Issuu

Vol. 10 No. 1

Winter 2014

The Martin Luther King National Day of Service: Our local Wetlands Benefit

By Derek Poultney, VHC Conservation Manager

very Martin Luther King Day of National Service, the President calls on all Americans to participate in our nation’s recovery and renewal by serving our communities. And Ventura sure responded. The Ventura Hillsides Conservancy’s call for Cleanup Volunteers produced over 100 of them, who filled up a 40-yard dumpster with trash from State Park property (between the 101 and railroad bridges) and cleared an acre of Arundo in 2 hours. We do these Clean-ups year round. Last June, the Southern California Wetland Recovery Project (SCWRP) awarded the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy (VHC) $28,000 to ensure the continued and on-going success of our volunteer and wetland education programs at our properties along the Ventura River. Since June, on the first Tuesday and third Saturday mornings of every month, the grant has funded 29 weekly patrols to ensure clean and safe conditions on the Willoughby Preserve and 12 monthly and/or bi-monthly volunteer restoration events. The highlight of this program so far was that Martin Luther King Day volunteer experience. VHC also hosted two preserve tours and trash clean-ups with employees from Union Bank, who contributed $5,000 toward our work:

Other notable monthly clean-ups featured employees from Channel Keeper and Patagonia, as well as students all the way from Boston University, who spent their holiday break volunteering for various nonprofits in southern California: The grant also helps VHC take many schools on fieldtrips to the Ventura River, where students participate in habitat restoration and water quality demonstration activities. Since June, VHC has hosted five school field trips to the Big Rock Preserve and five field trips to the Willoughby Preserve and greater estuary area, which have resulted in five, 40yard dumpsters filled with trash or Arundo! Thanks to the SCWRP grant, Resource Conservation Partners applies necessary herbicide to all the Arundo

Charter School students engaged in a reflective exercise along the Ventura River at VHC’s Willoughby Preserve

that our volunteer and labor crews cut to make sure it simply does not grow right back. Also special thanks to the CREW, who contributes their own grant funding to clear Arundo for VHC along the river. Continued on page 3

Wild & Scenic march 14-15 Film Festival T

See Pages 4 - 5

he Ventura Hillsides Conservancy will present the 5th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival at Ventura’s Poinsettia Pavilion over two evenings: Friday and Saturday, March 14th and 15th from 7 to 9:30 PM. Twenty-two films from eight different countries ranging in length from 2 to 30 minutes will be screened with unique programs each night.

“5th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival”

The Martin Luther King National Day of Service

From Our

Development Department...

Continued from page 1

Please save the date for VHC 3rd annual river picnic on Saturday May 24 to see how much safer and cleaner the community has made the Willoughby Preserve. Tours will showcase areas of Arundo removed by the CA Conservation Corps and The CREW, feature a water quality demonstration by Santa Barbara Channel Keepers, and a brief discussion with the Ventura Audubon chapter about birds likely to be seen in the area. Join the Clean-Up fun, help with sponsoring it, and bring your children and grandchildren to learn early on how to care for and repair our irreplaceable natural environment.

As Development Manager I am responsible for membership renewal and correspondence. So when I got two PayPal gifts of $50 from the same person within a few minutes of each other I thought it had to be a mistake. So I wrote to the donor. Here is the response I received:

Our late rains this season will still produce flowers on our hillsides. Photos — Bob Chianese

Sincerely, Laura C.

VHC Conservation Manager Derek Poultney leads a tour of the Willoughby Preserve and discusses how it takes a community to preserve our precious hillsides and river resources.

I can’t tell you how much that letter “made my day”. I had to get on the phone to call Laura and thank her right away. It’s always great to make new friends and hear how much our work is appreciated. And it’s even better when our donors volunteer and our volunteers donate! This issue of Outlook is being sent to current members, as well as folks who haven’t given a gift in a while. If your membership has lapsed I hope Laura’s enthusiasm will inspire you to renew your support for VHC. If you’re not sure if your dues are up to date, feel free to contact me and find out. Now is a great time to come back and take advantage of our Spring Membership Drive and get tickets for the Wild & Scenic Film Festival. As Laura says, incentives work!

Volunteers gather at VHC Willoughby Preserve on Martin Luther King National Service Day.

