The hydropower Potter Valley Project includes the Scott and Cape Horn dams, two century-old dams on the Eel River. It also has a mile-long diversion tunnel that feeds water from the Eel River into the Russian River.

Sierra Club Mendocino Group chapter director Alicia Bales and Friends of the Eel River’s executive director Alicia Hamann will answer questions Friday in Willits about the Potter Valley Project, including how the dams have affected fish in the Eel River and what relief removing the dams may bring.

On July 25, PG&E, the project owner, published its final license surrender application and plan to decommission the project and remove the dams.

“Removing the Eel River dams is the single most important restoration action we can take to support recovery of the Eel’s once-abundant native fish,” the Sierra Club and Friends of the Eel River wrote in an event announcement. “The effort to Free the Eel is broadly supported by tribes, commercial and recreational fishing folk, recreation advocates, and environmental NGOs.”

Comments written by meeting participants will be directed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is handling the surrender process.

“Removing the Eel River dams is the single most important restoration action we can take to support recovery of the Eel’s once-abundant native fish,” Sierra Club and Friends of the Eel River joint statement

“We’ll also be talking about ideas for local papers and letters to the editor,” said the Sierra Club Mendocino Group’s Robin Leler. “All with the aim of encouraging no delays in removing the dams,” Leler said.

Leler said another issue is to make sure that PG&E cleans up the footprint of Lake Pillsbury, which would drain with the removal of Scott Dam. In the fall of 2024, envisioning meetings were held over several weekends at Upper Lake’s Robinson Rancheria with Lake Pillsbury residents, tribes, environmentalists and many others.

“We had a lot of good ideas and consensus of how the land could be restored,” she said. “We discovered that most of the land that would be up for restoration is in the hands of land trusts and conservancies. And that means that the national forest and tribes can’t work under those conditions unless they own the land. It’s complicated.”

The comment-writing workshop is 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Willits Environmental Center, 630 S. Main St., Willits.