http://www.syvnews.com/articles/2010/01/04/opinion/op03.txt

Community Matters

Joan Hartmann

The Santa Ynez River carved our Valley, which bears its name. It has shaped our landscape and was central to the native peoples who lived here. Twenty-two Chumash villages dotted the river’s banks and celebrated its bounty. But unlike many communities along major rivers today, we in the Valley seem to take our river for granted.

The Santa Ynez is the largest river entirely in Santa Barbara and serves as the primary source of water for South Coast cities. It also helps to irrigate the crops on which the County’s economy depends. The upper river, located in the Los Padres National Forest, offers some of the wildest reaches of river and creeks in Southern California. Ocean Beach Park, at the river’s mouth and part of Vandenberg Air Force Base, looks out onto one of the region’s richest estuaries and pristine shorelines. But Valley communities have not really focused on the river as a part of their identity. School children don’t study the river, books haven’t been written about it. It is neither the subject of photographic exhibits nor featured in promotional materials about our area.

While most other major California rivers have local organizations dedicated to protecting and promoting them-the Santa Ynez River is an orphan. There is no community group such as a ‘Friends of the Santa Ynez River’ devoted to the river’s well-being. The large rivers to the south, the Ventura and Santa Clara, both have active and long-standing Friends organizations. Mere creeks along the South Coast in Santa Barbara County have entire groups committed exclusively to them.

Friends of the Ventura River has spurred efforts to remove the Matillija Dam to restore sediment to beaches, protect highway 101 from erosion, and create more fish habitat. Friends of Santa Clara River is spearheading the creation of a river parkway from Fillmore to the ocean and has already acquired a significant portion of the land from eager sellers. Santa Barbara creek groups are restoring degraded habitat and safeguarding water quality, resulting in cleaner beaches for residents and tourists alike.

Each government agency approaches river management from its own particular mandate, such as water supply, water quality, fish and wildlife-which can lead to distorted priorities and piecemeal efforts. In contrast, community groups can identify the issues that matter most to the community, help work though conflicts, and see that more resources are directed to the community’s top priorities.

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The most contentious issue on the Santa Ynez River is how rights to its water are to be allocated. How much water should be left in the river and how much diverted for cities, industry, and agriculture? Courts may ultimately have to resolve this question. The community, though, could play a key role on a number of river issues. Examples include ATVs running roughshod in the riverbed and trespassing onto private property, water-guzzling exotic plants like arundo donax and tamerisk that can choke a river, or erosion that eats away farmland and smothers fish habitat.

We can start by simply learning more about the river that shapes this Valley we call home. This column will be featuring a series of articles on the river in the coming year.

“Community Matters” analyzes topics of local public interest. Attorney Joan Hartmann is a founding member of Buellton Is Our Town and has worked at several universities as well as for the U.S. Department of the Interior and Environmental Protection Agency.