REDWOOD REGION
Potter Valley Project decommissioning and dam removal process update at Sierra Club Redwood Chapter community forum
The Sierra Club Redwood Chapter will host Charlie Schneider, California Trout’s Lost Coast Project Manager and a member of the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Conservation Committee, and David Keller, former Bay Area Director Friends of the Eel River, who will provide an update on the Potter Valley Project decommissioning and dam removal process. The discussion will be held via Zoom video conference and live-streamed on Facebook on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at 5 PM. The meeting is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required to attend via Zoom.
PG&E’s decision to decommission the Potter Valley Project, the antiquated hydroelectric facility that operates Scott and Cape Horn Dams on the main stem of the Eel River, has created an enormous opportunity to restore a great wild salmonid river, enrich habitat not only for fish but also for many other wildlife species, generate exciting recreational possibilities, and support the Native people who have lived in harmony with this land since time immemorial. The eventual restoration of the Eel as a free-flowing river (the longest in California) is now all but inevitable.
In March seismic risks led the utility to reduce the capacity of the Lake Pillsbury Reservoir by 20,000 acre feet, an action which was followed by regulatory cancellation of both the commercial and recreational salmon seasons off the whole California coast, and appearance of the Eel on a list of the ten most endangered rivers in the entire United States.
Now PG&E has unequivocally confirmed its determination to relinquish any ongoing responsibility for Potter Valley Project infrastructure, including Scott and Cape Horn dams, and for the first time has explicitly stated its support for the expeditious removal of both dams.
Many people still have questions about how the decommissioning and dam removal process will work, so the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter’s Conservation Committee member, Charlie Schneider, will provide an update on the decommissioning schedule and how changes in project operations will impact our region’s fish and people. Also participating will be David Keller, former Bay Area Director Friends of the Eel River, who drove the dam safety issues to the forefront of review by state and federal agencies.
The presentation will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions.
To register for the event, visit the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter online calendar at: www.sierraclub.org/redwood. Registrants will receive access information upon registration and a confirmation reminder the morning of the event. Zoom space is limited, so the event will also be live-streamed via the Chapter’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SierraClubRedwoodChapter.
The Sierra Club Redwood Chapter represents 11,000 Sierra Club members from the Bay Area to the Oregon border. The group works to defend everyone’s right to a healthy world. More on the Redwood Chapter can be learned at https://www.sierraclub.org/redwood.
Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. With more than three and a half million members and supporters, their charge is to defend everyone’s right to a healthy world. Through activism, education and outdoor activities, the Sierra Club plays an important role in influencing conservation policy and environmental history. For more information on the Sierra Club, visit www.sierraclub.org.
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HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE
Gold course to host benefit tournament September 16
Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course will host the first annual Operation Santa Golf Tournament to benefit 4 South Lake County Elementary Schools on Saturday, September 16th.
It will be a shotgun start, four person scramble. Great prizes! $100 per player includes coffee and donuts, entry, cart, gift bag, two drink tickets for beverage cart and lunch at the new Greenview Bar and Grill.
Operation Santa, Inc. is a local nonprofit organized to assure our underfunded kids that Santa really does exist. There will be holiday gifts, food and trees to decorate. This year we are starting something new, Christmas in July! With your help, we will gift school supplies at the beginning of the school year.
Please help us to support these Lake County kids by entering our tournament and having a fun day on the greens.
To register by August 31, please call Mary Lou and Turner at 707-536-8955 or Rosie London at 707-239-1684. Reservations are also available at the HVL pro shop.
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LAKEPORT
Local pilots’ clean-up efforts lead to weed eradication
A team of local pilots volunteered Sunday morning, July 23, to remove tall weeds that had accumulated in the transient airplane parking ramp and other locations adjacent the runway at Lampson Field in Lakeport.
The weeds were growing from cracks in the pavement that covers the airplane tie down surface on the south side of the airport, directly in front of Red’s at the Skyroom Restaurant. The four-hour-long project was undertaken by the Lake County Airmen’s Association (LCAA), a group of local pilots and airplane owners who are advocates for aviation related issues that impact Lampson Field.
“I thought weed eradication was perfect for an airmen’s volunteer project,” Tom Lincoln, the LCAA president, observed. “The county, which has responsibility for airport maintenance, has been without an airport maintenance supervisor for some time now, and I figured that the help would be welcome.
“Besides, the tie down area was looking rough and didn’t create a good first impression to visiting pilots and passengers. I mentioned the project at our last meeting and the support for moving ahead was quite high.”
The volunteers used power weed eaters and leaf blowers to cut and blow weeds into piles that could be removed. Several thousand square feet of tarmac was cleaned during the project.
A county crew subsequently tackled the large job of mowing several acres of weeds between the taxiway and runway as well as along the north and south side margins. That crew employed three large tractors with attached mowing devices on Thursday and Friday. A water tender stood by in the event the work sparked a grass fire.
LCAA has approximately 50 active members, most of them licensed pilots. The organization does allow for non-pilot associate members. Anyone interested in joining can contact Tom Lincoln at 707-349-3210. Annual dues are $25.
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—Compiled by Ariel Carmona