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy Outlook q

Tel: 805-643-8044 P.O. Box 1284, Ventura, CA 93002 www.venturahillsides.org Robert Louis Chianese, Editor email: editor@venturahillsides.org

q Outlook is published semi-annually by the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy, a 501 (c) (3) California nonprofit organization. Story submissions and ideas welcomed.

Lee Sherman Development Manager lsherman@venturahillsides.org (805) 643-8044 2

Union Bank Executive Assistant Chris Diaz presents VHC Board Member David Comden with a check during Stronghold School’s field trip to VHC’s Big Rock Preserve.

Photo by Hilary Swift

Hello, My name is Mrs. Laura C. My husband and I wish to both, separately, donate $50 to your wonderful organization. The chance to get 4 tickets each to the March films for our friends and family was a great incentive! I have paid as a guest by PayPal twice this morning. One is for me and the other is for my husband Mr. Michael C. As a child, my parents took us to the bike path just past the north end of Ventura Avenue and our family would ride bicycles to Ojai for ice cream. We would ride back to the car and play at Foster Park. I want my nieces’ & nephews’ and their children & grandchildren to be able to begin their family bike rides from the Beach in Ventura. My husband, Michael, feels very strongly about this too. We have been to the Ventura River clean up before, and plan to again. I very much hope to join in tomorrow morning. Last time was winter solstice in December 2013. I’m recovering from a planned surgery I had early this year but my husband bought hard toed boots for me to wear in the riverbed after I healed. Sometimes incentives work!

Boston University students enjoying the California sun on January 10!

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy Outlook

Winter 2014

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy Outlook

The 5th Ventura Wild & Scenic Film Festival is presented by the

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy — March 14 & 15 at 7:00 pm at

the Poinsettia Pavilion, 3451 Foothill Rd., Ventura.

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mong the selections being screened at the festival will be Cascada (USA), featuring spectacular footage of extreme river kayaking in North America, and Return to the Tepuis (Guyana/USA) which documents the pursuit of rare amphibians in the one of the most remote mountain ranges on earth. The Saturday night program will feature Slow is Fast (California), the project of Ventura County’s own Dan Malloy as he bicycles, surfs, and visits organic farms in California in a pursuit of the meaningful. Other offerings include The Joy of Air (Canada), Reynaldo (UK/Peru) and From the Ground to the Clouds (Tanzania). Filmmaker Maxwell Frank (Van Life II) will be on hand for the Friday screenings to talk about his craft, while local legend Dan Malloy (Slow is Fast) will handle the Q&A on Saturday night. Ventura-based singersongwriters will entertain filmgoers each night: Lex Rule will open the show on Friday, while Kevin Angus performs on Saturday. In addition to providing informative and engaging cinema, the Wild & Scenic Film Festival doubles as the Ventura-based land trust’s annual membership drive. Festival goers who join the Conservancy with a minimum $35 membership receive two general admission tickets. A $50 or greater membership yields four free tickets. New this year is the Festival’s Silver Circle program, which features reserved preferred seating and concierge service by Trustees for a $25 ticket price. Film goers can purchase tickets from the Conservancy’s website at www. venturahillsides.org. Tickets are also available at: Great Pacific Iron Works at 259 W. Santa Clara Street; and Simone’s Coffee & Tea at 7818 Telegraph Road. Tickets for one night are $10 each, per night. The Ventura Hillsides Conservancy is dedicated to permanently preserving the hillsides, canyons and open space that contribute to the unique character and natural environment of the Ventura region. Founded in 2003, the 501c3 public benefit corporation is supported by over 1500 members and scores of local business and government partners. The land trust currently stewards over 27 acres of valuable conservation lands in the Ventura region. Further information about the Conservancy is available on the web site www.venturahillsides.org.

Program for Friday – March 14, 2014

Program for Saturday: March 15, 2014

Cascada — Anson Fogel, Shannon Ethridge. Tangled vines. Endless rain. Dodgy hotel rooms. Mud. Biting flies. Aggressive viruses...Is this a vacation? It is a hunt for the perfect waterfall. (USA, 2013, 8 min)

The Joy of Air – Bryan Smith, Fitz Cahall “Leave the ground beneath your feet, Rise up, your inner legend greet. A body in motion – Twisting, turning, churning, yearning –Apex found, heaven bound. But remember, what goes up must come down”. (Canada, 2013, 4 min)

