OJAI VALLEY L AND C ONSERVANCY
Protecting your views, trails, water and wildlife
Dear Friends,
pen paces O S
With sincere joy and excitement I am writing to introduce myself as the new Director of Advancement for the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy. Like you, our supporters, I share a deep fondness for the Ojai Valley. As a kid in Ojai, I looked forward to the winter rains at this time of year. Hoping for rain days off from school (much like snow days elsewhere in the country) and knowing they would soon bring spring—a time when the poppies would bloom and our secret East End swimming hole would come alive again, daring us to jump into the cool blue pools from the towering rocks, or to swim under the rushing waterfall. Walking the barrancas to town, these wild lands made us feel like explorers in our own backyards.
Later, attending The Thacher School, I learned to appreciate the open spaces and trails surrounding us. Venturing far back into the hills on my horse for hours, days, or even a week at a time, these hills became my second home. From Thacher, I went on to earn my degree in Forestry and Natural Resources Management from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but more recently I have been working in graphic design and communications. Joining the team here at the Land Conservancy, I am able to combine the various passions I have pursued over the years working towards a goal I truly believe in—protecting the Ojai Valley for current and future generations to enjoy.
One of my biggest joys so far in my position here has been to spend time speaking with you, our members, talking about why you give to the Land Conservancy. Conversations of sharing our favorite things about Ojai from hiking trails to swimming holes, bird watching, wildlife sightings, incredible views, and ancient shady oaks—these exchanges are what I appreciate the
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Note: New Seasonal Preserve Gate Hours
Old Baldwin Road Trailhead - Open 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Oso Trailhead - Open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
There are no gate hours at the Riverview Trailhead. The Ventura River Preserve has new reroutes on the Chaparral Crest Trail. Come out for a hike and enjoy the trails.
Ojai Valley Land Conservancy
P.O. Box 1092 • Ojai, CA 93024
Office: 370 W. Baldwin Rd. A-4 Tel. 805-649-6852 • Fax 805-649-8913 info@ovlc.org • www.ovlc.org
Board of Directors
Don Reed, President
Sandy Buechley, Vice President
Cricket Twichell, Secretary
Nathan Wallace, Treasurer
Mary Bergen Roger Essick
Margot Griswold Brian Holly
Allan Jacobs Ann Oppenheimer
Larry Rose Barbara Washburn
Staff
Greg Gamble, Executive Director
Brian Stark, Conservation Director
Tania Parker, Director of Advancement
Rick Bisaccia, Preserve Manager
Marti Reid, Office Manager
Lorraine Walter, Watershed Coordinator
Ron Singer, Nursery Manager
Todd Bertola, Restoration Field Crew
Lauren Ward, Restoration Field Crew
Lauren Cole, Restoration Field Crew
Nick Tapia, Restoration Field Crew
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most. These are the reasons we are here, to keep these conversations alive and we could not do this without you, our supporters.
As I step into my new role as Director of Advancement, I look forward to meeting each of you and learning about your favorite places in this valley. Please introduce yourself at our next event. I look forward to hearing your Ojai story.
Cheers,
Tania Parker Director of Advancement
Rains Celebrates 100th Anniversary in 2014
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy wants to recognize and congratulate our friends at Rains on their upcoming 100th anniversary.
One store, one family and the same location for all those years. Their success is no surprise to the OVLC where we’ve seen Alan Rains show the same sustained commitment to our work. From his leadership positions on the OVLC Board of Directors in the early years of our organization, to his more recent position as the Chairman of our Valley View Preserve fundraising campaign, Alan has been as steady, reliable and classy as the store that bears his family name.
Please join OVLC in congratulating Rains and shopping locally at this wonderful store.
Rice Creek Flows Wild!
This winter, Rice Creek will flow along its native route for the first time in roughly 85 years. The seasonal tributary of the Ventura River is located on the OVLC’s Ventura River Preserve. Back in the 1920’s, the stream was diverted from its native route to make room for a 60-acre orange grove. The diversion left the creek confined in a straightened ditch from which it shot through a culvert to the Ventura River floodplain 30 feet below. For the next 85 years, the important hydrologic connection between a tributary and its main stem lay severed. In late September and early October, however, the OVLC and our team of contractors freed Rice Creek from its bonds to let it flow naturally once again. The healing of the creek may now begin.
