FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2025
Contact: Matt Clifford, California Director matt.clifford@tu.org / (406) 370-9431
Brian Johnson, Senior Policy Advisor, Western Water and Climate
brian.johnson@tu.org / (415) 385-0796
Trout Unlimited applauds new agreement for the Eel River
Agreement clears path to reconnecting California’s third largest watershed – and a legendary salmon and steelhead river
SACRAMENTO–Today, the State of California, the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Russian River water interests, and salmon and steelhead advocates signed a new agreement in principle that clears the way for fish recovery and sustainable water sharing in the wake of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s decision to decommission and remove its Potter Valley Project on the Eel River.
The agreement, in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding, prioritizes salmon and steelhead recovery, restores a Tribal water right, and paves the way for taking out the dams and re-opening nearly 300 miles of good headwater habitat to anadromy.
“This is a good deal for the Eel River, as well as the Russian River, and the people who depend on both,” said Brian Johnson, TU’s Senior Policy Advisor, Western Water and Climate. “The agreement includes science-based, enforceable terms to provide crucial flows for the Eel’s salmon and steelhead populations. Under the agreement, all water rights will be held by the Round Valley Indian Tribes, water sales will fund restoration of the Eel River, and water not meant for diversion will remain in the Eel. On behalf of Trout Unlimited, and all the partners who worked to build this comprehensive plan, we thank the State of California for their commitment to the Eel River, its salmon and steelhead, and the communities who depend on its cold, clean water.”
Today’s agreement outlines a shared solution that addresses the interests of fish advocates, Tribal Nations, and the Russian River water users. It allows for Russian River water users to construct a new, dam-free pump station that will enable continued diversion to the Russian at greatly reduced rates, subject to scientifically derived limits to protect Eel River fish.
Those users will make annual payments to the Round Valley Indian Tribes, which will hold the underlying water rights, and will use part of the revenue to implement watershed-wide habitat restoration in the Eel basin, in coordination with non-profit conservation organizations including TU. All the parties will cooperate to raise additional federal, state, and private funds to pay in equal measure for constructing the diversion and watershed restoration.
The water sales will generate $1 million per year for the Round Valley Indian Tribes, in recognition of its senior water right, plus $750,000-$1 million per year for Eel River restoration, both indexed to inflation.
At the signing ceremony for the agreement today, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that it will commit an initial $18 million to support the agreement — $9 million for the pump station and $9 million for Eel River restoration.
The agreement also sets flow requirements that will support fish passage in all seasons. The parties will work over the next several months to finalize it into a binding Water Diversion Agreement.
Matt Clifford, TU’s California Director, said, “This agreement, and PG&E’s commitment to decommissioning the Potter Valley Project, represent our best opportunity to restore the Eel River and the native fish populations that have sustained the region’s tribes, California’s commercial fishing fleets and a legendary sport fishery. The Eel is one of TU’s Priority Waters, and we have worked for years to reconnect this watershed and find sustainable solutions for the Tribes and communities that depend on this river. We’re proud to be working alongside our Tribal, state, community and conservation partners to build this path forward together.”
The Eel River once produced so many salmon and steelhead that it sustained a commercial canning operation. But for over a century, the Eel has effectively been cut in half by the two dams and diversion tunnel of the Potter Valley Project. The Eel’s salmon and steelhead runs have paid a steep price, and are today a fraction of their former glory.
Completed in 1922, the project’s dams blocked salmon, steelhead, lamprey and other native fish from 288 miles of high-quality spawning and rearing habitat, and trans-basin water withdrawals would often leave flows too low for salmonids in the summer, especially in drought years.
Recovery plans for salmon and steelhead along California’s North Coast prioritize restoration of habitat and connectivity in the Eel as vital for rebuilding their populations in this region. In particular, the Eel’s headwaters are considered some of the best remaining intact habitat for Summer Steelhead in the southernmost part of their range.
For the past ten years, TU has played a key role in negotiations that led to the new agreement and pave the way for PG&E to decommission (remove) this old, unprofitable project. Removing the Project’s dams will make the Eel the longest free-flowing river in California.
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