2/3/13
The health of the Eel River and the fisheries it supports has long been a point of interest throughout the North Coast. At one time, this river provided abundant habitat for migratory fish and was California’s second largest producer of steelhead and third largest producer of salmon. A 2010 report out of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences estimated that the Eel River once produced more than one million salmon and steelhead in good years.
These once-abundant fish populations both signaled a healthy watershed system and supported fishing and canning industries in this region. Now they suffer from unpredictable boom and bust cycles.
Even with the occasional year of strong salmon runs like we witnessed in 2012, there is little dispute that the Eel River ecosystem has become degraded for fish and other creatures that live in and around the river. In recent decades, salmon and steelhead populations returning to the river to spawn have declined dramatically. There is much speculation as to what factors have caused the collapse of these fisheries. Different groups and individuals point to different causes.
Is the loss of high quality nursery habitat in the Eel River estuary in Ferndale the culprit? Are low summer stream flows — from forest re-growth or illegal stream diversions to support the marijuana industry — to blame? Did the legacy of the timber industry swamp the river with sediment? Or should we set our sights on the miles of habitat blocked and diversion of headwaters established by the dams and diversion of the Potter Valley Project?
The reality is that all of these factors have worked together to compromise the health of the Eel River watershed. But the strength of this river and its fisheries can be restored, and a new task force of interested parties has just been formed to develop a realistic, science-based approach to do just that.
The Eel River Task Force is group of volunteers working collaboratively to gain a better collective understanding of the Eel River. It does not have policy-making power. Rather, the task force is a coalition of public agencies, Indian tribes, conservation partners, and other stakeholders with interest in or responsibility for the environmental stewardship of the Eel River. Task force members all have a deep commitment to restoring this watershed.
Task force members have many shared interests and are committed to identifying a realistic way forward. In the past, differing perspectives have sometimes come between these stakeholders. By coming together as one body, interested parties are signaling a renewed commitment to the daunting task of healing this watershed.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the Eel River Task Force’s approach is its commitment to science.
The group is committed to establishing a scientifically sound baseline of what is happening with native fisheries on the river. Rather than assuming that one factor or another is the main source of trouble for the river, the ERTF will identify, evaluate, and prioritize among all of the recovery issues and associated challenges.
The task force is dedicated to leveraging opportunities for increased restoration funding and taking advantage of the best and latest methods for monitoring and restoring imperiled salmon and steelhead populations.
Its ultimate goal is to restore abundant fish populations and healthy ecosystem conditions for the people who call the Eel River basin home.
The challenges confronting the ERTF are complex and it will take commitment and creativity to identify solutions. This group will wrestle with the complex issues of how to fairly distribute public resources, respect the rights of private landowners without sacrificing the river’s long-term health, and fulfill our region’s legal responsibilities to protect and restore endangered species. It will be no easy matter to find acceptable solutions to these challenges, but the diverse members of the ERTF are committed to working together to find appropriate compromises that respect all members of the North Coast community.
With such an impressive group of diverse and committed stakeholders at the table, the future of the Eel River and its fisheries looks brighter than it has in many years.
Darren Mierau is North Coast Regional Manager for California Trout, a fish and watershed advocacy organization. California Trout convened the Eel River Task Force to set a new path forward for the sustainable restoration of the Eel River.
