OJAI : Workers Sought for Cleanup of Streams

The U.S. Forest Service has invited Ventura County residents to join Los Padres National Forest rangers Saturday in a cleanup of streams north of Ojai.

Volunteers will remove garbage and other debris that has accumulated in an area along Howard Creek in the Rose Valley area, about 25 miles north of Ojai, Los Padres National Forest recreation planner Leslie Jehnings said.

“A lot of junk and trash got pushed down the river toward the Sespe Creek” during the flooding earlier this year, Jehnings said. “This is mostly a preventive measure to keep stuff from going into the Sespe,” she said.

A fire in October burned much of the vegetation in the area, creating what Jehnings called an unusual opportunity to retrieve much of the accumulated debris. This portion of the Howard Creek tributary is closed to the public, so the cleanup provides an opportunity to visit the area, Jehnings said.

The cleanup, expected to draw anywhere from 40 to 200 people, is one of many planned nationwide in commemoration of National River Cleanup Week, May 2-8, Jehnings said.

Volunteers are asked to bring a hat, canteen, sunscreen, gloves, old tennis shoes or hiking boots and a lunch for the all-day event, which begins at 8 a.m. at the Ojai Ranger station at 1190 E. Ojai Ave., Jehnings said.