Non-Commercial Orchard Removal Aims to Protect Commercial Groves and Reduce Fire Risks
A project to remove several thousand orange trees at the Ventura River Preserve will address community threats caused by the mix of live and dead orange trees in the historic orchard, and make way for the re-establishment of native oak savanna and woodland habitats. Beginning on October 12, the tree removal will be done mechanically […]
Mountainfilm on Tour Success
Update: The 2016 Date has been set! Stay tuned for more details and ticket sales this summer. Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour – Ojai Valley Land Conservancy Friday, September 23, 2016 5pm – 10pm A big thank you to everyone who came out on Friday to our Telluride Mountainfilm Festival event at Ojai Valley School. We […]
A is for Acorn
Believe it or not it’s acorn collecting time again Collecting as many as we can for restoration projects Drought has seriously hampered acorn production in California Exudation is the sticky substance you find on damaged acorns. Leave them be. Find an oak with grass underneath for a soft landing and better chance of survival. Green […]
Ojai Valley Land Conservancy Seeks National Accreditation
The land trust accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) is pleased to announce it is currently applying for accreditation. A public comment period is now open. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of […]
Why the oak circle?
Why the oak circle? Anyone that has been out to see our oak plantings on the Ojai Meadows Preserve and the Ventura River Preserve may have noticed a familiar planting pattern; that circular zone planted with oaks and shrubs. We call them oak nodes, or oak circles. We’ve had a few questions on the theory […]
Some Like It Hot
Others… not so much. As the summer takes hold and the mercury climbs many of our natives decide to close up shop and hunker down until October’s first rains. Dormancy is an important way to survive the 4-6 months of intense heat and almost total lack of water. This includes dropping some or all of […]
National Trails Day 2015
In celebration of 2015 National Trails Day the OVLC led hikes for the public in each of the preserves. It was a day of beautiful views, exciting wildlife sightings, and all together good times. To get a feel of what National Trails Day was like on the OVLC lead hikes, watch this video of the Ilvento Preserve […]
Desire Under the Oaks
One of the more frequent questions I get in my capacity as local plant nerd is what can I plant underneath my oak trees. Planting under oaks is tricky for a number of reasons. First, they are large and evergreen, thus allowing precious little sunlight to reach the ground anywhere near the trunk. Secondly, oak […]
Bird Walk Checklist
We had a fabulous bird walk at the Ojai Meadows Preserve this past Saturday with Jesse Grantham. Here is the list of the birds we saw, as a few photographs of the highlights thanks to Mike! 35 species total 5 Turkey Vulture 1 Cooper’s Hawk 1 Eurasian Collared-Dove 10 Mourning Dove 1 Greater Roadrunner 3 […]
Kennedy Ridge or Bust
The Kennedy Ridge Trail and OVLC Stewardship Director were featured in a great article by Ray Ford in the Santa Barbara Independent this week: As you ascend the switchbacks leading to the top of Kennedy Ridge the whole Ojai Valley comes into view. The Topatopa Mountain escarpment provides a similar backdrop to what we […]
Last Section of the Fuelbreak Road Trail Protected Forever
Ojai’s front country trails got another “leg up” this month with a donated easement to the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) for the final section of OVLC’s Fuelbreak Road Trail. Most of the popular trail had been put into a trail easement in the late 1990’s—connecting the U.S. Forest Service’s Fuelbreak Road and Gridley Trail. […]
OVLC Restoration Volunteer Highlights
The OVLC has been fortunate to have a number of locals volunteering at our preserves. A regular volunteer group at both the Ojai Meadows Preserve and the Ventura River Steelhead Preserve is Once Upon a Watershed. Once Upon a Watershed is an outdoor education program that provides hands-on watershed education, restoration, and stewardship to 4th, […]
Adopt-a-Trail Agreement Signed
With the ink barely dry on a new Adopt-a-Trail agreement for parts of the Foothill Trail, volunteers got busy recently doing needed maintenance. When the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) purchased what is now the Valley View Preserve two years ago it came with the promise of reopening the historic trail. That work was accomplished […]
Improved Hiking Access through Forest Service Partnership
It’s been a good month for improved hiking access with projects put in place in partnership with the US Forest Service (USFS). The Foothill Trail adopt-a-trail agreement and the Pratt Trailhead rehab project have finally launched. Heidi Anderson, the Ojai District’s Wilderness Trails Manager and temporary duty District Ranger Yolanda Saldana worked with OVLC to […]
Cleaning up the Ventura River
Pulling old dolls, smashed bicycles and discarded tires out of the river isn’t what everyone wants to do on their holiday, but for some 50 volunteers on Presidents’ Day, that’s exactly what they did; and the river was better off for it. Ojai people of all ages came together with trashcans and buckets and collected […]
Love Them, Leash Them, and Help Save the Birds
As Ojai’s people welcome the new calendar year, Ojai’s birds are anticipating the upcoming nesting/migration season (February through September). In no other place is this more important than at the Ojai Meadows Preserve. This restored wetland preserve has attracted 187 species of birds, and many of them choose the meadows for nesting or as a […]
Dreaming of a White Ceanothus
Stand anywhere in the Ojai Valley and look up and to your north or west. Well, not anywhere, this won’t work from your guest bathroom, I mean outside. Notice the white patchwork covering our beloved hillsides? Now get thee to thy nearest trailhead and take a deep breath. No, not the horse manure, try a […]
Fowl Weather Friends
The Ojai Meadow Preserve is a veritable cornucopia of ecological systems, one of the most popular and dramatic being the wetlands. Storm runoff which used to pour down the hills and flood Highway 33 is now caught in a nearly year-round pond and two vernal pools. The pools aren’t filling yet but the pond only […]
The Hardly Definitive Guide to the VRP Trail System Part 1
I’m not going to mince words here, or try to shoehorn a 68 point Scrabble word, the Ventura River Preserve is awesome. I am a wee bit biased; I live within 0.75, 1.5 and 2.25 miles from the three trailheads (I can hit the McDonalds with a 3 iron!) I receive a regular income from […]
Native American Heritage Commission Meeting Notice
The Native American Heritage Commission will hold a public meeting on Monday December 1, 2014 from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM. The meeting will be held in the conference room at the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, 370 W. Baldwin Road, Bldg A4 Ojai CA.
