VLT Outlook - Summer 2023 by Ventura Land Trust

Ventura Land Trust

UTLOOK SUMMER 2023

20 YEARS OF CONSERVATION VENTURA LAND TRUST CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY

VLT BOARD OF TRUSTEES - NEW MEMBERS

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Mark Watkins • President Sylvia Schnopp, •Vice President Doug Trapp • Secretary Meridith Thompson •Treasurer Brian Clark Russell Galipeau John Krist Kate Larramendy Jane Montague Drew Powers Osmany (Ozzie) Rios

OUR MISSION

The mission of Ventura Land Trust is to permanently protect the land, water, wildlife, and scenic beauty of the Ventura region for current and future generations.

OUTLOOK

THE NEWSLETTER OF VENTURA LAND TRUST Editor: Brooke Ashworth Contributors: Melissa Baffa, Chris Chaleunrath, Dan Hulst, Laura Pavliscak, Trudy Trudeau. Design: T Christian Gapen Cover photo by Christina Kennedy 805.643.8044 PO Box 1284 Ventura, CA 93002 venturalandtrust.org

STAY CONNECTED

Find us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube Copyright 2023 Ventura Land Trust. All rights reserved. Ventura Land Trust is accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, awarded to land trusts meeting the highest national standards for excellence and conservation permanence.

Ventura Land Trust • Outlook

JOHN KRIST retired in 2022 after 14 years as CEO of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County. Before joining the Farm Bureau, John worked for 25 years as a reporter, editor and Opinion-page columnist at the Ventura County Star, where his commentaries on land-use policy, natural resources and environmental issues were distributed by Scripps Howard News Service and published in newspapers throughout the United States. John is the author of three books about California’s parks and wilderness areas, as well as Voyage of Rediscovery, based on his experiences retracing the Lewis and Clark Expedition trail, and Living Legacy: The Story of Ventura County Agriculture. In retirement, he continues to work on consulting projects for clients as a writer, editor, researcher and photographer. A lifelong outdoorsman, he travels frequently throughout the West with his partner Leslie and publishes an online travel journal. KATE LARRAMENDY was a founding member of the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy, helping to produce the Ventura Hillsides Music Festival for a decade. While she was an undergrad at UC Berkeley, she skied, backpacked and climbed while working with iconic outdoor shop The Ski Hut, and found her calling in sourcing and designing clothing from around the world, while discovering an urgent need to protect intact wilderness. Kate had a 16-year tenure as Design and R&D Director at Patagonia, and then consulted with several outdoor companies before joining Santa Barbara-based Toad&Co as Director of Design & Sustainability. She currently serves on the board of The Conservation Alliance, whose mission is to harness the collective power of business to fund and advocate for the protection of North America’s wild places. When not advocating, Kate enjoys the good life – outdoors, good food, dogs, travel, natural beauty, and the surf outside her front door. ANDREW POWERS has over 20 years in local government in cities spanning the East and West coasts. He currently serves as City Manager for the City of Thousand Oaks, an agency he joined in 2007. As City Manager, Andrew is responsible for overseeing municipal operations serving approximately 130,000 residents. Prior to his work in Thousand Oaks, Andrew managed communications and media relations, web development, and community partnerships for the City of Ventura’s Civic Engagement Division. Andrew holds a B.S. from North Carolina State University and a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from California Lutheran University, where he serves as an adjunct professor. Andrew and his wife, Ashley spend much of their free time with their five-year-old daughter and enjoy surfing, hiking, and exploring the globe. MERIDITH THOMPSON, a North Carolina native, spent much of her youth in the outdoors climbing trees and jumping in creeks. After obtaining both her B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from North Carolina State University, Meridith began her Finance career as an auditor with Ernst & Young, and currently works in Accounting at The Trade Desk. She is also a graduate of the Ventura County Leadership Academy. Meridith lives in Ventura with her husband, Ryan, and their two children, Joanna and Arthur. In her free time, you can find Meridith out for a run, hanging out at the beach, taking a hike at Harmon Canyon, or volunteering with her children’s extracurricular activities. Meridith cherishes the outdoor experiences she had as a child, and is dedicated to keeping nature open and accessible to the Ventura community.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Community Comes Together for Open Space

