Friends of the Eel River
Friends of the Eel River works for the recovery of the Wild and Scenic Eel River, its fisheries, and communities.
In 1994 a small group of dedicated Eel River enthusiasts came together to advocate for the river and its fish. Our first action was to intervene in proceedings of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This was the start of Friends of the Eel River and our journey to save the Eel River’s struggling salmon and steelhead.
This is truly a critical time for the Eel River. We have the opportunity to remove the two dams and out of basin diversion on the upper mainstem Eel. And we have some truly remarkable native fish populations with potential for recovery. Despite the stressors and uncertainties of climate change, scientists generally agree that the Eel River holds perhaps the West’s greatest promise for salmonid recovery.
Friends of the Eel River Staff
Alicia Hamann
Executive Director
Alicia Hamann grew up in the Pacific Northwest. She was fortunate to spend her youth exploring the mountains, forests, and rivers of the greater Portland area. Alicia moved to California in 2006 and earned a BA in Anthropology with a minor in Business Administration from Humboldt State University. She was drawn to Humboldt County by the vast wilderness and unique communities. After serving as Administrative Director for Friends of the Eel River from 2013 – 2019, Alicia now serves as Executive Director. Alicia also has experience volunteering as a board member for several local organizations including SCRAP Humboldt, Big Brother Big Sisters of the North Coast, the Northcoast Environmental Center, and the Same Old People.
Scott Greacen
Conservation Director
Scott Greacen joined Friends of the Eel River as our North Coast Director in 2010 and served as Executive Director from 2012 to 2017. He worked at EPIC (the Environmental Protection Information Center) from 2003 to 2010, ultimately serving as Executive Director. Scott is a member of the California bar and a cum laude graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, OR. His undergraduate degree is from Reed College, another Portland school with a disproportionate number of alumni active in environmental advocacy.
Kanan Beissert
Administrative Manager
Kanan Beissert was born and raised in Los Angeles County, where a continuous drought taught him the importance of preserving our planet’s most precious resource: water. Attending Environmental Charter High School sparked his passion for the natural world, and in 2018 he moved to Arcata to attend Humboldt State University. He was part of the first graduating class of Cal Poly Humboldt, earning a degree in Environmental Science & Management with an emphasis in Education & Interpretation in 2022. In his free time, Kanan loves to draw, take his dog hiking, and sprawl out on the shore of the Eel River.
Friends of the Eel River Board of Directors
Elaine Astrue
Board Member
Years served: 2019 – present
Elaine is a former technical writer in Silicon Valley, now retired and working part time as a bicycle and alternative transportation advocate. Elaine has experience in fundraising, community organizing, and organizational management.
Mike Belchick
Board Member, President
Years served: 2016 – present
Mike is a Senior Biologist with the Yurok Tribe Department of Fisheries. Mike has extensive experience working with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, most recently on Klamath Dams removal, as well as in fisheries biology, advocacy, Tribal relations and messaging.
Virginia Graziani
Board Member, Vice President
Years served: 2019 – present
Virginia is a former Board Member of the Redway California Community Services District from 1995 – 2011, and former Reporter for Redwood Times with a special interest in water issues and local government.
Drevet Hunt
Board Member
Years served: 2018 – present
Drevet is the Legal Director for California Coastkeeper Alliance. He has significant legal expertise relevant to both organizational management and environmental protection.
Mark Lovelace
Board Member, Treasurer
Years served: 2018 – present
Mark is the President for LPG Consulting, working with local governments to address regulatory challenges presented by the newly legalized cannabis industry. He is also a former Humboldt County Supervisor and his experience is extremely helpful in navigating the political landscape from an inside perspective.
Derek Shaw
Board Member
Years served: 2019 – present
Derek is a Philosophy PhD. and Lecturer at Cal Poly Humboldt. He has broad experience in environmental consulting and monitoring.
Some of our staff and allies after a great day defending the Eel River at the California Supreme Court
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Stronger Together
At Friends of the Eel River we are working to protect and recover the Wild and Scenic Eel River, its fisheries, and communities. To achieve this objective, we must approach our work with systemic equity. Because diversity is a core value for our organization, we strive to make our work inclusive by addressing the roots of white supremacy culture. This involves promoting diverse perspectives, fostering an inclusive environment among our leadership team, and increasing equity in activism by improving access to resources and information.
Specific Goals
- Improve diverse representation among our Board of Directors
- Work closely with Indigenous allies and support their projects
- Accept funding only from institutional sources with strong Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion values
- Invest in socially responsible banking and financial institutions
- Use our communication platforms to create space for perspectives that have been historically underrepresented
Resources
Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture
From Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups, by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, ChangeWork, 2001
Kimberle Crenshaw’s Ted Talk “The Urgency of Intersectionality”
October 2016
I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet.
Published June 3, 2020, by Dr. Ayana Johnson in the Washington Post.
