Dear Friends, Can you believe we are preparing to celebrate 30 years of protecting the Eel River? Many of you have been with us since the beginning, for which we are incredibly grateful. Some of you may have participated in Friends of the Eel River’s very first meeting in late 1994, our initial actions intervening … Read more
PG&E announced on Friday, May 31 late last week that it will request a 7-month extension from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in decommissioning the Eel River dams. Stakeholders were expecting the utility to file its Draft Surrender Application plan with FERC this month, with a final version due in January 2025. PG&E now … Read more
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
Tune into this recording from the KMUD Environment Show hosted by Tom Wheeler to hear our Executive Director Alicia Hamann discuss our most pressing initiatives at Friends of the Eel River: dam removal on the Eel River, protecting the public’s interest in groundwater, and planning for the Great Redwood Trail. This show aired live 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
PG&E has released their initial draft decommissioning plan for the Potter Valley Project. The plan calls for removal of both Scott and Cape Horn Dams, and provides a few options for consideration by stakeholders. This initial draft does not include environmental review, proposed license surrender conditions, or a conceptual restoration plan; those will come with … Read more
PG&E PLANS TO REMOVE EEL RIVER DAMS IN 2028 Draft Surrender and Decommissioning Plan Offers Two Paths to Freeing the Eel – Soon to be California’s Longest Free-Flowing River Eureka, CA – For well over a century, Eel River dams have blocked salmon access to hundreds of miles of cold water habitat in the Upper … 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
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