Wildlife – Enviro Updates

Court rules Sonoma County must study impact of water wells on fish, Russian River

August 6, 2026

Bob Egelko, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Tuesday’s ruling said Sonoma County had not properly considered the effects of new rules it issued for increased pumping from the Russian River.

In a challenge by environmental groups to the pumping of groundwater from rivers to fill wells for farmers, homes and businesses in Sonoma County, a state appeals court says counties must consider the impact of their water wells on fish and the environment.

Tuesday’s ruling by the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco said Sonoma County had not properly considered the effects of new rules it issued in 2023 for increased pumping from the Russian River and other waterways, but might be able to meet legal standards with an environmental review.

On the central legal issue in the case, however, the court rejected the county’s argument that such reviews of water wells are required only for the state, and not for local governments.

“Sonoma’s regulation of well permits carries with it an ‘affirmative duty to take the public trust into account,’” Justice Tara Desautels wrote in the 3-0 ruling, quoting language from another appellate decision.

Water, WildlifeCalifornia Coastkeeper Alliance, endangered species, groundwater, Russian River, Russian Riverkeeper, salmon, well monitoring, well ordinance, wells

FERC rejects water district’s bid to stop removal of Eel River dams

July 28, 2026

Phil Barber, PRESS DEMOCRAT

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency with ultimate authority over the fate of two Lake and Mendocino county dams that have become embroiled in escalating controversy, dealt a blow Monday to one of the newer — and more distant — players to enter the fray, denying a bid by a Southern California water agency to intervene in the process.

“Movants for late intervention are required to ‘show good cause why the time limitation should be waived,’” FERC Secretary Debbie-Anne A. Reese wrote to Riverside County-based Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District. “Here, the District failed to demonstrate that good cause exists … because it did not provide any explanation for the untimeliness of its motion.”

The Lost Coast Outpost first reported the decision, the latest turn in a growing saga that has drawn in the Trump administration as chief antagonist of utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’ plans to decommission and remove its two Eel River dams, which it contends are outdated and inefficient.

Elsinore Valley had filed its motion to intervene July 9, more than seven months past FERC’s deadline for such motions.

Water, Wildlifedams, Eel River, Potter Valley Project, salmon habitat, water supply

Action Alert: Keep Eel River dam removal on track

July 23, 2026

California Trout

The Eel River dams are in the process of being decommissioned. This is a huge milestone, but it’s not the finish line, and public engagement has been the driving force behind every step of this restoration. Today, we need your voice again.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has opened a scoping comment period as part of its environmental review of the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project, which includes Scott and Cape Horn dams. PG&E, the project’s owner, has proposed removing both dams. The aging project hasn’t generated power since 2021, yet the dams still block salmon and steelhead from reaching hundreds of miles of historic habitat. Removing them will reconnect the Eel River watershed for the first time in over a century — restoring one of California’s most important salmon and steelhead rivers. Public comments help shape this process, and your comments (which take less than 10 minutes to complete) are essential to making dam removal and a free-flowing, vibrant Eel River a reality.

Here’s how you can help:

Water, Wildlifedams, Eel River, endangered species, FERC, Potter Valley Project, salmon habitat, steelhead

Salmon fishing resumes off North Coast for first time since 2022

July 13, 2026

Anna Armstrong, PRESS DEMOCRAT

Commercial and recreational salmon fishing has resumed off the North Coast after a three-year statewide closure, marking a long-awaited milestone for a troubled industry that has endured historic losses in revenue and resources.

Charter captains are reporting abundant catches out of Bodega Bay, and commercial boats up and down the coast are again unloading hauls of the prized West Coast staple for the first time since 2022.

Still, the reopening is far from a return to normal, industry veterans say.

This year’s season is heavily restricted with staggered openings and closings designed to limit the take on rebounding Chinook salmon returns. And fewer boats may be around to cash in, as some fishermen say years of lost income from curtailed and closed fisheries have driven some away from the water for good.

Agriculture/Food System, WildlifeChinook salmon, endangered species, fisheries, salmon habitat, salmon season

Trump slashes habitat protections for endangered wildlife

July 10, 2026

Ella Nilsen and Kit Maher, CNN

“Habitat loss is the number one cause of extinction,” Gib Brogan, senior campaign director at Oceana, said in a statement. “When you remove habitat protections, you remove one of the law’s most important safeguards.”

The Trump administration reversed decades of longstanding environmental law protecting endangered species on Friday, opening up sensitive habitats of those protected species to drilling, mining, farming and real estate development.

The change, finalized by the Interior and Commerce Departments, redefines what constitutes “harm” to endangered species and habitats under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. The longstanding law had long prohibited “habitat modification or degradation” because it could harm or kill endangered animals by impacting their ability to breed and find food or shelter. That definition of harm was upheld by the US Supreme Court in a 1995 ruling.

Habitats, Wildlifedevelopment, endangered species, Endangered Species Act, habitat loss

Op-Ed: Re-wilding Point Reyes could restore Northern CA coast’s natural state

June 27, 2026

Ken Bouley and Helen-Teri Shore, PRESS DEMOCRAT

Bringing back beavers, sea otters and other native wildlife to Point Reyes National Seashore could be a critical step in restoring the incredible coastal landscape to a more natural state after decades of commercial dairy farming and grazing. Now that most ranching is being phased out in the popular park, we have the opportunity to rewild about 17,000 acres of the coastal bluffs, wetlands, prairies and forests to improve watersheds and habitat, expand public access and strengthen tribal co-management.

Reintroducing absent native wildlife is not simply about bringing back charismatic animals. It is about restoring ecological relationships that evolved over thousands of years and were disrupted by colonization, habitat loss and overexploitation.

At least seven animals that are likely to have roamed these lands in the past and could do so in the future include: sea otter, beaver, pronghorn, Humboldt marten, fisher, North American porcupine and Douglas ground squirrel. A recent report by Dr. Richard Lanman and Alexis Evripidou for Turtle Island Restoration Network is the first to examine the potential for re-wilding the national seashore.

Marin County is notably the only coastal county north of the Golden Gate Bridge without wild beavers. Their return could transform local watersheds. Beaver dams create wetlands that store water, reduce erosion, improve drought resilience, enhance biodiversity and benefit native fish, including threatened salmon populations. As California faces increasing climate extremes, beavers offer a practical, nature-based restoration tool. Beavers are already reinvigorating watersheds in Sonoma County.

Sonoma Coast, Wildlifebeavers, habitat restoration, Point Reyes National Seashore, sea otters, tule elk

Trump administration ups ante in quest to thwart removal of PG&E’s Eel River dams

June 16, 2026

Austin Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

A member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet on Monday intensified her ongoing campaign to thwart PG&E’s plans to eventually tear down a pair of century-old Eel River dams.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced in a social media post that she and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had met earlier in the day with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. CEO Patti Poppe, along with representatives from the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District “to begin constructive negotiations on the future of the Potter Valley Project.”

The administration’s “hope is clear,” she stated: to “keep the Scott and Cape Horn Dams in place and working for the communities they serve.”

That goal stands in direct opposition to PG&E’s long-held plan to decommission the century-old dams, part of Potter Valley hydroelectric project that no longer made financial sense, the utility concluded in 2019.

Water, WildlifeEel River, endangered species, Potter Valley Project, Russian River, salmon, salmon habitat