the Eel River’s notable successes include litigation before the California Supreme Court which held the North Coast Railroad Authority to following California environmental regulations.
In recognition of Nadananda’s lifetime of service, the California State Senate has issued her a certificate honoring her heroic fight to save the Wild & Free Eel River.
Friends of the Eel River was formed in large part to ensure that one day the Potter Valley Project would be removed and the Eel River would run free. Thanks to Nadananda’s leadership and commitment, that vision will soon be reality.