entura Land Trust is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

As I stand at this twenty year mark, with enough road behind to look back upon and a fantastic journey ahead, I can’t help but think about what got us here, and what it’s going to take to have a successful next chapter. Ventura Hillsides Conservancy (the precursor to VLT) emerged as a grassroots effort, with neighbors meeting in living rooms and across kitchen tables. It grew quickly and organically, like a wild cucumber vine in early spring. Its volunteers were tenacious, relentless, inspired, and inspiring. They rallied, they organized, and they rocked out. They took a problem and made it a cause; they took an opportunity and built a movement. And now that movement is twenty years old, with nearly 4,000 acres of conserved land welcoming more than 100,000 visitors per year. Many more of us have joined the cause now, building community as we build trails. We see each other at Harmon Canyon Preserve and the hardware store, at the film festival and the surf shop, over tacos and at the City Council meeting. Whether we pause in the middle of the trail or the middle of Main Street to catch up,

we’re friends, neighbors, and colleagues, and we’ve got a common cause. For the next twenty years, and the twenty behind that, we’ve got to continue to rally for open space. We’ve seen, with just a taste of Harmon Canyon Preserve, the beauty, serenity, and challenges that lie along these hillsides. We’ve seen the great need within our community for open space: for trails and vistas and places to explore and shady benches to rest upon. Twenty years is at once a significant chunk of time and a blink of the eye. Thanks for your partnership on this amazing journey, whether you just joined or you’ve been here since the beginning. We are part of a legacy that is much bigger than us all. Yours in nature,

Melissa Baffa Executive Director

NEW TO THE VLT TEAM ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR AMANDA BRUNNERT Amanda joined VLT in September 2022. A native Texan, Amanda developed an appreciation for nature through childhood trips to Big Bend and local state parks, stargazing at Fort Davis, and summers spent at the Fort Worth Nature Center. Amanda started her professional career at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, first as a teacher’s assistant for their Museum School program and working her way up to store manager for their two gift stores. Traveling across the country, seeing Yellowstone, Arches, and the Grand Canyon along the way, Amanda moved to California in 2017, putting down roots in Ventura. In addition to being a fan of road trips, Amanda enjoys hiking, reading on her porch, and snuggling with her dog, Scout, and cat, Luna. FIELD TECHNICIAN QUILL YATES Born and raised in Georgia, followed by college in Maine and capped off with four years in New Zealand, Quill has always been on the move. A constant, however, across the geographical diversity has been his passion for conservation. Georgia fostered a love for all things growing in muggy yet vibrant ecosystems. In Maine, Quill got his B.S. in Environmental Policy and US Government from Colby College while skiing icy mountains and hiking evergreen trails. New Zealand provided neverending conservation opportunities, ranging from endangered mudfish tracking to river bird habitat protection. Most recently, Quill was working at the UCSB Marine Science Institute as a lab and field technician. He is excited to bring his skills and experience from a conservation and science-based background to help further VLT’s ongoing commitment to best steward the lands we look after. If you can’t find Quill out on one of the preserves, he’s probably in the water surfing or out with his dog. SUMMER 2023

VLT BOARD OF TRUSTEES - NEW MEMBERS

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

OUR MISSION

The mission of Ventura Land Trust is to permanently protect the land, water, wildlife, and scenic beauty of the Ventura region for current and future generations.