1% for Ojai Launches
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) manages approximately 2,000 acres for public use at a cost of $100,000 per year. Essential trail maintenance, preserve infrastructure repairs (such as fencing and signage), regular preserve patrols, and cleaning up graffiti are just some of the preserve management needs associated with this cost. And, with each new preserve […]
Sowing the Seeds Part Deaux
Part Une was actually one of my first ever (2012!!). I was so young and naive and rain wasn’t a distant hazy memory. And I didn’t know how to insert YouTube clips. Gotta love the 1989 hair on these fellas no? You may have noticed hulking metal behemoths crisscrossing the Ojai Meadow Preserve this week. […]
Fall Fliers
Last Saturday, local avian stud Jesse Grantham led a herd of bird nerds on a lap around the Ojai Meadow Preserve. The fall migration season is picking up steam and the group espied 35 species. Some highlights to astound and enthrall will ensue post-haste: A marlin is a large sporting fish. Merlin is an Arthurian […]
Brian Stark Named OVLC Executive Director
Brian Stark has been named the new Executive Director of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy. Formerly the land conservancy’s Conservation Operations Director, Stark is stepping up into the Executive Director role with the departure of Greg Gamble. Gamble has accepted a fundraising position at Stanford University and will be leaving Ojai near the end of […]
New Parking for Valley View Preserve
Parking for Shelf Road and the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s (OVLC) Valley View Preserve is getting easier. The City of Ojai is making changes at the north end of Signal Street that will make trailhead parking at this popular spot safer, and much more user friendly. As many people know, during peak use hours it […]
Ventura River Preserve Getting Bigger
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy purchased a critical 29 acre property adjacent to the Ventura River Preserve this week. The property lies between the heavily used Oso Trailhead and Riverview Trailhead near Meiners Oaks. “This is a key part of our and our partners’ vision to create a Ventura River Parkway – a collection of […]
Calling All Acorns
I am a lazy person. Always have been, always will be. That doesn’t mean I can’t get many things accomplished. I pace myself, and I know how to tactfully get other people to do things for me. I’m calling on you again. All eleven of you. Well, at […]
Luci’s Trail featured on The Cleanest Line
OVLC trail building volunteer Craig Holloway has written a fantastic article about his time spent building Luci’s Trail on the Valley View Preserve. The article, along with some great photos, has been featured on Patagonia’s The Cleanest Line! Check out photos of the trail being built and the challenges they faced on The Cleanest Line »
2014 Annual Member Celebration Success!
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s Annual Member Celebration at the Ventura River Steelhead Preserve was a great success! Over 250 members were in attendance. A big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who worked so hard helping us the day of the event, to all the businesses who donated our fantastic raffle items, Blue Suede […]
The Russians Are Coming
First of all, don’t panic. I will need your full attention so please close all other browsers windows. I am here to get you through this, all is not lost. But the danger is real, and no, I am not wearing a tin-foil hat as I write this. The Russians are here, and no I’m […]
The Birds of Summer
The spring migrants are long gone and this year’s batch of fledglings are fighting for survival. There seem to be three birds which accompany me on every hike. Bold, beautiful and never bashful these three are the soundtrack for my perambulations. This is the first local bird beyond scrub jays and crows that I could […]
Sierra Serenade Part Two – Lundy Canyon
I know, we did Lundy last year. It deserves another visit. Trail was virtually empty at 10am, we got the waterfall all to ourselves for a whole 20 minutes. I think we saw at least 50 wildflower species, not counting flowering shrubs. To read more posts from the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s Nursery Manager Ron Singer, […]
Sierra Serenade Day One – Parker Lake
It’s that time of year again. As I type this it has been raining for three straight hours, and we watched lightning start a fire maybe a mile from the back porch. Don’t fret, we got off the trail just in time and then let the Clinton-era internet connection run all night to upload the […]
Shop on Amazon – Support OVLC!
