Conservation groups blast PG&E for ’slow-walking’ dam removal, refusing fish protection measures in Eel River
North Coast conservation groups are offering renewed criticism of Pacific Gas & Electric this week after the utility argued against a request from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) aimed at protecting threatened fish in the Eel River. Three species of fish in the Eel — coho salmon, California Coastal Chinook salmon and Northern California steelhead — are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Their populations have been impacted by PG&E’s Potter Valley Project, a hydroelectric facility that diverts water from the Eel to the Russian River.