'Experts weigh in on the state of the environment in Ventura County'
The Good: “The good news is that we are on the verge of breaking ground on a Surfer’s Point restoration project,” he said. “It’s taken almost 20 years to get to this point. That’s a huge positive, and something to look forward to this year. The plan is to restore the beach at the mouth of the Ventura River in response to the damage that occurred almost 20 years ago with the bike path and parking lot, and to restore the beach. It’s at the mouth of the river, so the beach comes and goes depending on how wet a year we have, but this is a progressive solution. We are restoring the natural buffer zone.”
The Bad: “The process to remove Matilija Dam has run into major stumbling blocks, where many of the stakeholders have been left out of the decision-making process,” he said. “The current proposal to build a gigantic wall to retain the sediment in perpetuity behind the dam is contrary to the vision of many who have looked forward to the restoration of that watershed.”
The Ugly: “A recent river clean up by the Main Street Bridge near the Ventura River estuary netted over five and a half tons of debris. A similar clean-up last fall netted even more. This is the result of large populations of people living in the river bottom. I think this is a real sign of our society and its neglectful inability to address social problems has environmental ramifications.”
