Chronicles and Sightings - charting last two months of environmental activism and news.
Chronicles - environmental activism
Editor’s note: The joy and sorrows of environmental activism are recounted every issue with the popular Jim Hines Chronicles, reflecting the emails by our premier lobbyist and activist. This covers the last two months (April-May). Jim is vice-chair of our Chapter and Ventura Network. He is available as a speaker.
By Jim Hines
April 4: A 30 x 30 win! Thank you to those of you who spoke to the CA Governor's office on behalf of the Sierra Club Mountain Lions FOREVER! campaign. Gov. Newsom has promised to release funds to purchase critical mountain lion habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains, despite a massive budget deficit. The campaign started in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and spread statewide as the Sierra Club voice for mountain lions.
April 17: Important wetlands are on Sierra Club CA Wildlife Committee’s radar as it is putting together a statewide inventory from each chapter of wetlands within our state.
Here is a list I have started for our chapter; if you know of wetlands which I have missed please add to this list. I am especially weak in northern Santa Barbara county: Conejo Marsh (Thousand Oaks), Piru Ponds, Mugu Lagoon, Ormond Beach Wetlands, Alessandro Lagoon (near the Mission), Mirror Lake (Ojai Valley), Carpinteria Marsh, Child's Estate ( Santa Barbara), Goleta Slough, Ellwood Beach wetlands, Zaca Lake, Jalama Beach Wetlands, Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes area (protected as a wildlife refuge), Channel Islands Wetlands (protected as national park), Frazier Park Wetlands, Lake Casitas Watershed.
April 18: Twin wins! CA Fish and Game Commission took the first steps to list steelhead trout as endangered and includes their habitat in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. And it also took the first steps to list burrowing owls as a " species of concern".
April 19: What a great week it was. Building on our victories during the first quarter of this year we have much to celebrate this Earth Day weekend, which looks to be filled with the joys of Spring, so much in bloom, so much excitement and so much joy. Your conservation activist team helped to protect wildlife species and 30 x 30 land parcels, toured the Upper Piru Creek Wild and Scenic River, basked in the spirits of wolves to come into Lockwood Valley, Mountain Lions FOREVER! campaign joined the effort to protect Laurel Springs and much more. Plus, we learned President Biden may expand two national monuments on Earth Day April 22.
April 20: National Park Week (April 20 – 28). There are two national park units in our chapter: Channel Islands and Santa Monica Mountains. We will be advocating for wilderness land protection for Channel Islands National Park and for an increase in the land acquisition budget for Santa Monica Mtns. Also on our to-do list is the creation of a new park unit in our region, the Rim of the Valley Corridor (Ventura and LA counties).
April 25: Sierra Club Wildlife and Endangered Species Team officially joined the call to boycott the state of Wyoming due to the recent capture and torture of a beautiful gray wolf which we have named Tulan. The killer was fined only $250, and we are advocating criminal prosecution. So please do not travel to Wyoming or spend money on products from Wyoming.
April 29: April is Earth Day month and what will we be doing after our victories? Well, doing what the Sierra Club does best, fighting each day to protect the precious and endangered planet we live on . . . one acre at a time and one species at a time.
April 30: Here we are, friends. The beginning of the worst week of the year as Congress votes on several bad bills which would unprotect YOUR public lands, allow wolf hunting, open more lands to oil and gas drilling, prevent public comment and engagement on projects which impact YOUR national public lands. Grown men and women acting like YOUR national public lands are the playground of mega extraction industries, paid wildlife killers and others.
May 1: It has now been two years since I convinced the Sierra Club to change the then derogatory name of our chapter ‘Los Padres’ to the geographical name Santa Barbara-Ventura Chapter. I have been talking to others who use the name Los Padres and while they agree about the name being derogatory they say they will not change their use of Los Padres as long as the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) has the name. That is our challenge.
May 3: Our wolf pack hit the road this week, travelling to our nation's Capital to attempt to stop congressional legislation which would prevent any future protections for wolves in the U.S. and allow an open hunting season on wolves. The bill, Congress member Boebert’s “Trust the Science Act” would declare wolves Public Enemy Number One. Forget about criminals, drug dealers and such for wolves are America’s real problem! The bill is now up to the Senate.
May 22: Win for wildlife this week because of YOU. I want to thank our great wildlife advocates in the Sierra Club Angeles, Santa Barbara-Ventura and Loma Prieto chapters for helping us successfully lobby state assembly members for passage of the Poison-Free Wildlife Act (AB 2552). This bill will add further restrictions on the use of wildlife-killing anticoagulant rodenticides as well as create buffer zones around wildlife habitat where rodenticides cannot be used.
May 21: We need bold action NOW, not evasive answers. So many questions about why and so many politically safe answers of why we can't. Here’s some of those answers:
Q: You expanded the San Gabriel Mtns National Monument in the politically safe Los Angeles basin, why not create the National Park Service-managed Rim of the Valley Corridor in eastern Ventura county? A: Eastern Ventura county is MAGA country, and we don't want to anger people.