The importance of tributary streams to natural ecology and hydrology cannot be understated. When hydrologic connections are severed, it affects all related systems in the drainage area. Hydrologists often describe the main job of a stream is to transport sediment. The distribution of sediments is what creates various aquatic habitats as certain plants and creatures are adapted to specific sediment sizes and types. When hydrologic systems are altered, sediment distribution patterns may change forever and result in permanent habitat loss. Wetted stream corridors are also among the most often utilized wildlife migration corridors. Wildlife looking to travel up the Rice Creek drainage from the Ventura River found only a 30 foot impassable cliff. It is a rare opportunity to get the chance to set things right by reconnecting a diverted stream.
The road to getting the project done was laid out over five years ago when the staff of the OVLC recognized this unique opportunity. A great deal of work was put
Rice Creek Before Restoration
into restoration planning and designs, as well as acquiring numerous permits. The project went through two design processes as we sought to make the project look and function as naturally as possible. We also changed funding sources several times throughout the course of the effort. While waiting for final designs, permits, and funding, we began the planting phases on what remained of the historic channel. Some of this vegetation is already creating habitat. In another five years we will probably not recognize the old ditch we once dreamed of restoring.
At the beginning of September we were looking at a degraded, confined, and substantially shorter Rice Creek. Today we see the beginning of a new life for the creek. While the newly constructed areas look rather industrial at the moment, they will take on a more natural look and feel as flow returns and our re-planting work comes to life. We have a lot of people to thank for the success on this project including former staffers at the OVLC, our regulatory partners, Hawks & Associates, and Berry General Engineering Contractors, Inc.
The Ventura River Watershed Council is developing a watershed management plan, and as part of that process is creating a comprehensive watershed map atlas. So far the atlas contains 32 different maps, which are available for viewing or downloading on the council’s website (www.venturawatershed. org).
The council has also added a simple interactive map viewer, which looks like a Google map that you can move around in, but which includes some watershed-specific features like streams, flood zones, and the location of the groundwater basins. Categories of maps in the Ventura River watershed map atlas include physical features, water features, water supply and demand, water quality, ecosystems, and people.
The Ventura River Watershed Council is a stakeholder group for watershed planning in the Ventura River watershed. It is an open group with active participation by local, state and federal
government agencies, water and sanitation districts, environmental and educational non-profits, agricultural organizations, community volunteer groups, as well as engineers, biologists, businesses, students and private citizens. The council welcomes new participants. Sign up for their e-newsletter on their website, or call Lorraine, the Ventura River Watershed Coordinator, at 805-649-6852 x4.
Rice Creek After Restoration (During Planting)
Gray Fox Sighted on the Fox Canyon Trail in Valley View Preserve. Photo by Bardley Smith
The Dedication of Wilson Point
A small group joined members of John and Ginger Wilson’s family on October 5th to dedicate a Wilson memorial on the Valley View Preserve. At the newly named “Wilson Point,” a plaque set in a boulder reads: “In memory of Ginger and John Wilson. Their kindness and spirit of quiet generosity set a standard for us all.”
Wilson Point stands above Shelf Road a small distance east of Fox Canyon Trailhead. A lookout loop trail departs from near its signpost on Shelf, and goes to Wilson Point where one will find the monument and a bench to take in the view.
Wilson Point is in the midst of the Ojai Valley and is overlooking it—giving a grand perspective of the valley as a whole. Ginger and John Wilson were similarly integral members of our community. While possessing a clear view of the community, they also understood what needed to be done to build and nurture it. And with “kindness,” and a “spirit of quiet generosity,” they did just that.
The lasting impact Ginger and John have left on our community is in the way that they permanently changed the behavior of the people around them. They have set a standard for the rest of us with regard to how one should live in and support their community. As we all stretch to clear this high bar, and as we teach our children to stretch, we will see Ginger and John making a difference in our community long after their passing. They are missed.
Upcoming Events
Astronomy: Ojai’s Incredible Night Skies
November 10, 6 – 9 p.m.
Wild about Ojai with Moorpark College Professor Hal Jandor Meet at the OVLC offices
Pad Yatra Film
November 9, 3 p.m.
