News
OAK RESTORATION AT THE OJAI MEADOWS PRESERVE
On June 20 and 21, OVLC hired The C.R.E.W. to remove 7 non-native trees at the Ojai Meadows Preserve as part of a greater conservation effort to restore oak woodlands and savannas in the Ojai Valley.
JESSE GRANTHAM: FAREWELL TO AN OJAI LEGEND & AVIAN EXPERT
Former Board member and dedicated OVLC volunteer Jesse Grantham and his wife Trina have moved to North Carolina to be closer to their grandchildren. Longtime Ojai residents and OVLC supporters know Jesse as the local authority on all things avian. Perry Van Houten wrote a lovely and fitting tribute to Jessie in the Ojai Valley News on April 23, 2021.
CREATURE FEATURE / JULY 2021
OVLC has recently received some new tenants on its Ventura River Preserve. Coyotes (Canis latrans) have been seen displaying territorial behavior near some parts of the river due to a nearby den. Coyotes mate between January and March, and females usually give birth to 4-7 pups after a gestation period of 58-65 days.
RESTORATION / JULY 2021
OVLC Restoration Field Crew has recently gained a new member, Sophie McLean, to help out with field tasks and nursery management. She has a degree in Plant Biology and is excited to exchange her knowledge with OVLC Nursery Manager, Ron Singer.
NURSERY INTERNS
You may have noticed some new voices on our social media the last few weeks. Thanks in-part to a generous grant from the Rotary Club of Ojai, we have two interns from Nordhoff High School: Alessandra (Ally) Lucchesi and Corallyn Moss. They will be assisting OVLC Nursery Manager, Ron Singer, in growing and caring for the thousands of plants that the OVLC uses annually in restoration projects.
MEET LINDA WILKIN: OVLC LAND STEWARD
We are excited to formally introduce Linda, OVLC’s new Land Steward and botanist extraordinaire! Linda’s love for plants has given her a breadth of experience in farming, habitat restoration, and nursery work. These days, she is putting her experience and passion toward protecting OVLC’s open spaces. For the last eleven months, Linda has been out in the field engaging with preserve users, dealing with fires at the Ojai Meadows Preserve, fixing kiosks and trail signage, and more recently leading volunteer events.
FROM THE DIRECTOR / JULY 2021
Between the year and a half of pandemic-constrained life and California’s extreme drought, one could be excused for suffering from a grim outlook. However, we at OVLC see reasons to have optimism beyond the slowly abating (at least locally) pandemic.
Trail User Etiquette
Due to an increasing interest in outdoor recreation, OVLC trails are receiving more traffic than ever before. OVLC trails are primarily multi-use trails, open to equestrians, mountain bikers, and hikers/runners. Please be courteous to other users, share the trail, and follow these guidelines when you are using OVLC trails:
Why Oak Trees?
Every year OVLC plants hundreds of oak trees. These oak trees help the Ojai Valley become resilient to a changing climate. The oaks we plant today start off small and fragile, but with time they will become majestic towering oaks that define Ojai’s landscapes. Restoring our lands back to oak woodlands has a myriad of benefits for our […]
Aggressive Coyotes on OVLC Preserves
We have received multiple reports of coyotes acting extremely aggressive toward users in the vicinity of the Old Baldwin Road Trailhead and the lower Ventura River Preserve trails. In both incidents, hikers had large dogs with them and the coyotes aggressively and persistently threatened them
JOIN OUR ADOPTER PROGRAM
Wish you could volunteer on your own schedule? Now you can! We’re very excited to announce that with funding from the Ojai Women’s Fund we are starting our Volunteer Adopter Program. This will help us maintain our 27 miles of trails and our oak woodland restoration sites. Individuals will be able to take on responsibility for a section of trail on our various preserves (Trail Adopters) or several oak restoration circles on the Ventura River Preserve (Restoration Adopters). Join our new Adopter program!
RESTORATION / MARCH 2021
If you walk in the Ojai Meadows Preserve, you may have noticed burned areas scattered throughout the preserve. The Ventura County Fire Department believes that each of these fires was intentionally started, and is investigating further.
