11/28/2025
Some positive signs in the eel river watershed
Congrats to everyone who guessed correctly on our last fish count - Chinook salmon on the Eel River have already topped last year's entire count! With 969 Chinook being counted at Van Arsdale Reservoir in just two weeks, we're excited to see if this momentum keeps up throughout the season.
If you want to help the imperiled native fish of this watershed, make sure you submit a comment to FERC in support of dam removal by Monday, December 1st. Take a look at our website for talking points and instructions on how to submit your comment online: https://eelriver.org/2025/11/03/how-to-comment-pge-lsa/
While nowhere near their historic counts, it's nonetheless encouraging to see so many Chinook. Keep in mind that this data comes from the fish ladder at Cape Horn Dam, which salmonids have to swim over 150 miles to reach. Many spawn in tributaries downstream.
Cape Horn Dam impounds the Eel River to form Van Arsdale Reservoir, downstream of Scott Dam. These two dams make up the Potter Valley Project, which is slated for removal as early as 2028. While Cape Horn has a fish ladder, Scott Dam lacks any fish passage, which prevents migrating fish from accessing hundreds of miles of habitat in the upper basin.
