OJAI VALLEY L AND C ONSERVANCY
Protecting your views, trails, water and wildlife
O
Spring Newsletter 2014 Volume 21, Number 2
pen
S
paces
Ojai Meadows Preserve - Photograph by Les Dublin
Ojai Meadows Preserve Restoration Update When the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy purchased the property that would become the Ojai Meadows Preserve, it was done with the shared community goals of providing relief from localized flooding, reducing storm water pollution, providing a refuge for birds and wildlife, and creating a safe public space where people could enjoy nature close to home. While purchasing the property kept it from ever being developed, the purchase alone did not fulfill the broad community vision. It was known from the beginning that a substantial effort would be required to turn the Preserve into the gem originally envisioned by the community. Shortly after the purchase, a very detailed restoration plan was prepared by a team of professional scientists. The plan continues to guide restoration and long-term management of the Preserve based on strong scientific principles for ecological restoration. The plan included a wetlands development phase, as well as an upland oak woodland development phase. With the wetlands nearing completion, we are now moving into the final upland phase. To date, the work based on this plan has already yielded an additional 100 bird species using the Preserve. We expect this trend to continue as we move from wetlands work to the uplands work. Looking around the Ojai Meadows Preserve you can see that a lot of activity is underway on the open fields. This work represents the final phase of the master Continued on next page Protecting your views, trails, water and wildlife
Board of Directors Don Reed – President Sandy Buechley – Vice President Cricket Twichell – Secretary Nathan Wallace – Treasurer Mary Bergen Allan Jacobs Bill Brothers Ann Oppenheimer Roger Essick Larry Rose Margot Griswold Roger Wachtell Brian Holly Barbara Washburn
Staff Greg Gamble – Executive Director Brian Stark – Conservation Director Tania Parker – Director of Advancement Rick Bisaccia – Preserve Manager Marti Reid – Office Manager Lorraine Walter – Watershed Coordinator Ron Singer – Nursery Manager Nick Tapia – Restoration Field Crew Zachary Carter – Restoration Field Crew Garret Cass – Restoration Field Crew Dashiell Dunkell – Restoration Field Crew
www.ovlc.org