Dam, girl.<\/p>\n
The Eel River is set to become one of the longest free-flowing rivers in the United States after a five-year fight over what to do with dams on the river, spearheaded by California native tribes. <\/p>\n
Spanning five counties and linking Humboldt to regional and statewide water resources, the massive waterway traces 200 miles north of Mendocino National Forest and empties into the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also a sacred resource of the Wiyot Tribe with deep cultural connections to both the river and its fisheries, according to Humboldt\u2019s city website<\/a>. In fact, 398 river miles are designated as recreational, scenic, or wild under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.<\/p>\n A computer-generated rendering shows what the Eel River may look like if the Cape Horn dam in Mendocino is removed. Eel-Russian Project Authority<\/p>\n A scenic bend in the Eel River. Trevor McBroom \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Back in the 1900s, two dams were constructed, Cape Horn and Scott, and angered local tribes as they were no longer able to provide food for themselves given that both dams blocked fish from reaching hundreds of miles of upstream habitat.<\/p>\n But recently, The Potter Valley project, which includes two dams on the river, proved to be a very costly headache as utility giant PG&E discovered a huge issue after a routine inspection of the hydroelectric dam<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of its necessary power generation systems that\u2019s over 100 years old, needed an expensive fix that would have costed the utility company <\/a>up to $15 million. Since it only generates enough electricity for about 750 homes, the American energy business is looking to get rid of it.<\/p>\n According to KQED<\/a>, there were no takers for the pricey hydroelectric system so PG&E submitted an application to the federal government to shut down the project \u2014 which would close down the dams and restore the Eel River to its free-flowing former glory.<\/p>\n Recently, a slew of government agencies, environmental groups, tribes and PG&E all agreed on a fix after five years of fighting \u2014 the Two Basin Solution.<\/p>\n If it goes through, the planned removal would happen in the 2030s \u2014 making Native American tribes, environmental groups and local farmers very happy.<\/p>\n A computer-generated rendering shows what the Eel River may look like if the Cape Horn dam in Mendocino is removed. Eel-Russian Project Authority<\/p>\n The Potter Valley Project was owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) Eel-Russian Project Authority<\/p>\n By returning to free-flow, the new river access would allow the tribes to once again catch salmon, Pacific lamprey, freshwater clams, steelhead and trout.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need our free-flowing water,\u201d Nicole Whipple, member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes based in Covelo, told the outlet. Whipple\u2019s tribe is located in a remote section of Northern Mendocino County where for centuries, they were \u201cvery wealthy in their food and resources\u201d because of the Eel River.<\/p>\n The new management agency was born called The Eel Russian Project Authority (ERPA) who would oversee closing of the dams and local fish would gain access to hundreds of miles of a new habitat in the headwaters.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n ERPA will become a five-member board where Round Valley Indian Tribes would also sit alongside Sonoma Water, the County of Sonoma and the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really important for our indigenous people to be connected to our culture. And so for us to be well and to be supported, we need our culture back,\u201d Whipple told the site.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t
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