PG&E’s decision to decommission the Potter Valley Project, the antiquated hydroelectric facility that operates Scott and Cape Horn Dams on the main stem of the Eel River, has created an enormous opportunity to restore a great wild salmonid river, enrich habitat not only for fish but also for many other wildlife species, generate exciting recreational opportunities, and support the Native people who have lived in harmony with this land since time immemorial. These dams are well past the end of their useful life, and with no solvent entity willing to assume responsibility for their maintenance, removal is inevitable. The big question is whether it will come in time to prevent populations of salmon and steelhead from disappearing forever.
Several recent events have made the need for effective action even more urgent. First, although it has been known for a long time that the unstable Bartlett Springs Fault runs through the middle of the Lake Pillsbury Reservoir, late in March PG&E admitted that seismic risks are so severe that they intend to keep the supplementary gates on Scott Dam open permanently -- a decision that reduces the capacity of the reservoir by 20,000 acre feet, and also reduces the amount of water available for diversion to the Russian River.
Then, early in April, plunging fish populations led regulators to cancel both the commercial and recreational salmon seasons off the whole California coast. The Eel, which once supported an estimated annual run of more than a million salmon and steelhead, now sees something between one and three percent of their historic numbers.
To underline the gravity of this situation, on April 18 the river advocacy nonprofit American Rivers listed the Eel as one of the 10 most endangered rivers in the United States, putting it in the company of the Colorado River, grievously impaired by many years of overconsumption, outdated management rules, and now climate change, and the Ohio River, at risk from toxic pollution from both agriculture and heavy industry.
The message is clear: it’s time to stop the delaying tactics and take decisive action before it's too late.
by Victoria Brandon
Chapter Chair