TRINITY CO., 11/13/25 – Two Northern California tribes announced Wednesday that they signed a treaty last month, committing to jointly restore the Eel River and its fish populations.
Leaders from the Round Valley Indian Tribes in Mendocino County and the Yurok Tribe in Del Norte and Humboldt counties met at the Eel River Canyon Preserve in Trinity County last month to sign the “Treaty of Friendship.”
The agreement commits the tribes to restoring the river and rebuilding its declining fish populations as PG&E moves to decommission the Potter Valley Project hydroelectric system’s Scott Dam and Cape Horn (also known as Van Arsdale) dams in Mendocino County.
According to the tribes, the dams have long damaged the Eel River ecosystem and blocked access to critical fish habitat.
Dam removal, expected to begin in 2028, will allow the river to flow freely again through the ancestral lands of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, a confederation of seven tribes based near Covelo in unincorporated Mendocino County.
Based in Del Norte and Humboldt counties, the Yurok Tribe is the largest federally recognized tribe in California. It will share its extensive experience in dam removal and river habitat restoration after it helped lead the restoration of the Klamath River, including the 2023–24 removal of four Klamath River dams in California and Oregon.
The treaty was signed by Yurok tribal chairman Joseph L. James and Round Valley Indian Tribes president Joe Parker. The leaders said the treaty is both a practical agreement for ecological restoration and a symbol of shared cultural values.
“The Eel River is our lifeblood and when it suffers, our people suffer,” Parker said.
“We are pleased to join with the Yurok Tribe, which is the leader in restoring the Klamath River through dam removal, revegetation, and habitat restoration,” he added. “With this partnership, we hope all Native tribes around the world will be motivated to stand up and fight for their culture and rights.”
This article originally stated that the Van Arsdale Dam is in Lake County. It has been changed to reflect it’s in Mendocino County.
Fish habitat and wild animal resources will be destroyed more than restored. I hope that cultural emphasis is improved as that may end up being the only positive outcome.
What a bunch of complete idiots. Removing rural infrastructure and dams will dry up the ground water and force everyone out of rural areas. We already saw this happen up north. Prioritizing fish over ppl is ridiculous since the rivers will all dry up anyways without the dams. Putting farmed salmon in with native salmon will destroy native salmon and their dna and cause massive fish die offs after the first few yrs. This is just part of Agenda 2030. Removes all rural residents and put everyone in SMART city sectors. Ppl are really really dumb these days especially the tribes for allowing their own demise without knowing it.
The entitlement of people that have been riding on PG&Es coat tails is staggering. You have people, in this article, saying “this is important to us” and you just discount them and keep saying “fish vs. people”. What you mean to say is “my people over your people” which is a pretty lame way to live.
Why weren’t the local tribes involved! Potter Valley has a tribe as well as the tribes in lake county! Oh yeah because they don’t want the dams removed! Where do the people and current ecosystems that evolved from this go?
I’m not aware of any tribes opposing dam removal and have heard a lot of support from tribes and native people in Mendocino and Lake County. Where are you seeing opposition?
Potter Valley tribe filed litigation stating they were not included! Lake County tribes have also made statements! They have a council member who has been vocal!
Not included, yes, but they have not said they oppose dam removal have they? I agree PG&E should be talking with tribes!
I am an American Indian from round valley Indian reservation aboriginal tribe Yuki who occupied the whole eel river for thousands of years, our survival is the fish, in 1908 PG&E diverted eel river water to the south which goes to lake Mendocino and continues south. From 1922 to 1972 50 years for a relicensing permit from FERC. Being an Indian born and raised on the reservation. The first 50 years (1922 to 1972 )the fish ran like it always did plentiful, from 1972 to date the fish population almost went extinct. My question to everybody reading this what happened from 1972 to 2022 50 year relicensing to cause the fish population to decline
Over fishing illegal cannabis grows drought and polluted oceans! We don’t need to tear down the dams we need to stop overfishing!
The EPA
Carlino is right.
Over fishing illegal cannabis grows drought and polluted oceans! We don’t need to tear down the dams we need to stop overfishing!
We need to, and should fix all those things if we want a healthy planet. Doesn’t need to be one or the other.
I would never eat anything out of any river in the area. No bloody thank you.
SAVE LAKE PILLSBURY!!!!!
A major concern after dam removal is the bed of the lake has accumulated a lot of silt and fine sediment, and with the lake that covered it gone, rain pounding on that vast lake bed will mean muddy runoff filling the waterway, and settling into the gravel where the anadromous salmon and steelhead eggs were placed by spawning fish. It will suffocate the eggs. The only way to stabilize the sediment in the lakebed is to armor it with grasses that will bind the soil with its roots and soften the impact of the raindrops as the grass blades spread above the soil surface. That will take a lot of grass seed, and maybe a thin coating of straw to give the grass seedlings some shelter. Is anyone prepared to do that?
I comment as a retired Environmental Specialist with Fish and Game.
Yurok tribe has a ton of experience with that from Klamath so it’s great there are helping here!
There will be no South Fork of the Eel River without Scott Dam. Period.
I agree SAVE LAKE PILLSBURY
As a short term measure at least, why can’t fish be caught below the dams and hauled around in tanks? Probably a lot of people would volunteer for this. Before removing dams, off stream dams should be built with diversions to them during heavy winter flows. I the diversion is upstream from the off stream dams there should not even be pumping needed. It could even be a lot of smaller dams instead of one or two big dams. There is enough winter flow to provide water for both fish and people.