OUTLOOK

STAY CONNECTED

Ventura Land Trust • Outlook

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Community Comes Together for Open Space

entura Land Trust is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Melissa Baffa Executive Director

COVER STORY

Ventura Land Trust’s Legacy:

Celebrating 20 years of Conservation By Melissa Baffa

t was February 2003 – pro-war drums beat in support of an invasion of Iraq, the nation mourned the recent explosion of the Space Shuttle Columbia, and sports fans celebrated Michael Jordan’s latest accomplishment: becoming the first NBA player over 40 to score more than 40 points in a game. As these headline-grabbing events were occurring, another milestone took place: a dedicated group of volunteers received word that their application to form a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Ventura, California had been approved. These conservation visionaries sought to protect the verdant hillsides behind the city of Ventura. Targeted for development, the steep slopes backing the seaside town inspired the founding of the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy, later to be renamed Ventura Land Trust. The founders believed that the hillsides were better left for wildlife, for hiking and mountain biking, for exploring, and for admiring from afar. To raise vital funds for the cause, VHC hosted an annual concert in Arroyo Verde Park, drawing an impressive list of top talent to this sleepy little town for a decade. Additional funding secured through grants and partnerships helped move the organization forward. VHC acquired small parcels of land within the Ventura River corridor, learning the ropes of acquisition and stewardship. The community took notice. The Ventura Hillsides Conservancy rebranded in 2017, becoming the “Ventura Land Trust,” to reflect the organization’s broadened vision. VLT acquired two massive properties in 2020: 1,645 acre Mariano Rancho Preserve (those very hillsides that inspired the founding of VHC), and 2,123 acre Harmon Canyon Preserve. VLT now owns seven preserves scattered across Ventura County, for a total of 3,877 acres! Now turning 20, VLT and its supporters have a lot to be proud of. As we celebrate this historic milestone, we look backwards in gratitude to the many volunteers, staff, funders, and dreamers who not only envisioned green, protected open space, but mobilized and organized to manifest the vision. We invite you to join us as we prepare for the next 20 years: volunteer, donate, and advocate! This movement is as strong as its supporters – will you join us?

Ventura Land Trust • Outlook

SUMMER 2023

COVER STORY

Ventura Land Trust’s Legacy:

Celebrating 20 years of Conservation By Melissa Baffa

Ventura Land Trust • Outlook

SUMMER 2023

HARMON HAPPENINGS

Harmon Canyon Happenings

SO MANY WAYS TO GIVE While gifts via check or credit card are traditional ways of supporting Ventura Land Trust, there are other ways you can give: planned giving, which refers to a charitable gift made as part of an individual’s estate planning process, and alternative gifts of assets.

armon Canyon Preserve experienced the wettest rainy season in recent memory. Powerful storms sent water rushing down hillsides, carving canyons and creek crossings, spawning sinkholes, and scouring sections of roads and trails, sending mud and stones tumbling. The soil received a deep, intermittent soaking, and within, hundreds of millions of seeds swelled with water and sprang from their slumber. The first wildflowers emerged in late February; by mid-March they were joined by a riot of vegetative growth and legions of brightly-colored blooms.

Planned giving allows donors to leave a lasting legacy by providing for Ventura Land Trust in their will, trust, or other estate planning documents. There are many benefits to making a planned gift to VLT. First and foremost, planned giving allows donors to make a significant impact on the organization’s work without affecting their current income or assets. By including Ventura Land Trust in your estate plans, you can provide for the organization’s future while still meeting your own financial needs during your lifetime. In addition to the personal satisfaction of leaving a legacy, planned giving can also provide tax benefits to donors and their families. Depending on the type of planned gift and the donor’s individual circumstances, planned giving can result in income tax deductions, reduced estate taxes, and other tax advantages.

Harmon Canyon Preserve closed to the public, opened again for about a week, and closed again. The storms kept coming. Trail cams caught footage of coyotes, deer, and other animals enjoying the quiet and solitude, and starting their own spring rituals.

A second method of giving you may not have considered is alternative gifts which include a range of financial support options. Donating stock, certificates of deposit, and other financial products is simple to do and provides generous tax incentives, particularly if the asset has significant appreciation. Other possibilities are designating a portion of your monthly IRA, social security, insurance, or annuity distribution.

