Conservation group names Eel River among 10 most endangered rivers in America

The Eel River is now one of the 10 most endangered rivers in the United States, according to an annual report released Tuesday by America’s Most Endangered Rivers.

The 50-year-old conservation group each year spotlights American waterways that are suffering but where key impending decisions could improve their fate.

The Colorado River/Grand Canyon placed first on the list, which includes rivers from Alaska to Florida, Pennsylvania to New Mexico, that are imperiled because of dams, mining, pulp mill pollution, climate change, dredging or some combination.

The Eel River is now sixth, facing an uncertain future dependent largely on the fate of two “obsolete” dams that have cut off access to the cool, high elevation waters of the upper Eel to native fish species like chinook salmon, steelhead trout and Pacific lamprey. All three species are struggling, and two are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

At nearly 200 miles long, the Eel originates on Bald Mountain in the Mendocino National Forest and empties into the Pacific west of Fortuna in Humboldt County, with multiple forks leading off into remote wilderness. It is the third largest watershed in California, running through four counties.

Most of the river already is impaired or threatened with impairment under the federal Clean Water Act because of high temperatures and excessive sediment, which create barriers to fish spawning and food collection.

In addition, two dams associated with Pacific Gas & Electric’s Potter Valley hydroelectric plant have altered the river — once considered one of California’s most productive — blocking fish from reaching quality spawning and juvenile rearing habitat upstream.

The project also has relied on diversion of water from the Eel River through power-generating turbines into the East Fork Russian River and Lake Mendocino, though the volume of water redirected from the Eel has declined over time.

“The Eel has long been recognized as one of California’s most important rivers and one that’s most impacted when you look at what salmon populations used to be historically and what they are today,” said Monty Schmitt, senior project director with The Nature Conservancy’s Water Program. Schmitt noted that this year’s commercial and recreational salmon seasons in California have been shut down due to collapsing stocks.

The dams “have taken away the natural state of the river, which ties directly to the health of our people, both native and non,” said Nikcole Whipple, a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes and an intern with Save California Salmon and Justice Fellow with Education Trust. Writing in a news release, Whipple added that, “On the reservations in my area our groundwater is unsafe and the reduction in salmon runs has taken away an important source of subsistence.”

Both dams — the Scott Dam, which forms Lake Pillsbury, and Cape Horn Dam, which impounds Van Arsdale Reservoir — are part of a project that has not been operational for more than a year and a half because of an equipment failure. PG&E’s license also has expired, and the company is working on plans to surrender its license and close down the powerhouse.

PG&E also announced recently that updated seismic analysis of Scott Dam required it to reduce the amount of water it holds in Lake Pillsbury to diminish the risk of dam failure.

The developments have only increased pressure from environmental and conservation stakeholders that have long campaigned for removal of the dams, despite opposition from homeowners on Lake Pillsbury as well as other stakeholders in Lake County.

“It’s well established that healthy rivers contribute to healthy communities,” Alicia Hamann, executive director of Friends of the Eel River, said in a news release. “In the Eel, this also means revitalizing and sustaining culture, supporting diverse economies, and providing endangered species a path to recovery.

“Of course there are many opportunities in the Eel watershed to restore habitat, improve water quality, and protect key populations of threatened and endangered species. But the single most important action we can take to advance recovery of the Wild and Scenic Eel River is to remove PG&E's two dams at the Potter Valley Project,” she wrote.

A coalition of organizations from Sonoma, Humboldt and Mendocino counties brought together by North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman worked for several years to acquire the century-old Potter Valley hydroelectric plant. The group had hoped to find a way to continue water diversions for agricultural and consumer interests in Sonoma and Mendocino counties while paving the way to decommission the dams and restore the river, but their efforts were abandoned because they were unable to meet deadlines for a federal license application or get an extension.

Charlie Schneider, Lost Coast Project Manager for the conservation group California Trout, said there’s still room to pursue options for dam-free diversions.

“It’s clear these dams no longer serve their intended purpose, and PG&E has said as much,” said Schneider, who, with Hamann, nominated the Eel River for Endangered River listing. “But it’s also clear that the project’s impacts, the damage the dams cause to the Eel River and its fish, are worse than anticipated. There is no time to waste in getting these dams out of the river.”

“There are dams that have sat in limbo for decades,” said Schmitt. “Decades more in limbo for this river and decades more of degradation and status quo is definitely a significant concern, especially with declining salmon populations.

“Again, our fishery is closed,” he said. “That’s really a sign that we’re up against the ropes.”

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan (she/her) at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.