My First Fish – Ben Galland After an epic battle, a boy has a chance to hold his first catch. The memory is etched into the child’s brain, forever instilling a connection to the wild and the foundation for environmental stewardship. (USA, 2013, 7 min) Hidden Rivers of Southern Appalachia – Jeremy Monroe, David Herasimtschuk Biodiversity. It’s in the rivers of the Amazon, the jungles of Borneo, the coral reefs of Belize... oh, and the creeks of Tennessee. That’s right, southern Appalachia is a little-known hotspot for aquatic life and is home to some wildly diverse fish, mussels, salamanders, crayfish and other critters. Hidden Rivers takes an immersive look at the little-known creatures of these waters, their striking beauty and extreme vulnerability. (USA, 2013, 4 min) Paramos: Water for Life – John Martin At 2,640 meters, Bogotá, Columbia’s capital, is home to more than eight million people who depend on the surrounding mountains for their water. This ecosystem is now threatened by mining, ranching, and large-scale agriculture, and millions could suffer if it is not conserved. (Colombia, 2012, 8 min) I Am Red – Pete McBride The Colorado River runs 1,450 miles across seven states and two countries supplying water for 36 million people. It flowed to the sea for six million years but has not kissed the ocean since the late 1990s. (USA, 2013, 4 min) Field Spotlight: Nan Hauser – Peter Stonier, John Martin, Becca Field, Sebastian Perry Nan Hauser is a marine biologist and Conservation International Marine Fellow who studies whales and dolphins. Discover how through love, devotion, and sheer force of personality Nan has been making a massive difference, using her research to keep the oceans blue. (USA/Cook Islands, 2013, 4 min)

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One Day in Yosemite – Steven M. Bumgardner On a summer Tuesday thirty filmmakers spread throughout Yosemite to document the national park and the people who work and play there. Hikers, hang gliders, painters and cooks help create this unique portrait of One Day in Yosemite. (USA, 2013, 15 min)

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Winter 2014

Water & Wood – Jeremy Monroe, David Herasimtschuk After more than a century of ‘cleaning’ dead wood out of our rivers, we have accidentally removed critical life support systems needed for salmon and many other river creatures... and it’s now time for some heavy lifting. Water & Wood shows how far some restoration groups are going to get this important habitat element back into rivers. Captured as part of the forthcoming film Willamette Futures. (USA, 2013, 4 min) A Life Well Lived/Jim Whitaker – Eric Becker Legendary Mountaineer Jim Whittaker talks risk, beauty, and adventure on the 50th anniversary of his historic summit of Everest. (USA, 2013, 4 min) Tahoe Time – Justin Majeczky The beauty and essence of Tahoe is addictive. Experience Tahoe over 14 months. This short film is the next best thing to being there. (USA, 2012, 5 min)

Return to the Tepuis – Joe Riis, Jenny Nichols “I hear the most beautiful sound in the world,” says Dr. Bruce Means ... referring to the call of a toad that he and his expedition team travelled to the tops of South America to find. (Guyana/USA, 2013, 9 min) A Brief History of the 5-cent Bag Tax – Craig Schattner, Adam Walker, Emil Superfin When your city is overflowing with plastic bags, how will you react? Jack Green, head of the Department of the Environment, is on a mission to rid the city of its plastic bag scourge. (USA, 2013, 2 min)

Elk Grass – Abbey Luck, Pete Van Leeuwen Told in an abstract and dreamy manner, this animated music video the viewer floats in and out through space around the lonely mountain, Elk Mountain, capturing the serenity and isolation inherent in nature. (USA, 2013, 2 min)

The Big Ventura River Bottom Clean-Up – CAPS-TV Check out the challenges and the cooperation involved in VHC’s ongoing work in restoring our river preserve. Q&A with VHC Board and Staff (USA, 2013, 5 min)

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy Outlook

Reynaldo –Dan Childs, Nick Werber Reynaldo lives in the Amazon Rainforest … he used to cut down trees and farm the land to survive. He learned the hard way that it was not a sustainable way to live. Then he learned how to farm in balance with the forest. Now he travels all over the region helping others to do the same. (UK/Peru, 2013, 6 min)

From the Ground to the Clouds – Denise Zmekhol Fifty years ago Jane Goodall set out to study the wild chimpanzees of Tanzania with little more than a pair of second-hand binoculars, some pencils and a notebook. Now her team uses mobile devices, satellite imagery and cloud-based mapping technologies to create a comprehensive picture of the conservation challenges in the Congo Basin. This transformational approach to habitat conservation is part of a global effort to monitor natural resources … and is giving hope to the survival of endangered chimpanzee populations. Tanzania, 2013, 8 min)

