Restoring the Eel Must Be Done Right

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

Comments on the Great Redwood Trail Draft Master Plan

An old wooden rail structure crosses over a winding stream and cuts into a green hill full of trees.

FOER worked hard to provide detailed comments on the Great Redwood Trail Agency’s (GRTA) nearly 600-page Draft Master Plan for the Great Redwood Trail. In addition to the comments linked below, we submitted location-specific comments using the GRTA’s pdf commenting application focused on locations to expand equitable river access, camping or access sites popular with … Read more

Scoping Comments on the Great Redwood Trail PEIR

Abandoned rail cars on the shore of the river.

  Whenever a state agency begins a new development project, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires agencies to evaluate and disclose to the public the potential environmental impacts of the proposed project. This evaluation of impacts usually comes in the form of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). These reports are an important part of … Read more

Great Opportunities and Challenges for the Great Redwood Trail: EcoNews Report #234

A kayaker paddles in a murky river next to an abandoned rail car. Eco News Report Saturdays at 10 A.M. on K HUM 104 point 7 or on your podcast app.

 This week on the EcoNews Report, our host Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River discusses the opportunities and challenges presented by the Great Redwood Trail. The project, proposed to be the longest rail-trail in the nation, is the state’s opportunity to fulfill their responsibility to remediate the environmental harms caused by the … Read more

Help Protect Public Access to the Van Duzen River and Future Great Redwood Trail

Have you or someone you known been around Humboldt County since the 1970s? If so, perhaps you can help protect public access to the Van Duzen river and the future Carlotta Spur of the Great Redwood Trail. The Great Redwood Trail Friends coalition is currently investigating historical public use of Fisher Road in Carlotta to … Read more

KMUD Environment Show: Dam Removal, Groundwater, and the Great Redwood Trail

An old railroad track stretching dangerously over open air along a hillside. The KMUD Redwood Community Radio logo is featured next to the text, "Tom Wheeler and Alicia Hamann talk dam removal, groundwater, and the Great Redwood Trail."

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

Letter to the Great Redwood Trail Board in Support of Indigenous Communities

March 26, 2024 Dear Chair Hart and Board Members, Friends of the Eel River (FOER) and allied organizations support the Great Redwood Trail and have a deep and long- standing interest in remediating the environmental mayhem left by the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. As you may remember, federal regulators closed the rail line in 1998. FOER … Read more

Declining Access to Public Spaces

River access at Fisher Road is currently blocked

 On this week’s episode of the EcoNews Report, host Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River is joined by long-time Eureka resident and fisherman Steve Rosenberg and Humboldt Trails Council’s Advisory Chair Karen Underwood. Alicia and her guests reflect on the history of losing public access to rivers and wild spaces, and discuss modern efforts underway to protect … Read more

Save the Date: Eel River Dams Out in 2028!

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