By John Hankins
The Sierra Club’s Ventura Network is drawing dozens of residents to its monthly events, and the word is spreading.
In October it was an overview of the Ventura Land Trust’s 4,000 acres dedicated to public access and conservation by its Executive Director, Melissa Baffa.
In November it was Carla Mena letting us know that ForestWatch is watching out for our access and protection of our incredible Los Padres National Forest.
“It’s important to have a place for people to go and meet like-minded people, learn about the environment and have fun,” said Jon Ullman, Chapter Director who provides tasty drinks and snacks. That place is the newly opened venue called VEN VEN at 2434 E Main St.
The learning curve is impressive, attendees heard about how the VLT is “balancing conservation with recreation,” Baffa said.
While staff and volunteers work on a Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program, others are preparing for the January opening of the Ventura Hills for public use. It’s the land above the city of Ventura where you can see the ‘V’ just below Two Trees.
Fun fact: VLT’s boundary is in between the Two Trees! “We have the dead one,” Baffa quipped. Check out VLT’s website for
more details at: www.venturalandtrust.org
As for ForestWatch’s presentation in November, Carla Mena addressed recent threats, including the Trump administration's resurrection of the Bureau of Land Management’s oil and gas leasing plan, the proposed rescission of the Roadless Rule, and highlighting supportive bipartisan legislation like the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act and the Roadless Area Conservation Act.
So, it’s land preservation for VLT and activism with ForestWatch, which is more focused on protections of the Los Padres
National Forest, Carrizo Plain National Monument, and surrounding public lands. This gives you an idea of the scope and importance of Ventura Network’s monthly events.
ForestWatch’s hiring Carla Mena as its Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs is an important step as the Trump Administration
is bound to use public lands for extraction (mining, oil, lumber) instead of preservation of the land and animals.
“She is a fierce environmental justice advocate who shares a passion for politics and the environment,” ForestWatch says on its
website. Her bio is perfect as ForestWatch needs to navigate local, state and federal laws and issues. That’s what she did working as a District Representative for Congress member Julia Brownley where she continued to fuel her passion for environmental projects at the federal level.
Prior to that, she served as the Director of External Affairs and founded the first Lobby Corp. at Cal State University Channel
Islands.
Now in its 20th year, ForestWatch urges the public “to join us as we continue to be the eyes, ears, and boots on the ground,
gathering crucial data to preserve these wild places where both wildlife and humans can thrive for generations to come.”
To celebrate, a 5-minute video was created and it’s worth watching here:
https://tinyurl.com/ForestWatchAt20