Through it all, a new feature was taking shape: a massive art installation recognizing donors who supported the capital campaign for the preserve. Metal artist Tyronne McGrath worked diligently as breaks in the weather would allow, ▲ Harmon Canyon’s Legacy Wall welcomes visitors at the preserve trailhead. pouring footings for the sculpture, then welding key supports into place. Over the We appreciate those who heeded the closures and temperamental, soggy months, a scene took steered clear of our preserve; we know it was tough for shape: trees and yucca plants standing tall over some of you, especially when the sun was bright and the call Harmon’s wildlife inhabitants: quail, coyote, and a rabbit of the canyon was strong. As we engage in the work of were the first fauna to take their places, followed soon by forever we are ever-mindful of the need to be patient, to bobcats and more plants. The sculpture rose, bit by bit, unbe diligent, cautious and deliberate. To protect our trails, observed by the public, and on those weekend days not our creek, and our visitors, we knew we had to wait until drenched and dripping. VLT staff and volunteers worked we could let you back in. And now that we can, we are hard between rainstorms to repair damaged trails and thrilled to welcome you back. creek crossings, eager to re-open and to share it all: the green hillsides, the flowers, the sculpture, the birdsong.

G 6

All the donation methods outlined here allow donors to support Ventura Land Trust in a way that aligns with their own financial conditions and priorities. Scheduled distributions and legacy donations stabilize VLT’s budget, which is invaluable to any nonprofit. As a result, VLT is better able to continue protecting, conserving and, of course, sharing our natural open space in perpetuity. Further information can be found at https://www.venturalandtrust.org/legacy_giving Chat with VLT Development Director Chris Chaleunrath at (805) 643-8044 X702 or chris.chalenrath@venturalandtrust.org

▲ The Legacy Wall features plants and animals that call Turn to page 11 to learn how to get your very own leaf on the Harmon Canyon Legacy Wall!

Ventura Land Trust • Outlook

Harmon Canyon home.

SUMMER 2023

HARMON HAPPENINGS

Harmon Canyon Happenings

G 6

▲ The Legacy Wall features plants and animals that call Turn to page 11 to learn how to get your very own leaf on the Harmon Canyon Legacy Wall!

Ventura Land Trust • Outlook

Harmon Canyon home.

SUMMER 2023

SUMMER OUTLOOK

ARUNDO UPDATE

Tracking Wildlife in Harmon Canyon

Rejuvenation comes at a cost By Laura Pavliscak

hat a winter! As of mid-March, almost 30 inches of precipitation was tallied at the weather station in Harmon Canyon, about double our annual average--and the abundance shows! Our hillside preserves are vibrant with growth, the aromatic fragrance of sage and moist soil, and the melody of bird song and creek flow.

By Sarah “Trudy” Trudeau

ne of the core routines of Ventura Land Trust’s education programs is tracking: searching for evidence of wildlife such as footprints, scat, bones, nests, fur, feathers, and so on. In our programs, we encourage children to learn about the wildlife we share our environment with and to follow their curiosity in uncovering the mystery of their travels. With the bounty of rain we received this year, the canvas of mud spread across the land has made it easy to capture their journeys.

The abundance comes with a cost—steep slopes and associated infrastructure have incurred significant erosion issues with soil sloughing, deeply incised creek crossings, and extraordinarily deep sinkholes. But no wildscapes we steward are as transformed as our preserves on the Ventura River. In early January, high intensity storms pushed river depth five feet above major flood stage, approximately 20 feet above dry season levels. Flooding is a natural, intermittent process in healthy riverine systems and native species are specially adapted to endure this process, with deep roots anchoring both trees and soil, relatively pliant biomass that bends under flood pressure, and rapid growth recovery post-disturbance. There are factors that can exacerbate floodwater impacts—upstream infrastructure, vegetation management, drought stress, and invasive species, to name a few.

“I found one!” a child in one of our Ventura Wild programs exclaimed, waving to the rest of our group to come see. The children knelt down, heads circled close to the footprint pressed into the thick mud. “What do you notice?” one of our educators asked. “I see one, two, FOUR toes.”

