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The latest news from the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy Vol. 11 No. 2
Working to Protect The Ojai Valley’s Future - Today
Fall 2004
Conservancy Adopts Wetland Restoration & Flood Control Plan A seemingly impossible dream became a reality in 2003 when the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy was awarded $1.15 million by the California Department of Water Resources to restore the Ojai Meadows Preserve. One of the first goals for the Conservancy when it was founded in 1987 was to purchase and restore the meadow. Seventeen years and thousands of volunteer hours later, it is all coming true.
Days Gone By
From Dream To Reality
Sadly, Ojai and the State of California have lost more than 95 percent of the wetlands that thrived here only 100 years ago. An aerial photo taken in 1929 reveals a large crescent shaped wetland covering the central portion of the 58-acre Ojai Meadows Preserve. With the construction of the Maricopa Highway north of the Y intersection in the 1930s and the relocation of the high school in Martin Potter, the early 1960s, the need to rediWildlife Biologist rect stream courses that fed the for the Department meadow resulted in the near of Fish and extinction of an extensive wetGame, discusses the lands ecosystem. restoration plan In addition, the rerouting of with OVLC the natural stream courses in the Board Member, vicinity of the Nordhoff High Sally Coleman School campus did not result in the elimination of flooding problems on the campus. The portion of Maricopa Highway that bisects the former wetlands continues to be inundated by winter rains. This limits access to the Nordhoff gymnasium, which is designated as an emergency command post and evacuation shelter by the American Red Cross. So with flooding on the Nordhoff campus a distinct possibility each winter, and the once flourishing wetlands largely gone, there was a genuine need for innovative and imaginative thinking.
In 2001 Matilija Junior High School history teacher Mike Krumpschmidt made a proposal to the Conservancy and the Ojai Unified School District, asking them to join forces and submit a grant to the California State Department of Water Resources. The two organizations gave Krumpshmidt the nod and early in 2003 the Department of Water Resources awarded $2.15 million to the School District and the Conservancy to raise the level of the athletic fields, redirect runoff away from the highway and re-establish the wetlands on the Preserve.
The Plan In early 2003, the Conservancy’s Board of Directors conceived the general concept for restoration that was designed to meet the needs and desires of the community. After a competitive selection process, the Conservancy hired Condor Environmental Planning Services of Santa Barbara to create a detailed restoration plan with the goals of flood Cattails control, water quality enhancement, and wetlands restoration. According to Sally Coleman, the Conservancy board member who is overseeing the restoration, the CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE