Last Dam Summer

Good news on dam removal in the State of Washington:

Last April, Olympic National Park began distributing 5,000 "Last Dam Summer" buttons.

Park officials were heralding the 2011 tear-down of the Elwha River's two dams, an estimated $350 million history-making effort to reopen 65 miles of spawning habitat to restore the waterway's once vigorous, now tepid salmon run.

"This is the last summer before big changes come to the Elwha Valley," Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said last week.

The first big change comes in about a week, when Lake Mills closes to the public for eight weeks while a pilot channel is dug to route sediment once 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam and 108-foot Elwha Dam do come down.

The dams' actual demise will not begin until Sept. 15, 2011. The project is scheduled to end by March 2014.

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010308229993#


More info on the Elwah Dam project here: http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/elwha-ecosystem-restoration.htm

Matilija Dam in the news

2 articles in local news this week: 

Matilija Dam removal sees new light Advocates hire facilitator to find best solution for sediment removal By Shane Cohn 08/26/2010 

It’s a classic environmental battle. All groups involved agree that tearing down the Matilija Dam is vital to restoring the endangered Ventura River, as well as restoring the natural ecosystem. But the issue of where to dispose of the 2 million cubic yards of fine sediment trapped behind the dam has continued to delay a decade-long project. In what could be a last-ditch effort to derive a plan, various federal, state, local and environmental organizations have retained a facilitator to manage the problem of solving the fine sediment disposal. ...But Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, doesn’t need a facilitator. He recently cast the Matilija Dam into the national spotlight when he appeared in an American Express commercial broadcast to 41 million viewers during the 2010 Academy Awards in March.

He stood, indignant, in front of the dam and proclaimed, “I’m a dam buster.” And when Chouinard speaks, people listen.

“Notching it down bit by bit, year after year,” said Chouinard. “That’s what I think is the solution.”

Chouinard said that by incrementally notching down the dam, the release of sediments would not pose a biological threat, and Mother Nature would be able to find a way to regulate; she always does.

Full story: http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/matilija_dam_removal_sees_new_light/8179/

Matilija Dam removal hits a major block: the sediment behind it 

VCStar, by Zeke Barlow August 24, 2010 

Tearing down Matilija Dam was once touted as a visionary project where many governmental organizations worked with environmental groups to restore an ecosystem that was a victim of the short-sighted hand of man. But after years of planning and negotiating, the project, much like the trapped rocks and sand behind the defunct dam, is stuck. “We basically ended up in a stalemate,” said Paul Jenkin, executive director of the Matilija Coalition, who was against the U.S. Army Corps proposal to permanently store about 2 million cubic yards of fine sediment from the dam along the banks of the Ventura River. The debate over what to do with all that sand and silt has hung up the project indefinitely. Now, an outside professional facilitator is being called in to try to figure a way forward. But even if an agreement is reached, the immediate window to get the more than $150 million in federal funding needed has closed, and it is uncertain when it might open again. 

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/aug/24/matilija-dam-removal-hits-a-major-block-the-it/ 

More information on this blog: http://www.venturariver.org/search/label/Matilija%20Dam

Matilija Dam mediation

Stumped by the impasse over sediment management, the County Watershed Protection District (District) and the State Coastal Conservancy have decided to convene a professional facilitator to help define what steps are needed to best resolve the fine sediment issue.

According to a letter from the agencies, "The Corps of Engineers are amenable to this approach. The facilitation process will consist of two phases. Over the next several weeks, the facilitator will interview a number of stakeholders representing different organizations and interests to assess their concerns about various options to manage the fine sediments. Following those interviews, the District and the Conservancy may then organize a sediment management study group composed of key stakeholders to engage in a collaborative problem-solving effort on this subject. If there is sufficient community support for convening such a study group, the group would begin meeting in late September or early October. The initial objectives for organizing the study group would be to share information and stakeholder concerns, identify potential data gaps, and develop options and a potential action plan for resolving the issues surrounding management of the fine sediments."

Restoring the Shore

The Ventura County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has been working for over 15 years to help plan the restoration of Surfers' Point. This world class surf break was once in danger of being compromised by a seawall, and will soon be the site of an innovative 'Managed Shoreline Retreat' project.

Construction of the first phase of the project is scheduled to begin in September 2010 and be completed by May 2011. More information: www.surferspoint.org

This short (10 min) video describes the project:



We also cut this short PSA (Public Service Announcement) for local broadcast:

Ventura Promenade repairs

If you were on the Promenade this weekend you probably saw the sign announcing the upcoming repair work. Surfrider had commented on this issue as far back as 2001, and it's taken the city this long to come up with the funding to do a partial fix of the aging seawall. Our concerns have been that the addition of rock will narrow the beach, and make it more hazardous.














Apart from the decaying concrete, one of the biggest maintenance problems for the city has been the stairs in the 'cove.' These are the ones we all use to get in and out of the water, and they take a beating at high tide.









The biggest change will be the removal of these stairs, to be replaced 150 ft down the beach. They will be made of timber, and set back from the beach to help resist the regular poundings from high surf.






Ironically, the public notice was placed next to one of the SLAP poles. Since the promenade was constructed in 1969, sea level has slowly risen and the beach has narrowed - increasing the impacts on the seawall. We have commented both to the city and the Coastal Commission regarding the potential for ever-increasing costs of maintaining structures on the coast in the face of rising sea levels. Time will tell how long these repairs will hold up...

Sediment Management and Restoration Opportunities

Last week the Matilija Coalition received a letter from Ventura County in response to our February 16, 2010 position statement that outlined concerns with the proposal to attempt to permanently store the fine sediments from Matilija reservoir within the floodplain upstream of the dam. The County's response was also directed towards a long letter from the Environmental Defense Center that provided a detailed analysis of potential increased impacts and the need for additional environmental review – including, for example, that the Upstream Storage Area proposal would create several permanent threats and impacts that were not previously evaluated.

The County's letter emphasizes the need for consensus, and describes a process to renew the dialog with Matilija project stakeholders. The letter concludes with "As always, I look forward to receiving any ideas you may have on alternatives to consider as we kick off our facilitation effort."

In our response, we reiterate our commitment to ecosystem restoration, and offer a 4-page document titled "Sediment Management and Restoration Opportunities for the Matilija Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project" We believe there are ways to resolve the sediment management problem that are compatible with the goals of ecosystem restoration.

All of these letters and our other comments on the project are on the web at matilija-coalition.org

A recent history of Matilija Dam is on the Ventura River blog: http://www.venturariver.org/search/label/Matilija%20Dam

Hands Across the Sand

Thanks to everyone who came out for Hands Across the Sand on Saturday!

Article in VC Star: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/jun/26/protesters-draw-line-in-the-sand-over-offshore/

Waving signs and chanting for a ban on offshore drilling, about 200 protestors flocked to the beach next to the Ventura Pier on Saturday. ... The gathering was part of Hands Across the Sand, an international demonstration at more than 700 beaches around the world.

To view video of the event go to http://www.surfandriverreport.com/

scroll down to "Ventura joins Hands Across the Sand 2010" for the 10 minute piece that will be playing on Ch6 in Ventura