At our Big Rock Preserve, a mature riparian gallery forest habitat just upstream from the Cañada Larga tributary, we estimate we lost at least 80% of our riparian vegetation. And while floodwaters were notable, we suspect that additional factors were at play. Arundo donax, or arundo, is an invasive bamboolike grass that has infested our waterways, growing in extraordinarily dense monotypic thickets and changing the way our riverine systems function.

Another traced the outline of each toe, saying, “I don’t see any claws! That means it’s a cat, right?” Our educator smiled and asked, “What direction do you think this animal was heading?” The group examined the footprint again, then darted their gaze around to see if they could find another print. Someone pointed to a faint track not far away, “that way, towards the river!” If we find a footprint that is particularly special and if conditions are just right, we will make a cast of it using plaster or dental stone. Mixing the powder with water, we can place a mold and pour the mixture into the track. With patience, the cast will harden and we can remove it to later add to our collection of educational materials. Throughout this Winter Season, our programs have collected over 15 tracks of various species. Take a look at the photo - Can you figure out which of our native wildlife made these tracks?

Ventura Land Trust • Outlook

▲ Educators with the Ventura Wild program took advantage of the mud and silt left behind by storms; program participants learned to identify tracks, and educators made casts to use later. Raccoon, deer. and mountain lion tracks were some of those recovered.

In peak season, arundo can grow up to four inches per day, developing enormous amounts of biomass. Where moist river systems traditionally have provided a fire break, arundo-infested creeks and rivers are highly flammable and will rapidly spread fire along the river corridor. Arundo grows thick, somewhat shallow rhizomatous root systems and has evolved to break away in giant churning clumps in flood events, bulldozing vegetation, infrastructure, and embankments downstream. Where it lands, it grows anew and rapidly overtakes disturbed areas and intact native plant communities alike. It uses three times more water than native riparian vegetation, precluding effective groundwater recharge. And it rapidly outcompetes native vegetation, creating impenetrable thickets that displace wildlife and degrade the function of our vital waterways.

▲ Aerial imagery of the Big Rock Preserve area in January 2022 (photo left)

with visible riparian canopy and January 2023 (photo right) after flooding scoured the riparian vegetation.

▲ Dense, extensive arundo debris deposits along east terrace of Ventura River, north Big Rock Preserve (27 January 2023).

PHOTO BY LAURA PAVLISCAK

The riparian woodland at Big Rock, and to a lesser extent, at Willoughby Preserve (adjacent to Emma Wood State Beach), has been scoured and replaced in areas by deep mats of arundo debris. Acquired by VLT starting in 2009, these preserves were painstakingly cleared of arundo with small pots of money and volunteer labor over a decade. We anticipate a notable influx of this highly invasive species to take root in the aftermath of the flooding. We are in the process of applying for permits and funding to address this significant threat to the biodiversity and ecological function of these river preserves. We could use your help! Consider coming out for a volunteer event to unearth native vegetation entangled in arundo debris. And, as always, your financial support is invaluable to our ongoing conservation efforts. SUMMER 2023

SUMMER OUTLOOK

ARUNDO UPDATE

Tracking Wildlife in Harmon Canyon

Rejuvenation comes at a cost By Laura Pavliscak

By Sarah “Trudy” Trudeau

Ventura Land Trust • Outlook

▲ Aerial imagery of the Big Rock Preserve area in January 2022 (photo left)

with visible riparian canopy and January 2023 (photo right) after flooding scoured the riparian vegetation.

▲ Dense, extensive arundo debris deposits along east terrace of Ventura River, north Big Rock Preserve (27 January 2023).

PHOTO BY LAURA PAVLISCAK

TRAIL TALK

NEWS

Rain events in Harmon Canyon impact trails By Dan Hulst

armon Canyon Preserve received nearly 40” of rain last winter and spring. That’s more than twice the normal amount of precipitation the canyon sees throughout a normal wet season!

