Action Alerts
Lend your voice to protect the Wild and Scenic Eel River. Engage in direct action and secure a future for our watershed.
Subscribe to FERC’s updates for the Potter Valley Project, Docket #P-77
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Read FOER Comments & Advocacy Letters
Help Protect Public Access to the Van Duzen River and Future Great Redwood Trail
Have you or someone you known been around Humboldt County since the 1970s? If so, perhaps you can help protect public access to the Van Duzen river and the future Carlotta Spur of the Great Redwood Trail.
The Great Redwood Trail Friends Coalition is currently investigating historical public use of Fisher Road in Carlotta to access the Van Duzen River. To help establish prescriptive rights, we need to collect evidence of public use of this public access point prior to March 4, 1972.
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Submit Comments on PG&E’s Initial Draft Decommissioning Plan
PG&E has released its initial draft decommissioning plan for the Potter Valley Project. The plan calls for the removal of both Scott and Cape Horn Dams and provides a few options for consideration by stakeholders.
This presents an opportunity for members of the public to submit comments about PG&E’s plan. Comments are due by December 22, 2023.
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Click here for details and suggested talking points for writing your own comments.
Keep PG&E Accountable for Eel River Dam Removal
PG&E has requested authorization from both the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to transfer all of their non-nuclear generation assets to a newly formed subsidiary called Pacific Generation.
Several of the hydropower assets that PG&E seeks to transfer are in the midst of license surrender and decommissioning processes, including the Potter Valley Project. This seems a blatant attempt to reduce the company’s liability for neglected aging infrastructure and is not in the public’s best interest.
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Click here for more information and instructions for submitting comments to FERC.
Click to enlarge image
Help Preserve Pubic Trail and River Access
On November 8th Public Works brought a “Resolution to Summarily Vacate a Portion of Fisher Road (4G070) South of State Highway 36 in Hydesville” before the Board of Supervisors. This 0.8-mile section of road is located on one ranch and the property owners would like this section converted to a private road that will remove public access. Currently, people use this section of road for walking, biking, and historically as fishing access.
Click here to download and personalize our sample letter and send to the Board of Supervisors asking them not to vacate this section of road while the planning process for the GRT is going on.
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Ask FERC to Initiate License Surrender for Eel River Dams
The Two Basin Partnership reported to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that they will not submit an application to relicense the Potter Valley Project and its two dams on the upper Eel River. Project owner Pacific Gas and Electric withdrew its own relicensing application in 2019. FERC must now order PG&E to begin license surrender and decommissioning processes.
Unfortunately, FERC’s decision-making can take decades. The Eel’s native fish don’t have that kind of time to spare. But there is hope! The habitat trapped behind Scott dam is some of the best in the entire watershed, and those hundreds of miles of habitat could serve as cool-water refugia when juvenile salmon need it most.
Please join us in speaking up for Eel River fish, and all those who rely on their presence in the watershed.
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Click here to write to FERC and urge the Committee to Initiate License Surrender for Eel River Dams.
Ask Humboldt County to say NO to Coal!
The Humboldt County Supervisors will be considering a resolution opposing the storage and handling of coal at their meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, October 5th. Please join us in supporting their resolution and encouraging them to show support for the Great Redwood Trail by coordinating with the North Coast Railroad Authority to support railbanking.
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Click here for more information and suggested talking points.
Say NO to Coal in Your Community!
Coal interests are moving to seize the North Coast Railroad Authority’s rail line in a scheme to ship coal to Asia out of Humboldt Bay. Such an operation would present profound threats to public health and to North Coast ecosystems, especially Humboldt Bay and the Eel River. Nor can the Earth’s atmosphere absorb the carbon from burning that coal without further catastrophic impacts, from the drought and wildfires we see around us to the sea level rise that will soon drown what remains of the rail line.
Friends of the Eel River, Humboldt Baykeeper, Environmental Protection Information Center: EPIC, the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, Northcoast Environmental Center, and the Humboldt Trails Council will do everything in our power to prevent the nightmare of a coal train from coming true.
Please join us in demanding our local, state, and national representatives use every possible means to stop the coal train.
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Click here to learn more about what you can do to speak out against coal in your community!
Take action to help us protect Northern California summer steelhead and Klamath Spring chinook
The California Fish and Game Commission plans to vote on our petition to list Northern California summer steelhead (as well as a similar petition by the Karuk Tribe to list Klamath spring chinook) under the California Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, we have reason to believe the Commission may follow the lead of the National Marine Fisheries Service and deny our petition, which is why we need you to take action this week and let them know how important it is to protect this unique life history of steelhead. Email your comments to fgc@fgc.ca.gov by Friday, June 11th or join the meeting virtually on Wednesday, June 16th and give up to three minutes of comments on the agenda item.
Please take a few minutes today to write to the members of the Fish and Game Commission.
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Support the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act
The Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act, introduced by Congressman Jared Huffman and Vice President Kamala Harris back in 2018, will protect wild public lands and rivers, expand recreational opportunities, improve fire risk management, benefit local economies, and even address trespass cannabis growing. We strongly support the many years of work that our elected officials and countless others have put into making this legislation a reality.
Join us in contacting Senator Padilla to support the act and thank Congressman Huffman for his dedication to public lands.
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Click here for more information on how to contact Senator Padilla and Congressman Huffman.
Submit Comments on Scoping Document 3
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) just issued Scoping Document 3, a first step toward preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement which will evaluate a potential license based on the Feasibility Study Report that the Two Basin Partnership submitted in May. Whew, that’s a mouthful. The simple version is that we have yet another opportunity to remind FERC how important it is to remove Scott Dam from the Eel River as soon as possible.