Building an Anti-Racist Environmental Movement Must Start With Us
Published June 26, 2020 by the League of Conservation Voters
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources from EDUCAUSE
Indigenous Peoples of the Eel River Watershed
The Eel RIver is the ancestral and current home to a diversity of native people, including Wiyot, Lasik, Neonatal, Wailaki, Sinkyone, Cahto, Yuki, and others. Native people in the Eel were subject to brutal treatment and their populations decimated in the 19th and early 20th centuries, yet today many people are working hard toward cultural revitalization. There are several federally recognized Tribes, including the Round Valley Indian Tribes, which is a product of forced relocation of at least seven different groups of native people in part by way of the deadly Nome Cult Walk. Below is a list of recognized Tribal Nations:
Cahto Tribe of Laytonville Rancheria
Friends of the Eel River
2023 Annual Report
Advancing Eel River Dam Removal
In 2023 we made significant progress on advancing the most ecologically beneficial options for swift removal of PG&E’s two dams on the Eel River. We advocated for American Rivers to list the Eel as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® and used the listing to amplify our message that dam removal is an incredible restoration opportunity. Along with several key partners, we continued our Endangered Species Act litigation against both PG&E and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. These lawsuits have proven to be effective leverage in pushing both the utility and the agency to better manage the Potter Valley Project in an attempt to reduce adverse impacts on Eel River fisheries.
PG&E finally began taking dam safety at the Potter Valley Project seriously in March of 2023. Friends of the Eel River has long advocated for taking a closer look at the classified documents that conceal serious dam safety liability at the project. When PG&E received a comprehensive engineering analysis, ordered by the State Division of Safety of Dams, they immediately announced changes to the way Scott Dam is managed to limit the risk of dam failure.
In the spring we facilitated a popular presentation session at the annual Salmonid Restoration Federation conference called The Eel River: A River of Opportunities with Implications Beyond Its Basin. The session highlighted work that conservation groups and Tribes are doing to recover the Eel River, and why research and restoration done in the Eel impacts salmonid recovery across the state of California.
We led monthly meetings of our Free the Eel coalition, which includes a wide variety of regional and state-wide conservation organizations, Tribes, local municipalities, and fishing industry representatives. Our new website was launched in 2022 and continues to serve as an excellent resource for sharing the latest studies on all things dam removal. Our coalition solicited over 650 comments on PG&E’s initial draft license surrender application in the fall of 2023.
Addressing Impacts of Cannabis Cultivation
In the fall of 2023 we completed our grant program facilitated by Humboldt County with a total award of nearly $1.5 million, over a period of three years, to fund sediment reduction projects in high-priority watersheds. Roughly half of the grant funds were awarded to individuals and road associations; the remaining was awarded to the County public works department to complete previously identified priority projects. The grant program was established as part of a settlement agreement reached in 2019 over our lawsuit challenging the County’s inadequate environmental regulations for cannabis cultivation.
Protecting the Public Trust and Groundwater
Our public trust lawsuit against Humboldt County, filed in 2022, continued throughout 2023. We amassed evidence from highly qualified experts supporting the undesirable impacts of unregulated groundwater pumping on surface flows in the Lower Eel River. In the fall of 2023 we had a demurrer hearing in court. The County attempted to argue that our case was without merit, but (spoiler!) the judge ruled in our favor in early 2024, and our case proceeds.
Leading the Great Redwood Trail Friends Coalition
After successfully fighting off attempts of coal industry representatives from Utah to take over the Northwestern Pacific Rail right of way in 2022 we transitioned our “No Coal In Humboldt” coalition back into the “Great Redwood Trail Friends”. We facilitated a monthly meeting of the GRT Friends coalition, built a new website, and began addressing local trail issues.
We connected with the newly formed Kinest’e coalition, made up primarily of Wailaki people as well as other Indigenous communities, who are concerned about trail impacts on cultural sites. We participated in the Great Redwood Trail Agency’s Master Planning process, providing information about likely toxic sites that should be tested and remediated. And we launched a campaign to protect one of the few remaining public access points to the Van Duzen River and the future Great Redwood Trail.
In partnership with KEET-TV, we also hosted a family-friendly community event about the rail-trail project which included several presentations, fun and informational booths from community organizations, and the first formal opportunity for the Kinest’e coalition members to talk with Senator McGuire’s staff about their concerns. The trail is a wonderful opportunity to remediate past harms of the century-old railroad, give the next generation avenues to connect with the river, and hopefully open the door to Indigenous access to sacred sites long locked away on private property.
Keeping Water Where It Belongs in the River
In 2023 we launched a new program addressing water quantity and quality, primarily by engaging in the appropriative water rights application process. We issued protests on four water rights applications in the Eel, identifying some egregious misuse of water and helping to improve some well-intentioned projects. So far one protest has been resolved, resulting in a 12-acre-foot reduction of total water diverted. In this program we have also begun evaluating options for seeking designations for subterranean streams and a fully appropriated status for the Eel.
Friends of the Eel River
Past Annual Reports
Contact Us
Membership forms and other printed material may be mailed to:
Friends of the Eel River
PO Box 4945
Arcata, CA 95518
Email: foer(at)eelriver.org
Phone: (707) 798-6345
Please complete the form below and someone will respond to you shortly.