While this rain can support extraordinary natural recruitment events for our native shrub and tree species, it can also wreak havoc on preserve infrastructure like roads and trails. Harmon Canyon had numerous preserve-wide closures this year, most notably a six-week closure during January and February. These closures were a result of the utility roads within Harmon Canyon deteriorating during back-to-back powerful rain events.

Mariano Rancho Updates

ince last year’s announcement of the acquisition of Mariano Rancho, Ventura Land Trust’s staff and Board of Trustees have been working behind the scenes to prepare this property for an official public opening, currently slated for late 2025. This includes conducting detailed studies, meeting with stakeholders, including neighbors, community members, and community leaders, and planning – so much planning!

While the utility roads were built over 70 years ago and not necessarily designed for effective water management, Ventura Land Trust has spent considerable time and resources developing single-track trails that can handle significant rain events. The older trails in the lower canyon built by VLT in 2020 and 2021 fared quite well in the rain events, with minimal erosion and effective water management. It seems that having regular use for two to three years on the trail tread before a very wet season helped keep things intact. The newer trail in the upper canyon (Ropersmith Family Trail), which was built in 2022, did not fare as well and experienced more damage and slips. Many factors contribute here, including varying soil compositions as well as less compaction from use ahead of the rainy season. The upper portion of the canyon has remained closed as dangerous conditions have persisted. The utility road through this region must be repaired so that it can accommodate electric utility trucks and other large, heavy vehicles; the huge storm-driven backlog of needed repairs across SoCal Edison’s territory has stood in the way of this work. But we are heartened to report that our partners at SCE have

10 Ventura Land Trust • Outlook

Starting last fall, VLT hosted a number of community meetings. Held across the city, from private residences to Poinsettia Pavilion to a church and a middle school cafeteria, these meetings had different topics and different formats. Alongside community members, we have explored a variety of topics, including trails, access points, conservation and restoration, hazard mitigation, and more. Altogether, more than 500 community members have come out to share their concerns, their excitement, and their input as we work through the planning process. We appreciate the enthusiasm and dedication of everyone who has participated so far.

swung into action recently on one of Harmon’s upper roads. We are grateful both for the support, and for the patience of those still eagerly awaiting the day we take down the fencing blocking off the upper canyon. One thing is certain: thoughtful planning, paired with maintenance and care put into the trails in the form of drain clearing, grade reversal installation, and tread compaction, results in more resilient trails, better at handling significant rain events like what we saw in January 2023. Ventura Land Trust aims to have all the trails reopened and running smoothly for the community as soon as possible. Thanks for hanging in there with us through an exceptionally wet year!

Better understanding this property is crucial to the planning and management of Ventura’s newest preserve. This includes biological surveys, which will help us to better understand the existing plant and animal communities found there. It will also help us in developing plans for restoration. Along Mariano Rancho’s borders, VLT has started surveying Mariano Rancho’s property boundaries, and has completed its third season of annual fire fuel clearance along the wildland-urban interface. All of these activities help our stewardship and conservation staff to understand the complex, interwoven issues contained within Mariano Rancho’s 1,645 acres.

Make Your Mark: Harmon Canyon Preserve Legacy Wall Only a few spots remain on the Legacy Wall at Harmon Canyon Preserve. When you contribute $1,000 or more to the Harmon Canyon campaign, you can claim your very own sycamore leaf on this incredible piece of art. Visit https://www.venturalandtrust.org/givinglevels to make a gift and claim your spot today.

SUMMER 2023 11

TRAIL TALK

NEWS

Rain events in Harmon Canyon impact trails By Dan Hulst

armon Canyon Preserve received nearly 40” of rain last winter and spring. That’s more than twice the normal amount of precipitation the canyon sees throughout a normal wet season!

Mariano Rancho Updates

10 Ventura Land Trust • Outlook

SUMMER 2023 11

Ventura Land Trust

UTLOOK Ventura Land Trust PO Box 1284 Ventura, CA 93002 www.venturalandtrust.org