Humans need to learn how not to live beyond the means of the areas they choose to make their homes in. Anyone who has seen how green Potter Valley is, even in summer, knows how much water from the Eel is wasted each year. Through conservation those communities can learn to live with the natural flow of the Russian. Plus less water would discourage new development and a reliance on vineyards. I don't support the continued draining of the Colorado River because of the current human settlements existing there either.
If a damless diversion provides enough water in the Eel for a healthy native fishery, why not share the excess?
First of all, it wasn't just (or even mostly) stolen water that destroyed the fisheries, it was logging. Furthermore, the object of river restoration should not just be bringing back the economically important fishery but rather restoring the river itself (which includes fish among its inhabitants). In this sense no natural flow of a river can be considered "excess"; it is the Russian that is in excess.
A thousand years ago, Clear Lake drained into the Russian River, creating the deep valleys and flowing year around. Then a massive landslide near Blue Lakes redirected it toward the central valley. If we can divert some water from the Eel without destroying the fishery, aren't we helping restore a balance?
You are speaking of a natural event here, the ecological equivalent of "shit happens." Rivers' flows are dynamic and never stay the same. On that same logic we should fill in Clear Lake because a volcano created it. It is an entirely paternalistic view of nature to assume she needs our help "restoring the balance" she set.
Can an environmental organization ever support a "compromise"? Or must we always advocate one side of an issue, knowing that "compromise" will happen anyway?
You may as well tell those who voted for Nader that they wasted their votes because he was going to lose anyway. Why not advocate for the policy we dream of seeing? Maybe other groups will come forward and we will be able to win this thing. It is our duty to do the best we can for the river. Let's leave compromise to government groups.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2001
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