As dam removal moves ahead, an innovative collaborative plan to share the basin’s water and restore its iconic steelhead runs is finalized.
Business as usual won’t restore the Eel River
At one time, California’s Eel River once had incredibly abundant salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey fisheries. But dams, major water diversions, legacy impacts from clearcut logging, and illegal cannabis cultivation have compromised the Eel’s productivity for salmonids and lamprey.