While our restoration team spends the summers in willow thickets and alluvial scrub, we dream of a watershed that is freed of the clutches of invasive species. Intentions are set as our calloused feet traverse Eocene cobbles, our dainty palms gather seed, and soft conversation is found muffled by flume. We quickly find that it is not a unique dream, rather one of unquantifiable spirits within our valley, from translucent benthic macroinvertebrates to our neighbors in the community.

Each year, OVLC and CDFW Santa Barbara host and mentor four Watershed Stewards Program (WSP) Corpsmembers for their 10.5-month service term. WSP is a program of both the California Conservation Corps and AmeriCorps that places young professionals with mentors at placement sites across the state to gain experience in fisheries work, watershed science, environmental education, and community outreach. 

If you’ve visited the Ventura River Preserve recently, you may have seen riders on horseback patrolling the trails. Noel Aguilar, a volunteer with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Enforcement Unit (MEU), is helping lead a new effort to bring mounted patrols to OVLC preserves.