OJAI VALLEY L AND C ONSERVANCY
Protecting your views, trails, water and wildlife
O
Winter Newsletter 2014 Volume 21, Number 1
pen
Looking Back, Looking Ahead As I’ve said before, paraphrasing John Sawhill, in the end this Ojai community will be defined not by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy. In 2013, you said that our backyard was worth saving. You said the scenic, mountainous backdrop of the community was important. You said our community is a nicer place to live if we have spectacular hiking opportunities walking distance from our homes. And you all stepped up to create the Valley View Preserve. The best part? It is forever. It will never go away. We’re not done with Valley View yet. The clean-up of decades of debris continues, but we’re nearly finished. Rick and his fearless volunteer trail crew are putting in a new trail to connect Shelf Road to the Foothill Trail on the eastern side of the preserve, creating another trail loop. Dozens, if not hundreds of times, I’ve been told how marvelous the Valley View Preserve and the Fox Canyon Trail are. It is not uncommon for this statement to be followed by a question: What’s next? We are always chasing about ten new projects at any given time, and 2014 will be no exception. This is in addition to habitat restoration projects that will be occurring simultaneously on four different preserves in 2014—that could be a record for us. We are extremely grateful for your support. It makes this all possible and enables us to continue to protect your views, trails, water and wildlife. Gratefully, Greg Gamble, Executive Director Protecting your views, trails, water and wildlife
S
paces
Ojai Valley Land Conservancy P.O. Box 1092 • Ojai, CA 93024 Office: 370 W. Baldwin Rd. A-4 Tel. 805-649-6852 • Fax 805-649-8913 info@ovlc.org • www.ovlc.org
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 Lauren Cole – Restoration Field Crew Nick Tapia – Restoration Field Crew
www.ovlc.org