Friends of the Eel River

December 8, 2004


Friends of the Eel River continues to campaign on legal, administrative, and organizing fronts for the restoration of the Wild and Scenic Eel River. FOER's mission is to restore the Eel River and all her tributaries to a natural state of abundance, wild and free. Our immediate goal is to remove two antiquated dams that divert water from the mainstem Eel south into the Russian River through Mendocino and Lake Counties. Operated by PG&E and known as the Potter Valley Project (PVP) these dams block hundreds of miles of prime salmonid spawning grounds.

A new report on the economic benefits to Mendocino and Lake Counties of removing the PVP was recently completed for FOER by the Center for Environmental Economic Development (CEED). The report focuses on the benefits to both counties of physically removing the dams, restoring the Russian River watershed, and increasing nature-based tourism. This report supplements and complements CEED's earlier study "A River in the Balance: Benefits and Costs of Restoring Natural Water Flows to the Eel River."

Both reports, and updates on our current work can be viewed on our website:
www.eelriver.org or call 707/923-2146.



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