MENDOCINO CO., 11/12/25 – Environmental organizations supporting the removal of the Potter Valley Project dams will host a virtual and an in-person workshop this month to help residents craft comments for submission to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Friends of the Eel River, Save California Salmon, the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter and California Trout are hosting the two-hour workshops, which will explain the groups’ reasons for supporting the removal of the Scott Dam and the Cape Horn (also known as Van Arsdale) Dam.
Facilitators will guide participants through writing and submitting public comments to FERC, which is currently accepting feedback on Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s plan to surrender its license and remove the dams. The comment period is open through Dec. 1.
There are two Mendocino County meetings scheduled:
- Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. via Zoom at http://tinyurl.com/SCS-Eel-Zoom
- Tuesday, Nov. 18 from 5-7 p.m. at the Mendocino Environmental Center, 106 W. Standley St., Ukiah. Click here to register.
The workshops follow a recent Mendocino County Board of Supervisors vote in which three of five supervisors supported dismantling the two dams.
The project has divided residents in Mendocino and Lake counties. Opponents argue that dam removal will reduce water availability and harm wildlife and recreation, while supporters say the century-old structures have caused significant environmental damage to the Eel River and pose safety risks due to aging infrastructure.
“We are happy to see PG&E moving forward with the process,” said Alicia Hamann, executive director of Friends of the Eel River. “It is important for the public to let regulators know that we support what they are doing. Returning the Eel’s native fish to the abundant, high-quality habitat trapped behind the dams is just around the corner.”
If approved, decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project is expected to begin in 2028.
Alicia Hamman is an outspoken supporter of aquatic wildlife. There is room for both: people and wildlife, and keeping the dam would save our agriculture, ability to fight fires, and well-being in four counties. She doesn’t care about that.
Been playing in that part of the river for more than 50yrs there will be no recovery of the salmon, steelhead or pacific lampray in whole river system until the state deals with the Sacramento pike infestation. They need total removal put a bounty on all fish over 10 inches. They eat all the baby fish. I’ll bet 5 million dollars in bounty fees would go a long way towards salmon and lampray recovery
We need to come up with a viable solution for the fish ! But we need water and water storage for people and the ecosystem that has been created! So the tile elk an endangered population should be culled? Fires should rage? Modernizing a fish ladder or fish passage should be on the table! Clean the river, stop overfishing and invest in the hatchery which they haven’t been doing!