Friends of the Eel River Welcomes New Executive Director, Offers Tribute to Departing Founder Nadananda

ARCATA, Calif., Jan. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today watershed advocacy group Friends of the Eel River (FOER) announced that Scott Greacen will be the organization's new executive director. Departing executive director Nadananda will continue to serve on the organization's board of directors and work on special projects. Nadananda served as the organization's executive director for 17 years and has overseen the group's most notable accomplishments, including successfully advocating for increased flows out of PG&E's Potter Valley Project.

"When I started advocating for the recovery of the Eel River I never imagined we would have progressed so far, and yet there is still much work to be done," said Nadananda, founder of FOER. "The progress we have made over the past 17 years is proof that with more water, the river and its fisheries can and will recover."

Nadananda first learned of the environmental damage to the Eel River by the extensive diversions of its cold headwaters into the Russian River in the early 1990s. She started a study group into the health of the Eel River, supported by the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) in Garberville. The group quickly evolved into the non-profit organization FOER. Since its 1995 formation, FOER has successfully advocated for increased flows into the river to the benefit of the native salmonids that once numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Thanks in part to the organization's work, the 2011-2012 chinook run is one of the strongest in decades.

"It is my great honor to continue advocating for the full recovery of the Eel River," said Mr. Greacen. "I look forward to an ongoing partnership with our community and the board as FOER works toward removal of PG&E's Potter Valley Project dams and the full recovery for the river and its fisheries."

Prior to joining FOER as North Coast Director in 2010, Mr. Greacen worked served as the executive director of EPIC. Mr. Greacen is an attorney who lives with his family near Arcata. David Keller, of Petaluma, will continue to serve as Bay Area Director for Friends of the Eel River.

For more information, go to www.eelriver.org.

SOURCE Friends of the Eel River