Help us remind FERC how important it is to remove Scott Dam as soon as possible.
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Click here for more information and instructions on submitting comments to FERC online.
Submit Comments on Feasibility Study Report Filing to FERC
Removal of Scott Dam is the most important thing we can do to give imperiled Eel River salmon and steelhead the chance to recover. You can help make Scott Dam removal a reality by writing your own brief comments today to help FERC staff, other stakeholders, and political leaders understand how important it is to remove Scott Dam as soon as possible. We owe it to Eel River steelhead and salmon to give them the chance to find their way home and recover their natural abundance.
Help us encourage FERC staff, other stakeholders, and political leaders to understand how important it is to remove Scott Dam as soon as possible.
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Click here for more information and instructions on submitting comments to FERC online.
Ask Governor Newsom to Hold PG&E Accountable
Governor Newsom is working to hold PG&E accountable for needed safety improvements on their other infrastructure. He is in a position to mandate that PG&E take financial responsibility for the liability of dam removal on the Eel River. We believe it is unfair to place the burden of these cleanup costs on the public. So, please join us in asking Governor Newsom to ensure that any resolution of PG&E’s bankruptcy addresses the utility’s liabilities for the two dams on the upper Eel River.
Help us encourage Governor Newsom to hold PG&E accountable for the Eel River dams.
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Click here for more information and instructions on contacting Governor Newsom.
Comment on Humboldt Wind Energy Project FEIR, Attend Planning Commission Hearings
Friends of the Eel River believe that renewable energy development is a critical step in addressing our climate crisis. The proposed Terra-Gen wind project needs to be adequately mitigated for its potential harm to wildlife, sediment pollution from the transmission corridor, and increased fire risk posed by the gen-tie line. Please join us in submitting comments and attending the planning commission hearings to request additional conditions.
Help us ensure that alternative energy development is thoughtful and safe for our ecosystem.
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Click here to learn more about our position, upcoming public hearings, and how to submit comments.
Comment on Humboldt Wind Energy Project DEIR
The energy company Terra-Gen (DBA Humboldt Wind LLC) is proposing a wind energy development on Bear and Monument ridges. The Humboldt Wind Energy Project would include approximately 60 600 foot tall towers, 17 miles of new road, support facilities, and a 30+ mile transmission line on an approximately 2,218 acre footprint. Some of our concerns include transmission line impacts, directional drilling under the Eel river, and impacts to birds and bats.
Help us ensure that alternative energy development is thoughtful and safe for our ecosystem.
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Click here to send comments to Humboldt County by June 14th.
Help Stop the Attack on Rails to Trails
For decades now, the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) has failed both to restore rail service the North Coast evidently doesn’t need and to protect the Eel River and its fisheries from the impacts of the failed rail line through the fragile Eel River canyon. Senator Mike McGuire’s Great Redwood Trail Act (SB 1029) will dissolve the NCRA and prioritize trail development along the rail right of way. (Click here for more details). SB 1029 sailed through the Senate this spring and is widely supported in Humboldt County.
Help us encourage Governor Brown to support the Great Redwood Trail Act.
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Click here for talking points and Governor Brown’s contact information
Encourage Governor Brown to Sign the Great Redwood Trail Act (SB 1029)
For decades now, the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) has failed both to restore rail service the North Coast evidently doesn’t need and to protect the Eel River and its fisheries from the impacts of the failed rail line through the fragile Eel River canyon. Senator Mike McGuire’s Great Redwood Trail Act (SB 1029) will dissolve the NCRA and prioritize trail development along the rail right of way. (Click here for more details). SB 1029 sailed through the Senate this spring and is widely supported in Humboldt County.
Help us encourage Governor Brown to support the Great Redwood Trail Act.
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Click here for talking points and Governor Brown’s contact information
Demand Effective Regulation of Commercial Cannabis Cultivation in Humboldt County
To protect the North Coast’s waters and fish, we need to raise our voices to demand Humboldt County effectively regulate its cannabis industry. Please join us on Monday, March 19 at 9:00 am at the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting to give brief public testimony before the Board acts to ratify its deeply flawed proposed cannabis cultivation ordinance. It’s time for the County to take responsibility for righting the wrongs of the illicit weed industry it has enabled. It’s a new day for cannabis in California, and the old black market model is no longer viable.
Help us demand informed analysis and effective regulation for our watershed!
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Click here for talking points and more information about the meeting on March 19
Scoping Comments on Eel River Dams
We need members of the public to join us in submitting comments to FERC by August 4 that call for two main things. Firstly, for FERC to reissue their scoping notice for this project and include project decommissioning and removal as an alternative for detailed study in the Environmental Impact Study. Secondly, we need members of the public to demand transparency of dam safety materials.
Please help us remove dams on the Eel River!
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Click here to learn more and submit comments by August 4
Eel River Valley Groundwater
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) established a process for local agencies to develop an Alternative in lieu of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan.
Humboldt County submitted an “Alternative”. They claim that the lower Eel River groundwater basin has operated within sustainable yield for the past 10 years. Given the low flows and other issues like salt water intrusion in the lower Eel valley, we do not agree.
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Learn more about SGMA
Humboldt County’s SGMA Alternative
Comments accepted here until April 1 2017
BLM’s NW California Resource Management Plan
The Bureau of Land Management is updating its Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan, the purpose of which is to make land use decisions to guide the management of BLM lands within the planning area. The plan needs to needs to address current planning issues and resource conditions. Managers should use up-to-date information and incorporate present-day policies and direction.
In our comments we encourage protecting wild lands from human impacts; restoring native species, functional wildlife habitat, and ecological processes; and connecting the public to the landscape with sustainable recreation opportunities.
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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.