Guest column: The hillsides are calling — updates on Ventura’s newest nature preserve

Springtime ushers in a season of green hillsides and abundant wildflowers, both powerful attractants to lovers of open space. At Ventura Land Trust (VLT), we have been working hard to prepare Mariano Rancho for its public opening in 2025. We realize it’s been a while since we shared our progress, so we wanted to provide an update.

VLT has conducted property boundary surveys along the preserve’s southern border. This helps VLT to establish the preserve’s legal boundaries and delineates our responsibilities for annual defensible space fire clearance. VLT has been in touch with a number of preserve neighbors throughout this process.

VLT is monitoring natural resources across the property and developing plans to enhance its biological diversity and ecological function. A century of oil and gas infrastructure development, hundreds of years of grazing, and decades of haphazard recreational trespass has degraded native shrublands and introduced invasive plants. An evaluation of biological resources, including sensitive species and communities, will help guide the decisions VLT makes about the future use of the preserve.

Determining access is another undertaking. Due to the slope severity of the majority of the preserve, as well as the narrow, winding residential streets that lead to almost all its historic access points, VLT is limited as to where parking can be installed. VLT is currently developing the parking and service area for the new preserve on Hall Canyon Road, east of Ventura High School. This will have a similar capacity to the parking at Harmon Canyon Preserve.

The trail plan is also being developed. First and foremost, as a conservation organization, Ventura Land Trust considers the placement of trails with regard to reducing ecological impact, especially to sensitive habitats and species. Over the last several decades, the property has been crisscrossed with so-called “social” trails, unofficial trails cut by hikers and cyclists. Some of these social trails may be eliminated if they are deemed problematic. Several roads also traverse the preserve. Built and maintained by such entities as SoCal Edison, SoCalGas, and communications and oil and gas companies, these roads will need to be maintained with the assistance of these easement-holding partners.

Lastly, after evaluation of these existing roads and trails, VLT will consider the construction of new trails. The steepness and soil composition of the preserve are challenging. As we have seen over the course of a few very wet winters at Harmon Canyon Preserve, trails and roads over our sandy, erosive soils are prone to landslides, sinkholes, erosion, and other public safety concerns. As a nonprofit organization, VLT must employ best practices in determining the placement of new trails to ensure their long-term sustainability. A well-situated, well-built trail is more likely to require less maintenance over time. We will incorporate the advice of experts well-versed in the field when making these decisions.

VLT has so far conducted five community meetings as we have engaged in the planning process for the new preserve. This summer, we will be conducting additional targeted outreach to the community with the assistance of a local nonprofit partner. Information from the previous community meetings is available on the Ventura Land Trust website, as is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the project. We encourage all members of the community to reach out and engage with members of our board and staff directly as we work to provide public access to the preserve. Inquiries can be directed to info@venturalandtrust.org .

Melissa Baffa is the Executive Director of Ventura Land Trust. Visit www.venturalandtrust.org learn more about the new preserve.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Guest column: The hillsides are calling — updates on Ventura’s newest nature preserve