RIPARIAN RESILIENCE FOR THE VENTURA RIVER WATERSHED

We kicked off Arundo removal season in September and are on track to make great progress this year. We have about 20 contractor crew members and four biological monitors working on Arundo and other invasive species treatments across Lion Creek, San Antonio Creek, and the mainstem Ventura River (alongside OVLC restoration staff). We started with re-treatments of sites we’ve been working on over the past few years, and are working our way downstream each reach, with the goal of treating 40 acres of Arundo and many other invasive species across 200 acres through January 2026. 

We’re not just removing Arundo, we’re taking a comprehensive approach to actively restore these riparian corridors that are so critical to our environment and our community. With support from CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, we’re going to be planting thousands of native plants and trees in areas where we remove Arundo, which will enable us to improve shade, reduce erosion, improve water quality, and promote biodiversity. 

This year is the first time we are operating three Arundo removal sites simultaneously, a symphony of harmonious noxious weed treatment conducted by our restoration team. However, we can’t achieve this dream alone. R.A. Atmore & Sons contribute their passion for invasive species treatment daily, and it has been so inspiring to be alongside the crews that enjoy the complexity and challenges of the field. Working as a team in unison, they make Arundo removal look easy, which it absolutely is not. 

Arundo stalks can reach up to 30ft tall, have razor sharp leaves and grow in dense stands, becoming a matrix of old stalks woven together with new growth, acting like a net that accumulates rocks, sediment, and debris from stream flows. Add to that the challenging access from steep creek banks, poison oak, and walls of Arundo that stretch for acres. We are also grateful for the expertise brought to this restoration work by Lawrence Hunt, a biologist who has been working to restore riparian habitat in the watershed since 2007 and provides invaluable insight to the project. We’ve also teamed up with Safe Passage Youth Foundation’s Puma Crew. The Puma Crew is a mentoring program for at-promise youth that helps them stay out of gangs and succeed by developing real-world skills, including habitat restoration! For two days, the Puma Crew worked in San Antonio Creek, cutting and hauling Arundo stalks and learning about the riparian ecosystem and what we can do to protect and enhance it. This is restoration work at its most extreme, and we are grateful for those who work with us to make it possible. 

Vivon Sedgwick, Restoration Program Director