Steelhead Plan Prompts Action
Casitas wants impacts clarified by feds
By Daryl Kelley
The Casitas Municipal Water District has requested that a federal agency seeking to restore endangered southern steelhead trout in the Ventura River to sustainable levels provide more solid information and be more precise and realistic in its goals.
In a letter responding to an aggressive new steelhead recovery plan, Casitas directors agreed Wednesday to ask the Federal Marine Fisheries Service to further research the issue and investigate courses of action that could bring results without having so much impact on the 23 million people who live in Southern California.
The plan, released in draft form in July after six years of study, does not estimate the costs of restoring the Southern California steelhead trout nor list in an order of importance the steps needed to accomplish that goal, Casitas officials said.
“There are some real key critical flaws,” general manager Steve Wickstrum told Casitas directors Wednesday. “Yes, there should be a recovery plan. The question is whether what’s been developed needs to be studied even further. The (fisheries service) needs to focus on where they can get more bang for the buck.”
A central recommendation of the new plan is to remove barriers that keep the southern steelhead — classified as endangered in 1997 — from migrating to the ocean as juveniles and returning up southland rivers as adults to spawn.
The number of adult southern steelhead has declined to about 500 today from an estimated 32,000 to 46,000 before construction of dams and barriers on rivers from Santa Maria to the Mexican border, the report says.
But even those historic estimates have been challenged as far too high by critics who say earlier steelhead counts were flawed and that adult steelhead are easily mistaken for rainbow trout, their close cousin.
Casitas officials, who manage the Casitas Dam and reservoir, the Ojai Valley’s chief source of water, seemed most concerned about a mention in the report of removing Casitas Dam, which is seen as an impediment to restoring the steelhead’s natural migration.
Rather than concentrating on more viable, less costly solutions that do not destroy a water supply for humans, federal officials mention removing dams and other barriers to steelhead migration as a primary objective, Wickstrum said.
“They just attack impediments, impediments,” he said.
The Casitas letter to federal officials says that it is just one of many water agencies that “share common concerns regarding the plan and its proposed recovery actions.
“Casitas concurs with the need for further research to fill the gaps in data and suggests doing so before making decisions to move forward on measures that will have severe impacts to water supplies and the human populations,” says the Casitas letter.
Casitas supports “development of a recovery plan with realistic measures and identifiable goals,” the letter says. “The current plan has reached as far as one can to propose turning the clock back to pre-dam conditions, which would have significant impacts to the environment, public health and safety and socio-economics of Southern California. The plan should be improved to consider the real cost of its proposed measures and alternatives which may lead to recovery goals.”
Those recovery measures should be “effective and efficient,” the letter says.
And it notes that previous efforts on the Ventura River, especially Casitas’ construction of a $9-million fish ladder at Robles Diversion Dam near Ojai, have seen some success. Several adult steelhead have migrated up the ladder toward potential spawning grounds.
Casitas officials noted, however, that the greatest step toward re-establishing a stable steelhead population in the Ventura River watershed would be removal of the Matilija Dam, about two miles upstream from the Robles fish ladder.
Federal and state officials have agreed, and committed to spend more than $100 million to tear down the obsolete, silt-filled dam. But complications about what to do with the silt have slowed that process to a crawl, and now threaten to kill it because of costs that have escalated to at least $155 million.
“If Matilija Dam is removed that might go a long way to restoring the Ventura River watershed,” Wickstrum said in an interview.
Yet, even as the Casitas board voted unanimously to send its letter, two board members with backgrounds in environmental protection applauded the new plan as a step in the right direction, if flawed.
“I have concerns about the tone of the (Casitas) response to the Steelhead Recovery Plan,” said Director Richard Handley, who is also a land manager with the Nature Conservancy. “While I’m not in favor of such measures as taking down Casitas Dam in order to promote recovery, I think we must recognize that steelhead are an important indicator of the balance that is needed to sustain the life-giving properties of our river systems.
“Restoring and maintaining a river system that supports a healthy population of steelhead,” Handley wrote in an e-mail on Thursday, “will help achieve the delicate balance that is needed to insure survival of a multitude of other species within the watershed.”
Director Russ Baggerly, in a personal letter to the Marine Fisheries Service, also called the plan “an excellent guide for local agencies and non-governmental agencies to utilize for a long time to come.”
But Baggerly reflected overall Casitas concerns by saying that “many significant gaps in science still remain” in the recovery plan, and cautioning against its use by federal regulators in issuing permits until the plan is final and complete.
“It is clearly presented in an incomplete form,” Baggerly wrote.
And he recommended, much as the full board, that restoration efforts be listed in priority order.
“Actions are just listed and not prioritized,” he said in an interview. “And some of the recovery actions would be very disruptive to 23 million people.”
On the other hand, Baggerly said, removal of Matilija Dam would be a huge step forward and would not negatively affect many people.
The Steelhead Recovery Plan itself acknowledges that the draft plan is a beginning, a non-binding guideline without regulatory status. And it says that its costs have not yet been determined.
“An implementation schedule describing time frames and costs associated with individual recovery actions is under development,” the plan says. “Estimating total cost to recovery is much more challenging, if not impossible to estimate for a variety of reasons.
“Nonetheless,” the plan says, “the criteria and recovery actions identified in this recovery plan provide a comprehensive road map for recovery and are consistent with many ongoing activities intended to protect and/or restore ecosystem functions in Southern California watersheds.”
To read the draft recovery plan click here.
Youth Foundation Cuts Staff
By Bret Bradigan
Caught between a decline in grants and a desire to expand programs to local youth, the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation has restructured, eliminating three positions, including that of executive director Joanna Iwata, and bringing in board member Dan Burrell to oversee operations.