STEWARDSHIP / MARCH 2021
Lately, the iconic switchbacks on the hillside with the water tank are being short cut and a new trail is forming, following the ridge Luci’s Trail meanders up.
More Than Just Your Pretty Views
From almost anywhere in Ojai, you can look out at the undeveloped hillsides and know you are home. In addition to conserving Ojai’s scenic backdrop, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s protection and restoration of land has a myriad of benefits that go beyond beauty. The diverse and rich habitats that thrive in these open spaces provide the following essential ecosystem services that increase our resilience to a changing climate.
FROM THE DIRECTOR / MARCH 2021
If you have recently driven down Santa Ana Road, you may have noticed a small herd of goats grazing the fields at OVLC’s Ventura River Steelhead Preserve.
Adventure+ Film Tour 2021
The OVLC is teaming up with Adventure+ to bring you four virtual film tours. The Vertical Life Film Tour, available May 14-22, is an all new climbing film tour originated in Australia. The tour has been created and conceived by the team behind Vertical Life Magazine to celebrate the relaunch of the Magazine following COVID-19 hibernation and will make its North American debut in with a theatrical and virtual release on May 14, 2021.
MEET YOUR OVLC STAFF
While OVLC copes with elements of the new normal of the pandemic, we are encouraged by the recent staff changes, and look forward to coming through this strange time stronger than ever. Keep your eye out for Linda, as well as our restoration crew, and if you see them out on a preserve, please feel free to introduce yourself and say hello!
VOLUNTEER PROFILE
Over the years, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy has had many outstanding volunteers. Rob Young is one of them. He has been instrumental in many projects throughout the preserves, yet his leadership and commitment shined even brighter in his work on the construction of the Allan Jacobs trail and bridge. We would like to thank Rob for his years of volunteering and dedication to the OVLC. Volunteers like him and countless others are instrumental to our success protecting the preserves’ open spaces and trails. Rob was generous to take some time to talk to OVLC Land Steward, Linda Wilkin, about his experience volunteering and the building of the Allan Jacobs bridge.
CREATURE FEATURE
Have you been out on the trails and seen an unidentifiable flash of pink go by? It was likely a red coachwhip (Coluber flagellum piceus). These beautiful, fast snakes are one of the most cryptic snakes in Ojai.
THE GREEN VALLEY PROJECT
The Green Valley Project (GVP) is an environmental initiative led by The C.R.E.W. in partnership with Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, Once Upon a Watershed, Pax Environmental, and Watershed Progressive.The GVP plans to restore ecosystems in the Ojai Valley over the next 20 years, so they can provide habitat for abundant wildlife and improve Ojai’s resilience to drought, fire, and climate change. Principal funding comes from a generous multi-year grant from the Cotyledon Fund, a private donor-advised fund. The partners are also committed to raising support from community donors, and state and local grants.
2020 FISCAL YEAR* ANNUAL REPORT
* FY 2020: October 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020 In 2019, the OVLC Board chose a new auditor in its efforts to further improve internal controls after the unfortunate embezzlement in 2019. As we had hoped, that firm was extraordinarily detailed in the preparation of our Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 audit, which took until […]
Restoration / December ’20 OJAI MEADOWS PRESERVE SOUTH CHURCH FIELD
OVLC field crew has been hard at work controlling weeds. One area in particular that has changed dramatically in the last year is what the OVLC calls the South Church Field at the Ojai Meadows Preserve.
Stewardship / December ’20
In March, with the Allan Jacobs Bridge nearly complete, it was time to plan our next projects for our volunteer trail program. We decided to turn our attention to the three trails the OVLC adopts from the Los Padres National Forest: lower Gridley Trail, lower Pratt Trail, and Foothill Trail. With this goal in mind, […]
FROM THE DIRECTOR / December ’20
It has been said that the only constant is change, and like our society at large, 2020 has been a year of change at OVLC. In addition to the staff changes detailed on page 4 of this newsletter, the organization has a newly streamlined mission statement, a new July 1 fiscal year, and a new […]
OVLC TRAIL MANAGEMENT
The OVLC’s mission is to protect and restore the open space, wildlife habitat, watersheds, and views of the Ojai Valley for current and future generations. Due to a number of factors, many land trusts do not allow public access on their lands. One significant factor concerns the fact that recreational trails can impair habitat values […]
Construction of the Rice Canyon Canal Bridge: A Photographic Chronology
We have worked hard over the last two and a half years to ensure the Rice Canyon Canal Bridge, which crosses over the Robles Diversion Canal, would be reborn from the ashes once again after it burned in the Thomas Fire in 2017. However, unlike its last two predecessors that were constructed of wood, the […]
Let’s Talk Trash
We’ve tried different tactics to mitigate the trash issue including closing trash bins at trailheads, removing the trash bins all together, and asking users to pack out their own trash. From comments we’ve seen online there seems to be a misconception of what it means to pack it in, pack it out. Learn about how you can do your part to keep the preserves clean.
