Santa Paula: Point Me to the Parkway

By Sheryl Hamlin

Imagine one of the world’s last free flowing rivers which is located within an hour of 16 million people! How does one provide stewardship of this endangered resource for future generations?

On Saturday, September 24, 2016, about 85 citizens - educators, scientists, preservationists, river enthusiasts and the curious - attended an intensive seminar about the Santa Clara River organized by Nina Danza, the Sierra Club Spokesperson for the Santa Clara River Parkway where this question was explored.

The picture below provided by The Nature Company’s Restoration Manager, Laura Riege, shows the grandeur of the Santa Clara River, a hidden gem of Ventura County.

Hiking to Washington

Alistair Coyne, founder of Keep Sespe Wild, detailed his path from hiker to river activist. His work focuses on the Sespe watershed near Fillmore where the Sespe flows into the Santa Clara River. He said that several dams were proposed for this area which led him to testify in Washington. Aided by Congressman Langomarsino, the Sierra Club and Senators Wilson and Cranston, President H.W. Bush signed a bill creating a wilderness area, but did not pull the dams. Later it was found that the Santa Catalina fault passed through this area, so one dam was pulled from consideration. He said with the Freeman Diversion Dam, such dams as proposed for the Sespe are not necessary.

Beneficial Effects of Rivers and Parkways

Jim Danza, Professor at Oxnard College and member of Friends of the Santa Clara River, started off reminding the audience that Los Angeles plans to spend $1 billion ”undoing” bad decisions about its river, in particular the concrete walls and floors of the river channels. Here is a link to the LA River Master Plan which recognizes the river as a resource to the community. Professor Danza noted that every great city is associated with a river.

What is a parkway, he asked the audience. Here are key components: flood control (without concrete), water supply , habitat preservation, education and recreation and climate change. For example, concrete floodwalls inhibit percolation whereas river wetlands filter water. He presented a chart from NOAA showing a spike in climate change since the Industrial Revolution with the trend of more extremes in rain and drought predicted thus necessitating capture of water when it comes. There are many opportunities across the country, he said, in river restoration.

He cited a plan by the California State Coastal Conservancy in conjunction with Cal Poly Pomona in the Oxnard area. Here is a link to the conservancy’s existing work with Ventura County.

Hedrich Ranch Nature Area

Sanger ”Sandy” Hedrich explained the process by which he came to the conclusion that in order to save his third generation farm he had to work with conservancies to ensure his land would stay intact for future generations.

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Sanger Sandy Hedrich

Thus was born the Hedrich Ranch Nature Area (HRNA). The project involved the Coastal Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy, the Fish and Game Department and the Friends of the Santa Clara River, who now own the property.

The property is divided into five unique planning areas. After 13 years, the area is rich with native plants and there is an on-site nursery, although they still fight invasive arundo. Students from UC Santa Barbara environmental sciences study the area and there are volunteer work days from October through April.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a silent force for science, explained Laura Riege, Restorations Manager. TNC was founded in 1915 and in 1946 the ecology arm split off to devote itself to science. This arm has no political involvement. The slide below from Ms. Riege’s presentation shows the state of TNC today.

The Nature Conservancy is an integral member of the parkway restoration having purchased 26 properties consisting of 3600 acres and many miles of rivers with a long term plan of turning this land to the public.

This article (not discussed at the meeting) describes a Nature Conservancy project which includes successful transition from purchase, through restoration and return to public use in a community in southern New Jersey. Not only were habitat benefits realized, but economic benefits from birders and other tourists flocking to the area.

Hike Through a Restoration

The area on the afternoon hiking tour is the Hanson Restoration, which was purchased in 2005, which according to the LA Times was the largest purchase in Ventura County by The Nature Company at that time, consisting of 1000 acres including part of South Mountain in an effort to create 25 mile river conservation zone.

The site entrance is on Mission Rock, just a stone’s throw away from the proposed Mission Rock peaker plant as shown here. The site is gated and not open to the public. Workers are now involved in restoration which includes arundo eradication and water conservation.

Hot, but not unbearable, about 30 citizens attended this special hike in an area not yet seen by the public.

Cause

Arecely Preciado from the local chapter of Cause (causenow.org) explained two projects: 1) citizen survey of recreational needs and 2) petition gathering against the Mission Rock Peaker Plant. Her surveys indicated that citizens preferred recreational activities close to home such as Steckel Park. They collected over 1000 signatures against the proposed Mission Rock peaker plant which is very near the Santa Clara River and the Hanson renovation. These were delivered to the California Energy Commission (CEC).

For more information about the author, visit sheryhamlin.com

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