Tune into this clip from Episode 8 of “Unmanageable with Alicia Bales” to hear Friends of the Eel River Conservation Director Scott Greacen break down dam removal at the Potter Valley Project and what a diversion means in the eyes of California water law. This show aired live on April 7, 2024. To listen … Read more
The Potter Valley Project, which blocks access to pristine, cold water spawning habitat for Eel River salmonids, is no longer a functioning hydroelectric project. PG&E has announced plans to remove both Scott and Cape Horn dams as soon as possible. Until Scott Dam is removed, management of the Potter Valley Project must focus primarily on … Read more
We’re encouraged by the progress we are making toward Eel River dam removal. PG&E seems eager to rid themselves of this liability-ridden project. It’s our job to make sure dam removal comes in time to save the Eel’s native fish. With your support, Friends of the Eel River will keep the pressure on PG&E and … Read more
On this week’s episode of the EcoNews Report we reflect on the tragic dam failure in Libya last month and discuss why Scott Dam on the Eel River poses similar risks. The PG&E owned dam sits right on a significant fault line, the Bartlett Spring Fault. Between its unusual engineering and a century’s worth of … Read more
PG&E TELLS FERC “SEISMIC RISK OF EEL RIVER DAMS GREATER THAN PREVIOUSLY UNDERSTOOD” -FERC Approves Changes to Dam Operations to Mitigate Earthquake Risks -Four Months After Request, Approval Comes Too Late to Stop Fish Kill Washington, DC – Yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted a request for a Temporary Variance to the flow requirements … Read more
One way to address the harms of the dams is to preserve a pool of cold water in the Lake Pillsbury Reservoir. The goal is to ensure that flow releases downstream from the dams remain cool enough to support the juvenile steelhead who spend a year or more in freshwater before migrating to the ocean. … Read more
Sonoma’s Eel River Diversion Plan Risks Extinction of Humboldt Fisheries Plan Would Delay PG&E Removal of Eel River Dams Eureka, CA – Yesterday, a group led by Sonoma Water proposed a new plan to maintain diversion of Eel River Water to the Russian. Humboldt County fishermen, Tribes, and conservation groups were blindsided by the proposal. … Read more
On this week’s edition of the EcoNews Report, host Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River is joined by three fisheries experts to talk about how we count fish in the Eel River. Tune in to hear from Wyatt Smith from the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Dave Kajtaniak from the Department of Fish … Read more
The Eel River once flowed unobstructed from its headwaters in Mendocino County to the Pacific Ocean, supporting the third largest salmon and steelhead runs in California. Over a million fish historically spawned each year within the Eel River watershed (Source: Yoshiyama & Moyle, 2010). All that has changed over the past century, with the effects … Read more
Friends of the Eel River Notifies Humboldt County of Intent to Sue Conservation group demands Humboldt County protect fisheries and other public trust values in the lower Eel River Friends of the Eel River, a Eureka-based citizens’ group dedicated to protecting and restoring Eel River fisheries, has sent a formal letter to Humboldt County demanding … Read more