ESTUARY AND THE LOWER RIVER
Enhancing the Estuary and Lower River
The Eel estuary is the third largest coastal wetland in California, spread over roughly 10,000 acres. Reconnecting and restoring estuary habitat can provide needed rearing habitat which is vital to ensuring that juvenile salmonids are large and healthy when they enter salt water. Our goal aims to improve habitat, flows, and connectivity in the lower river to support these migrating native fish.
The Eel estuary has been diked and manipulated for over a century, but there is incredible potential to reclaim former marsh land as landowners retreat from agricultural lands increasingly prone to flooding and salt water incursion. Our work is focused on implementing effective groundwater management and preparing for climate change and sea level rise.
Groundwater Management
Public Trust Litigation
Connecting habitat
Groundwater Management
A groundbreaking legal decision in 2018 determined that the public trust doctrine does apply to groundwater, and that SGMA compliance does not nullify public trust obligations. Click here to read about the case, ELF v. State Water Resources Control Board and click here to listen to a podcast episode about the decision and its implications.
Public Trust Litigation
Under California law, the Public Trust doctrine establishes that the waters and wildlife of the state belong to the people, and that the state and its subdivisions, including counties, serve as trustees of those resources for the people.
Where public trust values may be affected, especially in the planning and allocation of water resources, the State and the County have an affirmative duty to consider those effects, and to avoid or minimize harm to public trust uses wherever feasible.
Keep Us On The Fast Track to Dam Removal
Dear Friends, For the last several years, I’ve been optimistically sharing that if everything fell perfectly into place, the Eel River Dams could be...
A River of Opportunity
The Eel is a river of opportunity. Seizing these opportunities can have impacts far beyond our watershed. When you support Friends of the Eel River,...
Friends of the Eel River Sues to Protect Public Trust Flows In The Lower Eel River
Salmon and steelhead among species affected when groundwater pumping causes drawdown of connected surface flows. Friends of the Eel River (FOER) has...
Friends of the Eel River Notifies Humboldt County of Intent to Sue
Friends of the Eel River Notifies Humboldt County of Intent to Sue Conservation group demands Humboldt County protect fisheries and other public...
Connecting Habitat
The Eel River estuary presents opportunities for modeling a proactive approach to adapting to sea level rise. Sea level rise in Humboldt Bay and the Eel River Estuary is among the fastest on the west coast of North America. Tectonic activity causes the land to sink and the mountains of the Lost Coast to rise quickly. While we work to open access to spawning grounds in the headwaters of the Eel, it’s also important to connect and enhance habitat in the estuary so all those juvenile salmonids have a safe and productive place to grow.
A wide range of entities have restoration projects on-going in the estuary including the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District, California Trout, Duck Unlimited, The Wiyot Tribe, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and more. And yet, we need more! The region needs a comprehensive Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment. But importantly, our community needs to acknowledge that informed by modern science, and facing the impacts of climate change, we cannot simply cannot manage natural resources in the same way we did 150 years ago.
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.