FILLMORE : Group Asks House to Save Sespe Creek

Sespe Creek, the last major free-flowing river in Southern California, should not be dammed for any reason, the director of a Ventura County-based conservation group told members of Congress on Thursday.

Speaking before the House subcommittee on national parks and public lands, Alasdair Coyne of the Keep the Sespe Wild Committee asked to have the entire 55-mile stretch of the waterway protected as a wild river.

The designation, under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act written by Rep. Robert Lagomarsino (R-Ventura), would prevent the building of any dams on the river.

But Coyne said the designation would leave five miles near Fillmore and eight miles at the beginning of the Sespe unprotected and asked for an amendment to have those areas included.

Coyne said more than 50% of the Sespe waters go to beneficial use already, through the Freeman Diversion. It routes water from the Santa Clara and Sespe rivers to underground water basins that supply parts of the county.