Eel River Resources
California Data Exchange Center
A data set of flows and reservoir storage levels from gauges on the Eel River.
The California Data Exchange Center (CDEC) installs, maintains, and operates an extensive hydrologic data collection network.
California Department of Fish & Wildlife
Visit CDFW’s website for access to educational resources, to learn about local fishing regulations, to discover resources on habitat conservation and much more!
California Salmon Snapshots
The Nature Conservancy’s extensive website for California Salmon.
The Nature Conservancy’s California Salmon Snapshots is a collaborative information-sharing effort, critical to the ongoing recovery of the state’s salmon species. For the first time ever, population data from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife and others are compiled to show the number of salmon in our coastal California watersheds.
California Water Atlas
An interactive map of water rights held in California.
A water right is a granted permission to withdraw water from a river, stream, or groundwater source for a “reasonable” and “beneficial” use.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, is an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. FERC also reviews proposals to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and interstate natural gas pipelines as well as licensing hydropower projects.
Eel River Forum
The Eel River Forum, facilitated by CalTrout, is a coalition of public agencies, tribes, conservation partners, and other stakeholders with interest in or responsibility for the environmental stewardship of the Eel River.
Humboldt Fish
This website provides information on fishing regulations, charters, guides, where to eat seafood, fishing reports, and much more!
National Marine Fisheries Service
NOAA Fisheries is responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s ocean resources and their habitat.
Native Land Map
The Native Land Map is produced by Canadian non-profit Native Lands Digital. They strive to map Indigenous lands in a way that changes, challenges, and improves the way people see history and the present day.
Streamer
Streamer is a new way to visualize and understand water flow across America. With this interactive stream map you can explore our major streams by tracing upstream to their source or downstream to where they empty. In addition to making maps, Streamer creates reports about your stream traces and the places they pass through.
United States Geological Survey: National Water Information System
The link below directs to a data set for ten sites on the Eel River.
The USGS investigates the occurrence, quantity, quality, distribution, and movement of surface and underground waters and disseminates the data to the public, State and local governments, public and private utilities, and other Federal agencies involved with managing our water resources.
River Network’s latest version of the Clean Water Act Owner’s Manual
The Manual is a transformational tool that has galvanized local groups, grassroots advocates, and diverse stakeholders to protect their local waters for over two decades. It provides a real roadmap for how the Act works and how people can apply it and make it work in their communities for cleaner water and healthy communities and is now updated to reflect changes to the Act, and highlights its intersections with environmental justice, climate change, and other longstanding challenges.
Eco News Report
The EcoNews Report is a weekly radio show and podcast hosted by Friends of the Eel River, the Environmental Protection Information Center, Humboldt Waterkeeper, and the Northcoast Environmental Center. Tune in to KHUM (104.7 or 104.3) Saturdays at 10am, or click below to subscribe to the podcast.
Great Redwood Trail Ribbon Cutting
Last month our staff attended a ribbon cutting in Ukiah for the first officially branded portion of the Great Redwood Trail. We are so thankful to Senator McGuire and his staff for their work establishing a future for this trail. As the Senator said at the ribbon...
Data Suggests Broad Decline Among Regional Bird Populations
"Data suggests that 2/3 of regional bird species are in decline, 1/3 of those are double digit declines" Friends of the Eel River's Conservation Director Scott Greacen hosts a discussion with Ken Burton, author of Common Birds of Northwest California and A Birding...
A New Hope for an Ancestral River
“Many people know that the river’s name is the Eel River right now, but the original name is Wiyot, that’s what we originated our name from and that is our ancestral river.” Ted Hernandez, Tribal Chair and Cultural Director for the Wiyot Tribe. Friends of the...
Talking About the Bigger Picture of California’s Legal Cannabis Industry
Are prohibitionary cities and counties unintentionally sanctioning the illegal cannabis market? Friends of the Eel River's Conservation Director Scott Greacen discusses this question with HDL's Cannabis Policy Advisor Mark Lovelace. Tune in to hear about California's...