River Closed, Trails Open
We need your help!
Overuse and misuse are threatening the lands we love. We are not here to point fingers, but to ask you to help us address these problems together:
Rice Canyon Canal Bridge is complete, but we need your help to pay for it
The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally come to fruition. The Rice Canyon Canal Bridge is officially complete! The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, in partnership with the Casitas Municipal Water District and Bureau of Reclamation, has worked hard over the last two and a half years to ensure the Rice Canyon Canal Bridge, […]
From the Field / June ’20
Used baby diapers, empty beer cans, human feces, and punctured flotation devices have no place on the preserves. Similarly, the OVLC is very conscientious in where it places trails, trying to minimize the environmental impact of our presence in nature, yet every day we find new trails down to the river. At this time in […]
What’s In Bloom? Spring ’20
Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea) Unlike other sages, it’s the only native sage with reddish-pink flowers, and instead of behaving like a shrub, it grows from rhizomes and forms dense colonies that provide wonderful ground cover in areas like Wills Canyon. Woolly Bluecurls (Trichostema lanatum) This evergreen shrub looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss […]
Please Welcome Our New Executive Director!
The staff and Board of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) are excited to introduce Tom Maloney as our new Executive Director. His background in Economics and Resources Management and Administration, along with 25 years of conservation experience, make him the ideal candidate to lead the OVLC. “We are fortunate that Tom will be joining […]
Mountainfilm on Tour 2022 Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors. You help make this event bigger and better every year! Interested in being an event sponsor? Or donating to the virtual auction or raffle?Fill out the form below, or contact Adam Morrison at adam@ovlc.org or (805) 649-6852 x 208. Become a 2022 Mountainfilm Weekend Sponsor About Mountainfilm on Tour Eight […]
From the Field / February ’20
Here at the OVLC rain is a very exciting event—it kicks off the start to planting season for our field crew! We are out and about on all of the preserves, but we are especially proud of our plantings along San Antonio Creek, where native plants have successfully replaced invasive arundo, and at the old […]
Mountainfilm on Tour 2019
Thank you for coming to Mountainfilm!
Save the date: Mountainfilm 2020 September 18 & 19.
Under the Open Sky 2022
Join us Friday, September 16, at Under the Open Sky—a locally sourced farm-to-table dinner by Lorraine Lim Catering, beer poured by Topa Topa Brewing Co., wine from WarRoom Cellars, a virtual auction, and a paddle raise. When the sun sets we will enjoy a collection of films selected for this special event that will not be shown on Saturday night. All attendees will also receive a complimentary ticket to Saturday night’s Mountainfilm on Tour. This event will sell out. Please purchase your tickets early.
MOB SHOP MOVIE NIGHT 2019
MOB SHOP Movie Night
Saturday, August 31
Doors open at 7:00 pm, Films start at 7:30 pm
From the Director / June ’20
At the OVLC, we think about community, because quite candidly we couldn’t be here without the support of our generous community. OVLC preserves are the places where the community comes to rejuvenate, exercise, or simply reflect. While COVID-19 has altered how we gather, with physical distancing in place and community and volunteer events on hold, […]
From the Director / February ’20
Ojai is an extraordinary place filled with remarkable people in an amazing natural setting. It seems that the valley exerts a persistent pull on anyone who has spent any time here. In addition to these distinctive qualities, increasingly the Ojai Valley faces many challenges all too familiar to communities throughout California and the West. Perhaps […]