Q Why not create as requested the Ormond Beach National Wildlife Refuge? A: Because the land is not owned by the federal government.
Q: Why delay on the creation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary? A: Don't want to make the oil and gas industry angry. (Actually, there is not that much petroleum within the proposed sanctuary).
May 28: Our national anger towards the environment has reached the church pulpit. "Go forth and subdue the earth" (Genesis 1:28) God commands in the Bible and many Christian churches in our region take that command literally.
As I speak at various church events, I see more and more people attending Christian megachurches in Ventura County and the preaching of anti-environment values from the pulpit. No place for God's love of the earth in these sermons.
Of course, like in all things there is a wide diversion of views in the religious world from far left to far right and in between, but I have never seen as I have recently so much hate directed from so-called "religious people '' towards God's creation.
May 30: Mountain Lions FOREVER! campaign is proud to announce that the National Park Service is prioritizing its land protection program to focus on critical habitat for mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mtns of eastern Ventura county and western Los Angeles county.
We will support work to improve habitat connectivity, lobby for funding to purchase critical habitat lands, and increase the awareness of the need for safe mountain lion crossing locations (both over and under) local roads, highways and freeways.
We will now begin advocating for creation of a Big WILD!, a continuous open space region connecting eastern Los Padres National Forest lands across the Santa Clara River and into the Simi Hills and on into the coastal Santa Monica Mtns.
SIGHTINGS - Environmental News
By John Hankins
We persist with a positive attitude to Explore, Enjoy and Protect the planet (Sierra Club’s motto), despite turmoil in the political and environmental realms.
Please join us by getting involved and have fun too. We offer activities and activism and free hikes. See Group News box on page 3 for contacts and links where you can get involved or enjoy our free hikes via links on page 5, including via MeetUp and internet lists.
Donations help a lot, and the money stays here at home doing good stuff. Donate here:
www.sierraclub.org/donate/1000
Check out the stories and links below on what happened in the last two months.
June 2: Ojai Wild! The annual event celebrating 20 years of Los Padres ForestWatch at the Thacher school. Live auction included a remote Sespe Eco-Retreat, and stays at Mexico, Costa Rica and even a fast ride in a WWII P51 Mustang! Speakers included Julie Tumamait-Stenslie, founder of the Barbareno/Ventureno Band of Mission Indians and Paul Jenkin, the tireless leader of the Surfrider Foundation.
June 1: National Trails Day via the American Hiking Society. Get Out, Take a Hike, Saunter On. Need advice on where to go? Check out all our hiking links on page 6.
May 30: Electric school buses are charging ahead, as Ventura County Air Pollution Control District has awarded $1.56 million to school districts in Oxnard and Ventura to replace diesel engine buses with new zero-emission electric ones. It should reduce annual emissions by 1,600 tons of carbon dioxide.
May 29: Public pizza oven is at the newly revitalized Armitos Park. It will be Goleta’s first community garden (50 raised plots) with a new playground and extended bike path. It also has an area for classes and workshops. Located in Old Town, on Armitos Drive near S. Kellogg Ave. More info at:
www.CityofGoleta.org/ArmitosPark.
May 28 (1892) Sierra Club was founded on this day by John Muir, Scottish born naturalist. He never envisioned that his small club -- which was initially formed to protect the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California-- would eventually become the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization. Muir’s writings convinced the U.S. government to protect Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon and Mt. Rainier as national parks. “I'm so proud to be a part of this amazing organization,” said Jim Hines, our vice-chair. (Read his Chronicles on pg. ?)
And now, you can visit John Muir's home in Martinez:
https://www.nps.gov/jomu/index.htm
May 27: 2023 Impact Report by the Community Environmental Council shares key highlights that have catalyzed significant environmental advancements on the Central Coast this past year. The report is accessible at:
May 21: Conservation groups asked the U.S. Forest Service to revisit its approval of a 1,600-acre logging and vegetation removal project located near Mt. Pinos after the discovery of several rare salamanders in the project area. Los Padres ForestWatch, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the John Muir Project of Earth Island of Institute—submitted a letter informing forest officials about the presence of yellow-blotched salamanders and requests an environmental assessment.
May 20: Route 150 could open to traffic by the end of June 2024, a target date subject to change. The landslide measuring about 1.8 acres occurred during powerful storms that saturated the region. Since no nearby roads can serve as a short alternate route, a lengthy detour was created through the cities of Ventura and Ojai using State Route 126, U.S. Highway 101 and State Route 33. More info and updates at:
https://tinyurl.com/Route150updates
May 19: Wilderness Spirit Award goes to the Community Environmental Council along with a new Sustainability Award to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. California Nature Art Museum (formerly Wildling Museum) presented the awards during an event where the funds raised support art exhibitions and programs that inspire a love of nature. Learn more at:
https://www.calnatureartmuseum.org
May 18: Space Force officials outlined for the first time their plans to increase the number of launches from the base, from 37 in 2023 to more than 120 a year by 2026. Most of those rocket liftoffs would be conducted by SpaceX. Environmental groups argue that increasing launches could affect marine life and the Gaviota Coast Conservancy believes “more frequent launches will result in permanent changes.”
