Ojai Gets Glimpse Of Steelhead Preserve
Perry Van Houten
The Ojai Valley got its first look at the new Ventura River Steelhead Preserve last Friday at a sneak peek party hosted by the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy and attended by more than 250 guests that included OVLC members and their friends, along with state and local officials.
The new 45-acre preserve for the federally endangered fish was purchased on June 17 and includes one and one-third miles of the Ventura River beside the historic Hollingsworth Ranch on Santa Ana Road.
The preserve provides perhaps the best habitat on the entire river for the Southern California steelhead, which rely on the cool, deep, shaded pools on this section of the river as a staging area on their migration to the ocean. It also adds another mile to the roughly six miles of the river already preserved.
It’s all part of a larger plan “to protect a continuous greenway from Los Padres Forest all the way down to the estuary on the Ventura River,” says project director Bob Thiel of the California Coastal Conservancy. The organization stepped in to provide $500,000 toward the acquisition of the Steelhead Preserve, a key component of the Ventura River Parkway Project, which will some day include open space habitat, recreational trails and natural floodplains.
It’s a huge step in protecting the entire 16 miles of the Ventura River, and a rare acquisition, especially in Southern California, says Mary Larson of the California Department of Fish and Game. Her work was crucial in securing most of the $2 million needed to purchase the property. “It’s a vital part of the river and means so much to the fish and wildlife,” she said. Larson, who first visited the ranch in 2002 and worked with the previous owners on a bank stabilization project, called the purchase a win for both the community and river wildlife, providing “more space for the critters to exist.”
OVLC executive director Greg Gamble says it was the trust’s project partners like Thiel and Larson who proved so critical in purchasing the land and old stone buildings, and gave particular credit to Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett for “greasing the skids of county government.”
“This is certainly a joyful day,” said Bennett, “when you can permanently protect something on the river.”
It’s not just the steelhead that will feel the benefit of the new preserve, but also 29 other rare, threatened or endangered species. The preserve also offers historic buildings, which will be used as a conservation center, hosting scientists, schoolchildren and the public. Gamble told the OVN he thinks it will be a year or two before the preserve is ready for public use, as an additional $250,000 is needed to build a new access road, trails, signage and fencing and to make the necessary modifications to the buildings and landscaping. “It’s like we have a shiny new car, but still need the keys,” he said.
Another matter still unresolved in the preservation of the river is the removal of the Matilija Dam, which Gamble calls “a complicated issue” due to problems like money and the effects the silt buildup behind the dam could have on the river and Lake Casitas. “The main vision,” he says, “is connecting people to a healthy river.”
Music for the evening’s festivities was provided by local bands The Zen Cats and The Three Rivers Band, featuring OVLC’s Brian Stark on bass. The Ojai Vineyard donated wine for the party.
But the real stars of the show were the steelhead themselves. A handful of party-goers were lucky enough to spot two large fish, one of them almost 2 feet long, in one of the deep, shaded pools.
“They’re here,” said Gamble, “and we’re so excited to be able to protect this special place.”
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy is a nonprofit land trust which has been working to preserve the valley’s views, trails, water and wildlife for nearly 25 years. It has protected roughly 2,000 acres in the area, which is about two-thirds the size of the city of Ojai.
Our local southern steelhead trout have been hardwired over millenia (unlike their cousins to the north) to over summer in sun warmed pools. They wait in those pools until the rivers rise again and then up and down they go to complete their spawning cycle.
Various local, state and federal agencies (and the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy) are spending a lot of money to rehabilitate the degraded habitats of the river that have been changed in various ways by the damming of the river (which also affects the sand moving down stream)and channelization in the 40′s and 50′s which removed pools, cover and trees. The river was once much healthier and had more water and hence more fish. In fact it was famous for its steelhead and beautiful pools. The Arundo in the river, more human population (more pumping of the ground water) and some farming operations together with a shallow aquifer in places have all affected the historic flows. Yet, the steelhead persists and as in all up and down the coast many agencies and organizations are trying hard to restore the fishery which includes also various salmon. Steelhead Grow Where Rivers Flow.
Social club for rich people (Ventura Hillsides).
there is no water typically in the river bottom right?? only if it rains which it rarely does ..so if the dam is not dismantled, I don’t get it .. wtih no water, how does the steelhead trout get to sea??
I think the Land Conservancy is a very great organization that just kicks butt on doing excellent things. It must be pointed out though for the OVN reporter to “advertise” large steelhead at the new preserve is a little bit like those articles in magazines with titles like “Ojai; The Last Best Secret Place to Live in California.”
With that it’s not a secret anymore. Considering the steelhead is an endangered species and that any number of lunkheads would love a fishing challenge, I say “your secret is out.” Lock your gates and put that top- knotch preserve manager of yours on the lookout!