Van Life II – Maxwell Frank Ever wonder what it’s like to live in a van, traveling across the country to compete in mountain biking races? This film features elite rider Ryan Gardener in the Santa Barbara backcountry. Filmmaker Maxwell Frank will be on-hand to tell you all about it in a Q&A Session. (USA, 2013, 4 min)

Still Photos for Slow is Fast by Kanoa Zimmerman

Walk On Water – Andy Maser Having been paralyzed from the waist down in a ski accident, Greg Mallory finds new life through whitewater kayaking. Greg’s story is a celebration of the spirit that lives within each of us. (USA, 2013, 5 min)

Winter 2014

Fall Run – Todd Moen Fall Run is the ultimate Pacific Northwest steelhead adventure. This is the true story every angler dreams about retelling around the campfire forever. Hooking and landing a steelhead on a fly is not easy. It is arguably the most difficult type of fly fishing in the world. (USA, 2013, 14 min) Slow Is Fast – Dan Malloy Last fall, Dan Malloy and friends set out to bike and surf their native California coast. After two months and 700 miles, they were rolling back home to Ventura. “I learned more about the people and place here,” he wrote, “than I had in thirty five years and a thousand trips by car.” Q&A with Dan Malloy after the film!! (USA, 2013, 30 min)

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy Outlook

A VHC Volunteer Finds Environmental Clean Up Both Daunting and Fun

Thanks to our Wild & Scenic Film Festival 2014 Community Partners!

or the first time, VHC’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival will enjoy a Marquee-level ($2500) sponsorship. Ventura County Credit Union has stepped up as part of their ongoing Ventura Hillsides Conservancy donation activity. VCCU began operating out of the County Courthouse under a stairwell, with a part-time volunteer with a cash drawer to help fellow employees with their financial needs. Back then, the philosophy was simple: people helping people. It’s a philosophy that is still embraced today and has helped VCCU grow to more than $660 million in assets and more than 60,000 members and they’re still growing! We further want to express our gratitude to a host of additional local businesses that are supporting the 5th annual film festival in Ventura, including: Castoro Cellars, City of Ventura Environmental Sustainability, Island Brewing Company, Lori’s Original Lemonade, Open Blossom, Patagonia, Two Trees Brewing Company, Ventura Breeze, Ventura Film Society, VC Reporter, and Ventura County Star.

By Dashiell Dunkell

ith climate change and the ongoing drought getting so much attention this winter, it is easy to become depressed over what the future holds for California. However, those thoughts vanish when your volunteer group steps out onto the trails of VHC’s Willoughby Preserve and heads toward the Ventura River. Dirt paths wind through stands of native trees and eventually lead you to the main river channel. Water flows clear and cool among the river rocks and vegetation, empting into the large estuary near the Highway 101 Bridge. During my first cleanup we witnessed a large steelhead trout swimming in the clear water, as coots and other waterfowl floated above. Of course, though the volunteer cleanups are great times to spot wildlife, the evidence of human impacts on the river is never far away. One must constantly keep an eye out for any trash or debris marring the natural beauty of the area. It is a testament to the hard work of volunteers and staff at the VHC that the Willoughby Preserve is often quite clean, but in the surrounding properties the problems really start. With bags and grabbers in gloved hands, our volunteer group on that initial day found empty spray paint cans beneath the overpass, single-use plastic of all kinds, bike parts, suitcases and discarded clothes, even an electric lawn mower. The scale of the problem in the riverbed is hard to put in perspective until you see it firsthand. Especially for a newcomer, the sight of all the trash polluting such an ecologically important area can be difficult to handle. At first it seems overwhelming, but as the group continues working, we gradually clear large swathes of debris. Soon it becomes a scavenger hunt of sorts, trying to find every last piece of trash in the area. The work goes by quickly and before you know it, it’s time to head back. Hauling the full bags up to the road for pickup brings feelings of accomplishment. You helped beautify the community. You kept hundreds of pieces of plastic from washing downstream to the ocean. You cleaned a unique habitat used by myriad local species. And you had fun doing it. Ventura River photo by Bob Chianese.

