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. 

As fall settles over Ojai, the landscape begins to slow. Plants and animals alike prepare for dormancy as the days grow shorter and cooler. Most blooms fade away, saving their energy for spring’s return—but as we near winter, a few hardy native plants continue to thrive. Ragweed, coyote brush, manzanita, and mistletoe to name a few, all of which mammals and pollinators depend on to get them through the season. 

The restoration team was weeding between plantings, focusing on our target species. Mustards and thistles occupied our minds and hands. It is a low grasp, at the base of the weed where the shoot becomes root, and then a slow pull. If it is too quick, the root snaps and the plant grows back—somehow with even more vengeful vigor. If it is too slow, the site never shifts to native canopy. So, the weed’s roots unravel from soil, and the index fingers callus. I grabbed and pulled, combing through a thick section of young plants, until I found an unusual plant. At first thought, this was a prostrate knotweed. It was not. The low growing plant was a few inches long, with cupped, delicate, bindweed flowers. It was a sweet plant, and one I had not seen before. As it lay in my hand, I realized I’d found a small-flowered morning glory—one of the few with such a limited range.