March 2nd Council Meeting
The next meeting of the Watershed Council will be Thursday, March 2nd from 11am to 1:30pm, at the Bell Arts Factory. Please feel free to bring your lunch to the meeting. We will hear about the Instream Flow Study from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, get an update on Casitas water supply augmentation projects, and much more.
Here is the agenda
Water Talk Tonight: Steelhead Life History
Steelhead are the anadromous, or ocean-going, form of rainbow trout which undergo a physiological change (smoltification) allowing them to live in both fresh water streams and the saltwater environment. Find out why it’s important for steelhead to return to their historical spawning and rearing grounds. Learn about what’s being done to help and how you can participate.
Monday February 27, 2017 at 6:30-9pm
WAV (Working Artist Ventura) Community Room, Ground Floor, 175 S. Ventura Ave., Ventura CA 93001
For more information, view the flyer here.
Wild & Scenic Film Festival Ventura Hillsides Conservancy
Tickets are on sale now for the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy’s (VHC) 8th annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival (WSFF). Held high on the hill at Ventura’s Poinsettia Pavilion, 3451 Foothill Rd., on Friday and Saturday, March 3 and 4, the WSFF offers audiences the chance to enjoy a series of award-winning short films that celebrate the beauty and bounty of our natural world.
This very popular annual event brings a national tour of award-winning independent short films to Ventura for two nights only. Highlights of this year’s film lineup, which differs each night, include: river rafting with President Jimmy Carter, swimming upstream with a wild salmon, scaling the Seven Summits with a female Bangladeshi adventurer and the hiking 60 miles in Utah’s back country with Genghis Khan, an articulate “desert dawg” and his owner.
To purchase tickets, visit www.venturahillsides.org/events. For more information or to be come an event sponsor, call VHC at: (805) 643-8044.
Doors Open at 6 PM, Films Begin at 7 PM
Draft Grant Proposal Available for Public Review, Comments Due March 1st
The Proposition 1 Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Program grant includes funding for involving disadvantaged communities (DACI) in the IRWM process, identifying their needs, and developing strategies and long-term solutions to address those needs. We have been working collaboratively among the three IRWM Regions in the Funding Area to develop an effective Funding Areawide approach and the proposal through the DACIP Task Force with two representatives of each IRWM Region. You can view the full draft proposal here.
If you have questions or comments about the proposal you can email Lynn Rodriguez.
Notice of Public Hearing for Upper Ventura River Groundwater Agency
The purpose of this Public Hearing is to accept public comment regarding the Upper Ventura River Groundwater Agency’s (“Agency”) election to become the designated Groundwater Sustainability Agency (“GSA”) pursuant to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (“SGMA”) for the Upper Ventura River Groundwater Basin (“Basin”). Under SGMA, a local agency is required to elect to become a GSA for the Basin by June 30, 2017. Failure to comply with this deadline subjects the Basin to state intervention under SGMA. Once a GSA is formed for the Basin, the GSA will begin holding public meetings to discuss development of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan.
Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 6:30pm
Oak View Community Center, 18 Valley Road, Oak View, California 93022
The next regular Upper Ventura River Groundwater Agency meeting will be on the same day, Thursday, March 9th at 1pm in the Casitas Municipal Water District Board Room.
Additional information including meeting agendas and materials can be found at: http://www.uvrgroundwater.org/ and by contacting Bruce Kuebler.
Save the Date: Water Take 1 March 22, 2017
Ventura Water presents the 5th Annual Water: Take 1 Online Short Film Festival, highlighting the value of water on a local, national and global level.
A panel of environmental and entertainment professionals judge the entries and awards are given at a ceremony that celebrates World Water Day.
Water: Take 1 Film Contest winners will be posted online after the March 22, 2017 film screening event.
You can see 2017 film submissions to Water: Take 1: www.watertake1.com
Sincerely,
Zoë Carlson
Ventura River Watershed Coordinator
VenturaWatershed@gmail.com
805/308-8512
www.venturawatershed.org