Funds Likely for Ventura River Wildlife Revival Plan

Ventura city officials are poised to embark on a wildlife restoration effort at the mouth of the Ventura River, the culmination of a decades-long push to shore up the ecologically sensitive habitat.

The Ventura City Council on Monday is expected to approve the estuary management plan and earmark $193,000 for the first phase of the project: digging up exotic plants that are choking out native shrubs and replacing them with native plant species.

“It is consistent with our commitment to preserving the quality of life in Ventura,” Councilman Steve Bennett said Friday. “Some people only look at how many houses we are building. I’m looking at how many ecosystems we are preserving.”

The Ventura River estuary--where the freshwater river meets the saltwater sea--has long suffered pollution from storm drains, a sewage treatment plant and a sprawling homeless encampment.

The 110-acre area also has become overgrown over the years by giant Kikuyu grass, castor bean and ice plant, invasive plants that strangle the native vegetation which provides food and shelter to native wildlife.

The river mouth supports a variety of plant and animal life, including several species of birds and a river-bottom fish threatened with extinction.

In response, the city of Ventura, the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the California Coastal Conservancy have teamed up to restore the wetlands.

“It’s been kind of neglected for a long time,” said Reed Holderman, manager of the conservancy’s resource enhancement program. “We view this as kind of turning the tide. We are starting to run in the direction of renewal and restoration so that the area can sustain itself.”

The replacement of vegetation is the first phase of a three-part project designed to return the estuary to its natural state.

Future phases will involve the removal of wild cats and other animals, the creation of wooden trails to protect the sand dunes and the construction of a visitors center and amphitheater.

“I think with all this pro-business stuff, the environment sometimes gets forgotten,” Councilman Gary Tuttle said. “I think it will be a pretty exciting project.”

In addition to the $193,000 that Ventura officials will consider contributing toward the first phase of the restoration project, the Coastal Conservancy is expected to contribute $400,000, and the state parks department is expected to pitch in $150,000. The Ventura County Audubon Society has pledged $8,500 in volunteer in-kind services.

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If the work goes according to plan, the city could begin digging up the invasive plants as early as August. Future phases will be undertaken as money becomes available.

Holderman said the project is considered one of the most pressing along the state’s 1,100-mile coastline. And he said it holds great potential for recovery.

“It’s a very significant area,” Holderman said. “I think everyone now is starting to see it as a natural treasury.”

Still at issue is what will become of the homeless encampments that line portions of the river bottom.

Last year, cleanup crews braved hardscrabble terrain and poison oak during a two-day sweep of the river bottom aimed at wiping out homeless encampments south of the Main Street bridge.

Homeless residents living in the area north of Main Street were not targeted, and should not be affected by the restoration effort, officials said.

“We don’t see any conflicts,” said Holderman, noting that most of the homeless adhere to an unwritten rule that encampments not be established in the river mouth. “If anything, we’ll try to engage the homeless to be on-site stewards, and maybe they’ll even get some employment out of this.”