VENTURA : Council Backs Effort to Keep Sespe Wild

The Ventura City Council has voted to support efforts to keep most of Sespe Creek wild.

The council voted 4 to 1 Monday to recommend declaring 51 miles of Sespe Creek in Los Padres National Forest “wild and scenic,” but to do further study on four miles of the creek near Fillmore. The study would examine a city proposal to allow building of earthen diversion dams to irrigate nearby fields.

“Wild and scenic” status would give the creek protection from development under a federal law that governs wilderness waterways.

The council decided not to support two pieces of federal legislation on the future of the Sespe. Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) introduced House Resolution 2556, which would give “wild and scenic” status to all but a 10 1/2-mile section of the creek. That section, west of Cold Springs, would be studied for possible installation of a dam to augment nearby water supplies.

The other bill the council chose not to support was Senate Bill 1225, sponsored by Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) to protect all 55 miles of the Sespe from development.

Damming the Sespe at Cold Springs could increase water supplies for Ventura County, particularly Ventura, said Steve Chase, assistant to the city manager. But the estimated $300-million price tag would make that plan impractical, Chase said.

Explaining her vote to protect the Sespe, Councilwoman Cathy Bean said: “It’s the last surviving free-running river in Southern California and I’d like to see it protected. . . . I think the idea of using the last four miles for agricultural diversion is a fair representation of our concern for the farmers in the area.”