Why the Eel River Disappeared and What It Means for Fish

A YouTube video posted yesterday to SFGate.com claimed that the Eel has stopped flowing altogether, which is not strictly accurate. The video above, which was shot this morning, shows that the Eel simply goes underground for a stretch, running beneath the surface of the gravel riverbed before reemerging about 100-200 yards north. Regardless, this is … Read more

Setting Rivers Free: As Dams Are Torn Down, Nature is Quickly Recovering

BENTON FALLS, MAINE — “Look underneath you,” commands Nate Gray, a burly biologist for the state of Maine. He reaches down to the grate floor of a steel cage perched on a dam straddling the Sebasticook River, and pulls back a board revealing the roiling river 30 feet below. “All you see is fish.” Below, undulating in … Read more

Court Ruling Restores Right to Limit Russian River Water Use

A state appeals court has restored the authority of California water regulators to direct reductions in cold-weather sprays by grape growers and other waterfront farmers along the Russian River that have led to deaths of endangered species of salmon. A Mendocino County judge previously ruled that the state Water Resources Control Board lacked authority to … Read more

Feds Clear PG&E to Cut Flows for Eel River Fish

By: Scott Greacen Originally published by Econews, February 2014 See detailed timeline of correspondence and media coverage. Utility cites risk of sediment collapse; drained reservoir may run dry. A few people in the Russian River watershed still have a greater claim to the Eel’s water than do the river’s own salmon.  After draining its reservoir … Read more

Growers of Thirsty Pot are Under Fire in Drought-Struck California

In drought-hit California, marijuana growers are feeling the heat, accused of using too much water for their thirsty plants and of polluting streams and rivers with their pesticides and fertilizers. … Nevedal and other pot backers said the ultimate solution was for Congress to fully legalize the drug, which she said would eliminate the need … Read more

Sciences and Spirit can Save Rivers and Fish, Speakers Declare at FOER Symposium

Sustaining our ecosystem is like paddling a canoe, Strange, a former river guide, pointed out. “You have to know what happened upstream and where the rapids are, and you have to paddle together, stay balanced, and respect the river.” “Nothing is more scary and sensitive to landowners than questions about their water use,” said Stolzman. … Read more

Drought Resources

Learn more about our current drought, its historic and scientific context, the impact on our environment, and how state and federal policymakers are handling the situation. Drought History Graphic reprinted from the North Coast Journal  California Drought: 17 Communities Could Run Out of Water Within 60 to 120 Days, State Says Paul Rogers, San Jose … Read more

Saving These Rare Orcas? Protect Their Favorite Haunts

New research shows that this whale [“southern resident” orcas]  population — divvied up into three lively pods — loves to travel, especially in the winter. Last year scientists found that, over the course of just a few months, they cruised from Cape Flattery, at the far northwestern tip of Washington, down along the Oregon Coast … Read more