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The North Fork Eel River is one of the wildest and most remote stretches of river remaining on the West Coast. EPIC filed a lawsuit to protect this magnificent place in December 2001, and was soon joined by a Native American elder, Coyote Downey. Coyote is a member of the Keneste, or Wailaki, Tribe whose ancestors have lived in the North Fork Eel since time immemorial.
Approximately 34 miles of the North Fork Eel were designated as "wild" under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA) in 1981, with 15 miles flowing through the Six Rivers National Forest. The Forest Service issued three large grazing permits covering most of this designated stretch of the North Fork, and conceded that it gave no consideration of resulting environmental impacts. It tried to claim it has no obligation to prevent damage to the river's "outstandingly remarkable values" as long as the damage is not "substantial."
The court soundly rejected this argument, agreeing with EPIC that "the Forest Service must, when managing a wild or scenic river, protect and enhance the outstandingly remarkable values for which the river was designated." The court further ruled that the Forest Service failed to uphold this obligation because it allowed degradation of steelhead trout habitat, which is an "outstandingly remarkable value" in the North Fork Eel.
The North Fork Eel is a special place that deserves full protection, and EPIC will continue to press forward until it is attained. In addition to Coyote Downey, EPIC is also working on this issue with the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). We are represented by Pete Frost of the Western Environmental Law Center, Julia Olson of Wild Earth Advocates, and Brent Plater from CBD.