The Cowbird menace to native birds

by Jackie Worden, Ventura Audubon Society

he least Bell’s vireo is a small songbird inhabiting riparian areas along meandering rivers of southern California. Once abundant throughout its range, it occurred historically on the Ventura River, but both the federal government and the state of California now list the least Bell’s vireo as endangered. It has declined to about 400 breeding pairs—primarily due to habitat loss and degradation, and due to non-indigenous brown-headed cowbirds! Brown-headed cowbirds are now widespread in North America, flourishing with the spread of agriculture and cattle feed lots. These fascinating birds are brood parasites, meaning that they only lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, typically songbirds that make cup nests. Cowbirds will remove or peck holes in the host bird’s eggs and sometimes will remove host chicks. Cowbird chicks tend to be larger and more aggressive in getting food than the host chicks, which results in the death of the host chicks male least Bell’s vireo in nest through starvation or smothering. One female cowbird may lay 40-60 eggs in one season in many different nests. One cowbird chick in the nest of the substantially smaller vireo species could result in the complete failure of vireo fledglings, ranging from 1-4 chicks per nest. In the extreme case, one female cowbird could therefore cause the failure of 160240 vireo chicks. In this way, cowbirds victimize as many as 200 different native species in North America, primarily songbirds. Cowbird trapping programs remove them from the environment, which increases the success of songbird nesting. Even if new cowbirds come into the area later in the nesting season, the songbirds have had a chance to reproduce. With cowbird control, the native songbirds may reach the positive tipping point of increasing their population numbers even if some nests continue to be parasitized. The Ventura Audubon Society in partnership with Ventura Hillsides Conservancy endeavors to restore a viable population of least Bell’s vireo in the lower Ventura River by trapping and removing cowbirds. (Cowbird trapping must be conducted by qualified and properly permitted biologists over several nesting vireo nest seasons to achieve control.) The effective range of one trap is roughly 1 km radius, making one trap worth the effort. Vireo productivity goes from barely over 1 without trapping to 3.5 with trapping. One trap might allow as many as 8 vireos to mature, and since these fledglings will return to their natal home range, vireos can increase in population in the following year from 20% to 200%. Many other songbirds benefit as well. Ventura Audubon and VHC seek funding to place several traps along six miles of the Ventura River, from the estuary to Foster Park, during the breeding season from April through June in 2014. Trapping will, however, be required for several years. A similar multi-year trapping program on the Santa Clara River has resulted in at least 60 nesting pairs of least Bell’s vireos in the Hedrick Ranch Nature Area where the Ventura Audubon Society played a significant role. The general idea, of course, is to return a healthy Ventura River to the community. A key measure of success will be to restore native habitat and the creatures that naturally should live there. Restoring the least Bell’s vireo and helping ensure its survival will be a signature step to this wider goal. cowbird trap in ventua river bottom

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy Outlook

Winter 2014

Photos by John Griffith.

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy Outlook

www.venturahillsides.org • Printed on recycled paper.

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy PO Box 1284 • Ventura, CA 93002 A ddress S erv i ce R e q uested

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Calendar of Upcoming Events

Wild & Scenic Film Fest

Two Trees photo by Bob Chianese.

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy Board of Trustees Tim Coonan, President Tom Weisel, Vice-President Gerhardt Hubner, Secretary Brooke Ashworth Lynn Bartosh Richard Francis David Comden Jamie L. King Jennifer Montoya Jens Reddeman — Our Mission — The Ventura Hillsides Conservancy is a land trust operating in the Ventura region to protect and conserve open space resources through acquisition of land and easements, stewardship of protected lands, and public education about local natural resources.

Poinsettia Pavilion, March 14-15 7PM

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NCY

Community Meeting and Property Tour Patagonia Grand Conference Room, April 23 5:30PM

World Fish Migration Day – River Picnic Willoughby Preserve, May 24 9AM-Noon

Holiday Street Fair Downtown Ventura, July 4 All day

Ventura River Habitat Restoration and Property Tour Schedule Every first Tuesday and third Saturday of the month from 9AM-Noon. Tuesdays: 4/8, 5/6, 6/3, 7/1, 8/5 Saturdays: 4/19, 5/17, 6/21, 7/19, 8/16

VHC is a proud member of the Land Trust Alliance — Visit www.lta.org

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Ventura Hillsides Conservancy Outlook

Winter 2014