“Bi-partisan” Action at the Expense of California Salmon
What is the WIIN Act, and why are congressional representatives from California pushing to extend it 5 years before it expires? Friends of the Eel River’s Conservation Director Scott Greacen explores these questions and more with guests John McManus and Regina...
Econews Report: Is Policy Before Science the New Norm in Water Regulations?
Tune in for a discussion of how federal agencies are protecting fish, or rather failing to do so. Scott Greacen, Conservation Director for Friends of the Eel River is joined by Chris Shutes, FERC projects director and water rights advocate for California...
Econews Report: Governor Brown Signed the Great Redwood Trail Bill!
Tune in to hear Scott Greacen, FOER's Conservation Director and Humboldt County's 3rd District Supervisor Mike Wilson discuss SB 1029. Formerly known as the Great Redwood Trail Act, SB 1029 shifts the North Coast Railroad Authority's mandate from developing rail...
Econews Report: In Landmark Decision California Court Finds Public Trust Doctrine Applies to Groundwater
“It feels like law has yet to absorb the lessons of science.” Friends of the Eel River’s Conservation Director Scott Greacen is joined by Glen Spain from Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations for a discussion about one of the most consequential public...
Econews Report: Huffman’s NW California Wilderness Bill is Special!
"Many of us have been fighting for these [wilderness protections] since the whole concept of wilderness was created in the first place." Scott Greacen, Friends of the Eel River Conservation Director discusses Congressman Huffman's recently introduced wilderness bill...
You can see Friends of the Eel River staff in these full-length films:
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These are a selection of studies related to Friends of the Eel River’s work protecting the Eel River and its fisheries.
Physical and Biological Constraints on the Capacity for Life-History Expression of Anadromous Salmonids: An Eel River, California, Case Study
December 4, 2021
This paper from the National Marine Fisheries Service confirms previous research and traditional ecological knowledge that the upper Eel River behind Scott Dam includes some of the best salmon and steelhead habitats in the entire watershed. To quote the paper, “the blocked Upper Mainstem generally contains a higher proportion of suitable habitat for all freshwater salmonid life stages than much of the rest of the Eel River Basin.”
On the Ecology and Distribution of Steelhead in California's Eel River
October, 2020
Samantha H. Kannry, Seam M. O’Rourke, Suzanne J. Kelson, and Michael R. Miller
This paper investigates life-history variance in Eel River steelhead using genetic sequencing on thousands of individuals to genotype the region diagnostic for run-timing and anadromy. Results indicate the potential for recovery of the Eel’s upper basin summer steelhead, as resident trout trapped behind Scott Dam still maintain the alleles for anadromy and early run timing.
Salmonid Habitat and Population Capacity Estimates for Steelhead Trout and Chinook Salmon Upstream of Scott Dam in the Eel River, California
April 22, 2020
This research by masters student Emily Cooper from Humboldt State University estimated salmonid habitat capacity upstream from Scott Dam. The study concluded that removing Scott Dam will make available an additional 463 km (287 miles) of steelhead spawning habitat.
Miller Pacific Dam Safety Study
September 6, 2018
This study, prepared by Miller Pacific Engineering Group is a summary of slope stability analyses for the landslide adjacent to Scott Dam’s left/southern abatement.
The study concludes that the large landscape complex that is adjacent to the left abutment is a geologic hazard to the dam that needs to be investigated further and ultimately recommends that PG&E have a more detailed analysis conducted on the landslide’s potential effects on the dam, including soil pressure and seismic displacements.
Feasibility Evaluation for Replacing Potter Valley Hydropower with Solar Energy
February 2017
This study was conducted by John Rosenblum, PhD. He concluded that replacing the hydropower facility with 3 acres of solar panels would increase energy generation.