May 17: Coastal Ranches Conservancy, a Gaviota-based nonprofit, is co-sponsoring Assembly Bill 2320 to promote wildlife corridors across the state. Gaviota Wildlife Corridor Project has revealed three locations with high densities of roadkill along Highway 101 (200-300 each year). Using this data, Caltrans was awarded a $8 million grant under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build a wildlife underpass in nearby Gaviota State Park. It would consist of 2.5 miles of wildlife fencing to funnel animals of all sizes to a safe passageway. Construction is scheduled between 2027 and 2029.
May 15: Rails with Trails project will include a modern multi-use trail. The historic railway tracing back to 1887 is known as the Santa Paula Branch Line. Which would connect communities in new ways. The first community workshop was held on this day and followed up by another on May 23. More information or to register for email notifications, visit:
May 13: Over 5,700 pounds of trash and debris were removed from Santa Cruz Island by 29 volunteers, thanks to SB Channelkeeper, Island Packers, Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Tidy Seas and commercial fishers. “The large amount of debris that had accumulated in Chinese Harbor—including tires, irrigation pipes, fishing gear, plastic, and metal—was shocking to volunteers, especially considering that this group cleaned the same beach last fall,” according to Channelkeeper in Edhat.
May 9: Choo Choo, a new commuter train that would run northbound from Moorpark (6:30am start) to Goleta (8am end route) is in the works as a pilot program. It would serve Moorpark, Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Goleta and reverse those stops in the after-work hours. The southbound route adds a stop at Los Angeles. However, there’s much to do and it may not happen until October, according to the SB Association of Governments.
May 7: Potter’s Point is the new name for a prominent bluff on the Ellwood Mesa Open Space in honor of the late artist Chris Potter who passed away on Feb. 3. One of his paintings was featured on Condor Call’s April/May cover. Goleta City Council approved the name, prompted by hundreds of signatures on a petition. The bluff is located off Santa Barbara Shores Dr. and the idea came from SB County Second District Supervisor Laura Capps.
May 3: A 106,000-acre expansion of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument will cover forest areas east and south of Santa Clarita and areas north of foothill communities from Sylmar east to Azusa, thanks to the Biden Administration. Our neighboring Angeles Chapter was ecstatic: “It took ten years of organizing, but today we can celebrate another victory . . .,” said Juana Torres, Chair of the Forest Committee. “We still need additional protections for the 200,000 acres of Angeles Forest north of Santa Clarita.”
May 1: Grizzly bears back in Ojai? The question was posed by the Ojai Valley News and the answer was provided by UC-Santa Barbara Environmental Studies professor Peter Alagona. “Grizzlies today are held up as a wilderness species. That is wrong,” said Alagona. “They were human’s partners in intricate systems.” Thanks to Ojai Valley Land Conservancy for sponsoring the talk. Visit calgrizzly.org for more information. Also check out America’s favorite grizzly named 399 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gXa-bs_9i0&ab_channel=NatureonPBS
April 24: Carpinteria Living Shoreline Project has secured a $1.62 million grant from the State Coastal Conservancy. This critical initiative will help protect the city's vulnerable western coastline against the growing threats of sea level rise, flooding, and erosion. The Project envisions a sustainable, nature-based solution using "living" elements like vegetation and sand for protection from Linden Avenue and down towards the saltwater march. But, it may have to be revised as a new study claims the sea could rise 10 feet instead of 5 feet, the level projected by the current plan.
April 23: Ahoy! The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Marine Sanctuary proposal was given a boost when the Northern Chumash Tribal Council and all three Morro Bay Offshore Wind Leaseholders announced a joint position in full support of a phased approach to the designation of the sanctuary. Proposal encompasses 5,617 square miles of submerged lands and marine waters from Montaña de Oro State Park in San Luis Obispo County to Naples along the Gaviota Coast. Our Sierra Club strongly supports its creation.
April 18: Southern Steelhead listed as Endangered under California's Endangered Species Act, thanks to pressure from environmental groups, including our Sierra Club. CA Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously to list Southern California steelhead as endangered providing critically important protections for this iconic species, which teeters on the brink of extinction.
April 16: Goleta City Hall officially won a Green Business Certification. Some of the accomplishments include launching the Plastic Free Goleta, installing solar panels at City Hall, utilizing best practices for energy efficiency, having an active employee transportation demand program, and implementing the Creek and Watershed Management Plan.
April 4: Goleta Community Center has reopened after a closure for seismic retrofitting. At 97 years old, it was about time to do upgrades. Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte said during the ribbon cutting event:, “We know this is an important gathering spot and we are committed to making it a vital hub for residents to meet, learn and enjoy.” It is now available for the community to rent for an event or class.