Also losing their jobs are business manager Marty Reid and program manager Laura Charles. Cindy Jones, development manager, and Meg Wall, program manager, will remain on staff.
Burrell, owner of several local Jersey Mike’s franchises, said the organization was on track to come up with about a $25,000 deficit this year, and with the cuts, should be back in the black. “The truth is, the grants dried up,” he said, though local fund-raising efforts remained steady. The OVYF hosts three major events each year — the annual luncheon, golf tournament and tennis marathon.
The Youth Foundation is retaining its regular programs — including the Youth Leadership Project, Taco Tuesdays, Pizza Night and the Oak View Teen Center — and planning on adding more, such as the recent “Teens Talk, Will You Listen?” event at Matilija Auditorium, which brought in a full house to hear a dramatization of more than 300 teens who responded to a survey.
“Regardless of economic hardship, it is an honor for me to be part of the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation,” said Burrell. “What this organization has done in the past, and continues to do for the youth in this valley, is nothing short of amazing. In the coming months, we will grow this organization, supporting more youth than ever.”
Burrell, who will be volunteering his time, said the OVYF is also planning a new fund-raising event, a barbecue at Nordhoff High School, and is already making one-on-one visits with residents to reaffirm the OVYF’s purpose and direction.
He said departing director Iwata would be missed, praising her work building relations and visibility with the community.
Iwata, who was at the helm of the OVYF for two years, said she is confident that the organization she helped build would remain sturdy.
“I am confident of the new direction Dan and our board members will undertake. As we all know, it takes a whole village to support what we can do by working together on behalf of our youth!”
Steenburgen Presents Film Award
Ojai residents Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson take time out after presenting the 2009 Ojai Film Society Steenburgen Film Studies Award to Brooks Institute student Sean Broadbent for his film, “Une Vie Merveilleuse.” Photo by Scott Wintermute
By Nancy Gross
The Ojai Film Society honored its 2009 Steenburgen Film Studies Scholarship winner on Sunday, and honoree and Brooks Institute student Sean Broadbent’s short film “Une Vie Merveilleuse” screened. The filmmaker and film will also be showcased at the Film Society’s 20th anniversary party Saturday.
Mary Steenburgen presented the award to Broadbent. OFS President Ron Phillips and Vice President George Sandoval spoke. Phillips said, “It’s a delightful film.” Sandoval said that the mission statement of the OFS is “to bring great films to the Ojai Valley, and to help student filmmakers.” When the OFS commends a student filmmaker, they also recognize an Ojai resident who is part of the film community and who contributes to Ojai’s film culture.
Scholarships have been given since 1997, and the first award went to Rosie Castro in the names of Gregory Nava and Ana Thomas. In 2004 the award was given in Sergio Aragonés’ name to Alicia Cattoni, who recently released her film, “Faith in Iran.”
Steenburgen said, “Thank you to the Ojai Film Society. I’m so proud to be part of this community. It is where I raised my children.” Steenburgen remembered how, after living away from Ojai for 10 years, she had dinner with friends in Ojai and “couldn’t stop crying, I missed being in Ojai so much.”
Steenburgen moved back and is pleased to say that her husband, Ted Danson, is as happy as she is living here. Danson currently shooting a show for HBO titled “Bored to Death” in New York.
“People care very deeply about this community and about the arts,” Steenburgen said, and added that as the mother of a young film studies major at American Film Institute, she understands the challenges with budgeting for student films and is glad the $4,500 scholarship will help Broadbent with future endeavors.
Brooks instructor Paul Margolis wrote, “The short film Broadbent wrote, directed and produced in class featured tremendously appealing characters, a well-crafted story line, and most important, a deeper theme that made it emotionally compelling in a way that few student films are. It is a testament to Sean’s passion and seriousness about film that he actually found a cheap fare to Paris, flew there for a weekend and shot footage which he then cleverly edited into scenes filmed locally.”
Broadbent is from Texas. He began college at Lamar University, while concurrently finishing high school. He lived in Ojai for a year and currently lives in Ventura. Broadbent has not passed up opportunities to immerse himself in the film world, and worked as an usher in last year’s Ojai Film Festival.
The OFS has opened the yearly scholarship opportunity exclusively to Brooks’ students for the past three years.
Broadbent spoke candidly to the crowd that filled the Ojai Theatre: “We’re very lucky about the film. It’s kind of a work in progress and a little bit about what this is truly about. It is about the heart. The heart of this film is about love. The heart of love is about forgiveness.”
Broadbent, though choked up as he spoke, said after the event that the film is not autobiographical. Nevertheless the emotion of the film rang sincere with some viewers who spoke to the filmmaker in the lobby.
Ojai resident Linda Phillips said, “I just was able to discover what I really think is a rising young talent. The film told a complete and true story.”
After remarking how this narrative was achieved without any dialogue, Broadbent said, “That was a demand of the class, and it was pretty hard to deal with. You have to rely on subtleties. The first script, I had a different perspective. The idea to do it through the little girl’s eyes is what made it come together.”
The story is about a couple about to split up over demands and challenges that are alluded to more than spelled out. Their young daughter finds their wedding album that contains their memories from a trip to Paris. She begins to try to heal her parents’ widening rift by drawing their attention to the things that once joined them.
Saturday’s OFS gala begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Ojai Art Center. Paid reservations of $50 per person are required. Board member Andi Bloom is busy obtaining items for the silent auction. Il Giardino will cater dinner. The OFS is a volunteer organization with an esteemed history that has at times aided in the organization and fund raising for the Ojai Film Festival and the Ojai Music Festival. The OFS has given out over $40,000 in scholarships.
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