Dr. Rosenblum also noted that hydropower is extremely variable, and that output is often at zero in winter when solar output would also be low. Given that the Potter Valley Project is operated to divert water out of the watershed, energy generation is highest in the summer (when irrigation needs are highest) and could easily be replaced by solar PV.
Blockwater Investigation
August 5, 2016
This study was conducted by Dr. Alison O’Dowd and Dr. William Trush, co-directors of Cal Poly Humboldt’s River Institute.
O’Dowd and Trush compared flow conditions impaired with dams with flow conditions that were unimpaired in the Mainstem Eel River to figure out how the flows could be managed to optimize the habitat of juvenile salmonids during the spring hydrographic recession limb.
Click here to read the report.
The Eel River Action Plan
May 2016
This report was prepared for the Eel River Forum by the Eel River Forum members and consists of information regarding salmonids and recommended actions for the recovery of salmonids.
The report also provides summary descriptions of issues the Eel River Forum has identified as primary factors impairing salmonid recovery and the Eel River’s ecological health.
Long-Term Streamflow and Precipitation Trends in the Eel River Basin
2015
This study was conducted by Eli Asarian of Riverbend Sciences on behalf of Friends of the Eel River.
This study analyzes long-term trends in streamflow, precipitation, and precipitation-adjusted streamflow in the Eel River Basin.
Impacts of Surface Water Diversions for Marijuana Cultivation on Aquatic Habitat in Four Northwestern California Watersheds
March 18, 2015
This study was prepared by CDFW and evaluates the environmental impacts of water diversions for cannabis cultivation. It indicates that water demand for the cultivation has the potential to divert significant portions of streamflow and that decreased streamflow is likely to have lethal effects on salmon and steelhead trout species that have state and federal listings as well as a negative impact on vulnerable amphibian species.
Letter from Southwick Associates Fish and Wildlife Economics and Statistics
August 9, 2012
This summary prepared for the Golden Gate Salmon Association estimates the value of a restored commercial and recreational salmon fishery in California.
Pacific Lamprey in the Eel River Basin: A Summary of Current Information and Identification of Research Needs
September 2010
This summary was prepared for the Wiyot Tribe by Stillwater Sciences and provides current information regarding Pacific Lamprey as well as research needs related to the species.
Historical Review of Eel River Anadromous Salmonids, with Emphasis on Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon and Steelhead
February 1, 2010
This report was commissioned by California Trout and written by Ronald M. Yoshiyama and Peter B. Moyle at the University of California Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.
The authors conclude that Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead in the Eel River Basin are advancing toward extinction. The report includes recovery recommendations which include watershed-wide restoration programs, evaluation of the Potter Valley Project, pikeminnow population control, special protections for summer steelhead, and more.
Salmon, Steelhead, and Trout in California
2008
This report from the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis describes California salmon, steelhead, and trout species. It includes essential steps to recovering California’s salmonids including implementing ecologically sustainable flows, reducing the migratory barriers to adults and juveniles, restoring watersheds, reducing human impacts on the landscape, and reducing competition from non-native salmonids.
Economic Benefits to Mendocino & Lake Counties from Removing the Dams on the Eel River
Fall 2004
This report was prepared by the Center for Environmental Economic Development (CEED) on behalf of Friends of the Eel River. It outlines potential benefits to Mendocino and Lake Counties that could result from Eel River dam removal.
The report concludes that the removal of the Potter Valley Project would benefit the Eel River fish, the fisheries, and both Lake and Mendocino Counties economies by creating jobs in deconstruction and increasing nature tourism.
A River in the Balance
Summer 2002
This report was prepared by the Center for Environmental Economic Development (CEED) on behalf of Friends of the Eel River.
The report’s conclusion states that there is no longer any economic need for the Potter Valley Project and emphasizes the need for restoring the Eel River’s natural flows and reducing human environmental impact.
Click here to read the Executive Summary.
Click here to read the entire report.
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.