Now you can shop and support the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy at the same time! Through the AmazonSmile Foundation a portion of all your purchases will be donated to the OVLC. Here’s what to do: Use this link and sign into AmazonSmile with your Amazon account to tell Amazon you would like to donate to the […]
Bloom of the Month For June
This is one of those underappreciated overlooked beauties. Grows just about everywhere, usually lumped in with the other myriad random asters. But it is especially impressive and pink this year, and I have yet to sing its praises so here goes nothin’: Oh so many names. I first learned it as Perezia. In Spanish it […]
OVLC Summer Newsletter
Our summer edition of the Open Spaces newsletter is in the mail. Here it is for those of you who prefer to read it online: You can check out our past newsletters here »
Nursery Stowaway
Every winter I start a whole bunch of Lupinus albifrons with seed collected from our very own Ventura River Preserve. It absolutely adores the rocky, sandy well aerated soils of the river bottom area. One of the more spectacular blooms of the late winter Back to the nursery. They germinate beautifully, like 90% success rate […]
OJAI VALLEY LAND CONSERVANCY BUYS 160 ACRES AT AUCTION
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) was the successful bidder at an auction of a 160 acre parcel which is important for the Ojai Valley’s water supply. The forested parcel in the foothills north of the Ojai Valley is remote, wild, and largely surrounded by national forest. It is also an important catchment basin that […]
Workday on the Ojai Meadows Preserve
Last week we had a planting day with Mr. Lepine’s Environmental Field Studies class from Nordhoff and Janis Duncan’s 3rd and 4th graders from Meiners Oaks Elementary, at the Ojai Meadows Preserve. The Big Brother/Sisters and their energetic pint-sized partners worked together to add some additional color and variety to the infamous Oak Circles I featured […]
Riverview Trailhead Scheduled to Close
At the end of September, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s 10 year easement that allows us to maintain the Ventura River Preserve’s Riverview Trailhead will expire. Many people probably don’t realize that the Riverview Trailhead on Rice Road does not sit on Ojai Valley Land Conservancy property. This land and about forty acres immediately below […]
Are Euc Idding Me? – On The Ojai Valley Meadows Preserve
There has been quite a bit of grumbling in the local media about the rampant “destruction” being wrought upon the Ojai Meadow Preserve by the OVLC. It is not my goal to point out how wildly underinformed some our local neighbors are. I shall instead take the high road and show you one of the […]
Rice Creek Returns Home after 90 Years
Rice Creek is a seasonal tributary of the Ventura River that drains the hillsides above the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s majestic Ventura River Preserve. Hikers in Rice Canyon can see the modest creek, and know that it supports a variety of native plants and wildlife. However, the lower sections of the small Creek have seen rough times over the last 90 years since it was cut off from its natural route and held captive in a man-made ditch. In the 1920’s, the stream was diverted to make room for an orange orchard. When the stream was moved, the hydrologic and ecological connections between the Creek and the Ventura River were severed. In total, ¾ of a mile of the former stream was left dry, most of it to be completely removed.
Ojai Meadows Preserve Restoration Update
When the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) 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 […]
Cluff Vista Park Undergoes Maintenance
Lately, Cluff Vista has been getting some love from both the City of Ojai and Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s Restoration Field Crew. The park has been pruned, cleaned, planted, and mulched. Just before Christmas Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s Field Crew planted native plants grown in their own Ojai Meadows Preserve nursery to fill in the […]
Soil Sampling Coming Soon to the Ojai Meadows Preserve
Visitors to the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s Ojai Meadows Preserve may see an unusual sight next week. That is when a soil drilling rig will appear on the back of the preserve near the intersection of Lomita Avenue and Besant Road. The purpose of the rig is not to drill for oil or water. Rather, […]
Rice Creek Restoration Time Lapse
In October 2013, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, along with our team of engineers and contractors, freed Rice Creek from an artificially created diversion ditch and back into its historic native route. The project healed a severed hydrologic connection between Rice Creek and the Ventura River. The project re-wetted ¾ of a mile of historic […]
Press Release: Rice Creek Flows Free
This winter, Rice Creek will flow along its native route for the first time in roughly 85 years. The seasonal tributary of the Ventura River is located on the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s Ventura River Preserve. Back in the 1920’s, the stream was diverted from its native route to make room for a 60-acre orange grove. […]
Rice Creek Reroute in Ojai
Some of you may have noticed the changes afoot in and around the orange grove down at the Ventura River Preserve. I’ve got the inside scoop from Restoration Stud Brian Stark: 1. What were the origins of this project? The idea really started with previous staff members like Stevie Adams, Rich Handley, and Executive Director […]
Rice Creek Returns Home After 90 Years
Rice Creek is a seasonal tributary of the Ventura River that drains the hillsides above the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s majestic Ventura River Preserve. Hikers in Rice Canyon can see the modest creek, and know that it supports a variety of native plants and wildlife. However, the lower sections of the small Creek have seen […]
Meadows Restoration Update
Starting this week, if you look around the Ojai Meadows Preserve, you will see that a lot of activity is underway on the open fields. This work represents the final phase of the master restoration plan prepared for the site in 2004. The open fields are currently being managed for weed control and, ultimately, their new function […]