Sponsored by the Ojai Film Festival Film at the Ojai Playhouse
Winter Migration Bird Walk
December 7, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Wild about Ojai with Jesse Grantham Meet on the Ojai Meadows Preserve.
Ecopsychology, Our Disconnect with Nature
January 11, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Wild about Ojai with Dr. Lori Pye
Ethnobotany
February 8, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Wild about Ojai with Jan Timbrook from the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum
To RSVP for an event, contact Marti at (805) 649-6852 or marti@ovlc.org. For an updated list of events, visit www.ovlc.org or “LIKE” us on Facebook.
Plaque and View from Wilson Point
Giving the Gift of Forever
Recently, upon the passing of one of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s supporters, we received a generous gift from their estate. None of this gift will be used to pay the OVLC’s day-to-day bills. Our Board of Directors designated that this gift be used for our endowment or reserve. Part of the philosophy behind this decision is our annual operation must be sustainable—we must live within our means—and not depend on unpredictable gifts to balance the budget. Another part of this decision is rooted in the high priority of building an endowment large enough to fund land management obligations in perpetuity.
There is something compelling about the notion that a gift at a person’s passing can give life and renewal—not just for a short time, but forever. A beautiful way to thank a person who gives at their passing is to let their gift and their impact be felt forever in an endowment. An endowment is a fund whose principal is not touched, but whose earnings can be used to support a particular purpose or need. In the case of
The Benefits of Legacy Giving
the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, our important purpose and need is to manage open space for the benefit of current and future generations, forever.
The Land Conservancy’s land management costs are roughly $100,000 per year. This equates to an endowment of roughly $2 million. Currently, the OVLC is well short of this goal, but every year we get a little bit closer.
Please consider giving the gift of forever by designating the OVLC as a beneficiary in your will, estate plan, retirement account, or by designating a percentage of your estate as your pledge to the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy. The vast majority of bequests to OVLC are used to build the endowment and safeguard the future. In this way, you can keep making a positive difference in our community long after your death. Contact Tania at the office or visit www.ovlc.org for information about how to include OVLC in your will or estate plans.
• You can make a gift that costs you nothing during your lifetime.
• You can make a gift that leaves your cash flow and current financial planning unchanged.
• You don’t have to use cash to make your gift; you can “buy low and sell high” by giving with appreciated securities instead.
• You can give an asset you no longer need or want.
Contact Greg Gamble, Executive Director if you are interested in leaving a legacy to the Ojai Valley, 805-649-6852 ext. 1
Ojai Meadow Preserve - Photograph by Les Dublin
Steelhead Preserve Education and Conservation Center
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) acquired the Ventura River Steelhead Preserve in June 2011 with the goal of protecting critical habitat for the federally endangered southern California steelhead and other species, and to provide an opportunity for the public to visit the preserve and learn about the Ventura River and its watershed. In addition to approximately one mile of the Ventura River, the OVLC also purchased the core of the historic Hollingsworth Ranch
including the main house and a handful of outbuildings as part of the preserve acquisition.
The OVLC’s vision is to use the buildings at the Hollingsworth Ranch for an Education and Conservation Center. At the center, we plan to host environmental education programs, community meetings and events, interpretive displays for preserve visitors, ecological research, and habitat restoration of the property. Currently, in order to achieve this vision, the OVLC is seeking the appropriate permits from Ventura County Planning Department for some physical changes to the preserve. The anticipated changes include structural upgrades to the historic buildings to enable public use, a formal designation as a Ventura County historic landmark, road and parking upgrades, the addition of indoor and outdoor interpretive exhibits to improve the visitor experience, and the establishment of an interpretive trail. Tangential to this process, the OVLC is also making plans for habitat restoration on this 65 acre preserve and has recently secured a grant for removal of Arundo on the preserve.
The OVLC is currently working with a consultant to lead us through the planning, design, and permitting maze with Ventura County. With some initial studies already complet-
Steelhead Preserve - Photograph by Les Dublin
Steelhead Preserve - Photograph by Les Dublin
ed, we are hopeful that within a year we will have finished our design work and secured the necessary permits for our vision. Since the acquisition of the preserve in 2011, we have been seeking grants not only for this design and permitting phase, but also the next phase: building. We have a portion of the needed funds committed and we are hopeful that by the time we have permits in hand we will have secured the remainder of those needed funds. We look forward to the day we can announce that the Ventura River Steelhead Preserve is open for the public to enjoy!
