Dams play a very important role in provoking climate change as direct feeding grounds for methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. They also fragment rivers and disrupt their natural flow, causing severe impacts to river ecosystems. Recently, the Trump Administration has formed an opinion on PG&E’s Dam removal project on the Eel River.
Through the USDA, the Trump Administration intervened in late 2025 to oppose PG&E’s Eel River Dam removal project. The administration, led by U.S Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, opposes the removal of the Scott and Cape Horn dams. Officials argue that the project prioritizes fish over the water security of “hardworking families and farmers.”
Tucker A. Stewart, Senior Advisor of the United States Department of Agriculture, argues, “It is abundantly clear that PG&E’s application fails to consider the elimination of water supply to local communities without viable alternatives.” He further stated concerns that included “the negative impact that removal will have on downstream communities and agricultural producers; and the diminished capacity for wild-land firefighting in one of the most fire-prone regions of the country. Unless and until PG&E addresses the aforementioned issues included in these comments, the Department respectfully requests that the Commission reject PG&E’s application to surrender its FERC license for Potter Valley Project dam because of the profoundly negative and irreversible impact on local farmers, ranchers, agricultural producers, communities, and USDA equities.”
However, Friends of the Eel River (FOER) has argued for years that the Scott Dam is not only unreliable but unsafe. They claim the structure is shaky and unstable. On the other hand, opponents of dam removal, including the Trump administration through the USDA, highlight the importance of the dams for water security. They argue that removing the dams could jeopardize water supplies for local communities. Stewart expressed his concern about the low capacity of wildland firefighting water sources; he cited them as reasons to maintain the dams.
Removing aging dams like Scott Dam can improve fire safety in the long term. The argument that dam removal removes water supply for firefighting assumes there are no viable alternatives. In reality, many restoration projects include plans to develop new water storage systems or diversions that can support firefighting needs. Healthy river ecosystems restored by dam removal often lead to more resilient forests and wetlands downstream. Restored habitats improve soil moisture and biodiversity, which can reduce wildfire spread and severity.
Many lands that are at severe risk of wildfires are heavily over-farmed. Farms frequently divert water for irrigation and cannabis cultivation, reducing stream flow, creating critically low water conditions, and depriving the ecosystem of the moisture it requires. Over-cropping causes severe impacts to the environment by depleting soil nutrients and causing soil degradation. Additionally, water becomes polluted due to pesticides from fertilizers ending up in nearby waterways.
The debate is not simply about “putting fish over people.” Rather, it involves restoring ecosystems by preventing salmon population decline and returning the river to its natural flow. Indigenous communities, such as River Tribes like the Hupa, Yurok, Karuk, and the Wiyot people, are strongly impacted by the presence of these dams, as they have relied on salmon as a main part of their culture for around 10,000 years.
Many Indigenous communities are pushing for the removal of river dams and have made significant progress over the last 6 years. Evidence of this progress is seen after the Klamath Dam Removal Project, where salmon populations have already begun to recover. More than 10,000 salmon have returned to their historical habitats since the project’s completion.
Michaela Rain Ward, a Hoopa Valley Tribal member who works as a Youth Education Advocate for Save California Salmon (SCS), stated, “The removal of these dams is important to the tribes above and below the dams. If you look at the Klamath River Dam Removal, for example, you can notice the impact of re-connection of salmon to their original headwaters.” She further explains, “Through these restoration projects, Tribes are able to put their knowledge gained through past generations into consideration of this restoration. That re-connection is very impactful for any dam removal project going forward. Seeing these salmon spawn above the dams was a very heartwarming experience, knowing that a generational fight finally paid off.”
Nikole Whipple, a Round Valley Indian Tribal Member, Water Protector, and SCS Policy Specialist, stated reasons why this dam removal is important: “Lake Pillsbury (Eel River Dam) is located directly on top of a Yuki Village site where historic remains have been desecrated since the construction. The Yuki Tribes were set forth to be exterminated by California’s First Chief Justice Serranus Hastings. These attacks initiated the Mendocino Wars. Access to Tribal Cultural Resources has been denied for over 100 years, as well as the inclusion of Tribes in creating regional water basin plans to protect Tribal beneficial uses.” This dam was built on top of the murder and displacement of indigenous people and poses a serious threat to wildlife.