Don’t Miss PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey
Thanks to the annual Ojai Film Festival, for a second year OVLC will host a Focus on the Earth film as a fundraiser. Last year OVLC hosted Chasing Ice, this year the film is even more exotic!
Join us at 3 p.m. at the Ojai Playhouse Theater on Saturday, November 9, 2013. Tickets are $10.00 and they can be purchased in advance by calling Marti (805) 649-6853 ext. 2, or by visiting our website at ovlc.org. Ojai Film Festival yickets will also allow you access to the film. Last year we sold out, so buy tickets now.
PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey is the harrowing adventure of 700 people, trekking 450 miles across the Himalayas with a call to save the glacial region now devastated by the climate chaos associated with global warming. Battling the most treacherous terrain on earth, they faced long days of hiking straight up mountains, a super high altitude, low temperatures, a lack of food and more. These people spread their message of ecological compassion through a human’s most basic means by walking on foot, village to village, and showing by example.
Barely surviving injuries, illness, and starvation, the trekkers emerged with nearly half a ton of plastic litter strapped to their backs, triggering an historic green revolution across the rooftop of the world.
The “Eco-Pad Yatra,” organized by the non-profit Live to Love International (www.livetolove.org), is now an annual event that will continue around the world. In 2011, the Pad Yatra took place in Mumbai, India with 2,000 pounds of plastic litter collected and carried out. For Spring 2013, the government of Sri Lanka invited the Drukpa for an Eco-Pad Yatra to promote world cooperation and exchange over environmental issues.
Steelhead Preserve - Photograph by Les Dublin
PAD YATRA is winner of 8 International Awards, including Best Documentary and Audience Award Winner at 3 different festivals.
OJAI VALLEY
L AND C ONSERVANCY
Protecting your views, trails, water and wildlife
PO Box 1092 Ojai, CA 93024
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Ojai Meadows Level
Coldwell Banker Property Shoppe
Old Creek Ranch Winery
Patagonia
San Antonio Level
Aqua-Flo Supply
Channel Islands Sportfishing
Derby & Derby Inc.
Euterpe Farms
Law Office of Thomas E. Malley
New Oak Ranch
Ojai Café Emporium
Ojai Community Bank
Rains
Riverview Ranch
Shanbrom, Casey & Associates
SusanKGuyART.com
The Ojai Valley Inn & Spa
Vintage Production California LLC
Sulphur Mountain Level
Barnhart & Barnhart Insurance
Heritage Financial
Meiners Oaks Ace Hardware
Ojai Rexall Drugs
Oso Ranch
Rogers, Sheffield & Campbell LLP (Phil Moncharsh)
Suzanne’s Cuisine
Waite, Jacobs & Atkinson (Attorneys at Law)
In-kind Sponsors
bitVision
Ojai Phone Book
Ojai Valley Directory
Ojai Valley News
Ojai Quarterly
Silver Plumbing
Thank you to all our business sponsors for helping us protect the views, trails, water and wildlife in the Ojai Valley.
Special Gifts
Ojai, CA
In Honor of Ken and Abigal Convery, Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex from Peter Larramendy
In Memory of Martha Churchyard from Val Schorre
A Welcome to Our New Members
Andrew & Melissa MacCalla
Carmen Fetter
Cheryl & Richard Bertola
David & Katherine Willis
David & Lacey Lantz
Deborah & Richard Waxberg
Duffy McPherson
Greg & Mechas Grinnell
Holly Woolson
Isabel & Gerald Kimble
Joshua Boneh
Kevin & Asli Ruff
Lyle & Nancy Armstrong
Mary & Les Baker
Meera Doranna LeVine
Nancy M. Moir
Pat & John Allen
Peter Larramendy
Reza Ganjavi
Rick Kaylor
Please join us in welcoming the newest members of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy staff to our team:
Tania Parker – Director of Advancement
Lauren Cole – Restoration Field Crew
Nick Tapia – Restoration Field Crew
It is our members, like you, who support our staff here at the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy. To read more about all of our staff, visit our website ovlc.org.