February 2011

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper News & Events

News & Events
Bags Ordinance Moves Forward Learn About Your New MPAs Bird-dogging the Ojai Quarry Ventura River Water Quality Snapshot Day - February 5th Goleta Stream Team - February 6th King Tides Photo Initiative Student Art Show - March 6th 11th Annual Blue Water Ball March 19th Become a Member

Bags Ordinance Moves Forward

At its February 1st meeting, the Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously to direct their Ordinance Committee to draft an ordinance aimed at reducing the use of disposable shopping bags in Santa Barbara. While this is a very positive development, it is highly probable that the ordinance they will draft would simply require local grocery stores to post signage and train their staff to remind customers to use reusable bags. This is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough to make a real impact on reducing disposable bag use in Santa Barbara. Channelkeeper will continue to strongly advocate for an ordinance with some teeth, such as the ordinances passed by Los Angeles County, Santa Monica and many other cities that ban plastic bags and place a nominal fee on paper bags. Santa Barbara needs to get on the bandwagon and take meaningful action to address this harmful, costly and unsightly environmental problem. We're going to need a lot of public support to convince City Council to do so, so stay tuned for opportunities to get involved and meanwhile, remember to use your reusable bags every time you shop!

Learn About Your New MPAs!

California's Department of Fish and Game has made it easy for the public to explore the recently adopted Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) off the Southern California coast through an online mapping tool called MarineMap. Follow this link, click on "MPAs, Arrays, and Proposals" in the upper right, and then click on "Adopted MLPA South Coast MPAs." Not only will this interactive map allow you to view the new network of MPAs that was adopted by the Fish and Game Commission this past December, but you can also click on "Full Info" for individual MPAs to get detailed information, including GPS coordinates, allowed uses, and the intended goals and rationale for the area's protected status. Take Action! Despite the historic achievement represented by the adoption of the new So Cal MPAs, organized opposition by special interests is attempting to derail and undermine their implementation. Please click here to send a letter to Gov. Brown voicing your support for MPAs and the many benefits they provide and urging him to stand firm on moving forward with their implementation in California. Please visit the Department of Fish and Game's website and www.sbck.org to learn more about the new Southern California MPA network, MPAs and the Marine Life Protection Act.

Did You Know?

The average shopper uses approximately 500 plastic bags a year.

Bird-dogging the Ojai Quarry

Channelkeeper's input has facilitated discussions between regulatory agencies and the owner of the Ojai Quarry to address pollution impacts to North Fork Matilija Creek. Regulatory agencies coordinated with the quarry owner to develop engineering plans to construct a large sediment settling basin to minimize the runoff of polluted stormwater from the quarry. A basin was installed this winter. Regulators also worked with the quarry owner last summer and fall to remove 61 boulders blocking steelhead passage from the stream. Channelkeeper has been conducting water quality monitoring and site inspections during storms to evaluate the success of remediation efforts at the quarry, and we have determined that, while progress has been made, much more needs to be done to address the quarry's pollution problems. Although still in need of modification, the large sediment basin successfully detained sediment-laden stormwater through at least two moderate rainfall events. Additional stormwater management improvements are still needed elsewhere on the property. Channelkeeper submitted photographs and water quality data to the Regional Water Quality Control Board demonstrating that the quarry still exceeds water quality limits for sediment discharges and continues to pollute the stream. These data will enable the Regional Board to take enforcement action against the quarry if the owner fails to make additional progress in improving stormwater management practices in the near future. Channelkeeper has also toured the quarry twice with the owner, and successfully secured his commitment to install additional pollution control measures, including at least two additional settling basins, road erosion control measures, and measures to minimize erosion from dirt stockpiles at the quarry. Channelkeeper will continue to monitor progress and water quality at the quarry to ensure that these measures are implemented.

That means that Santa Barbara alone uses more than 47 million bags every single year. California recycles less 5% of disposable plastic bags, so most of them make their way into our landfills or end up as litter on our beaches, creeks and roadsides. Help decrease disposable bag use in Santa Barbara by using reusable bags for all your shopping needs!

Calling All Volunteers! Ventura River Water Quality Snapshot Day

Our Ventura River Stream Team will be conducting a special water quality monitoring snapshot event, and volunteers are needed! When: Saturday, February 5th, 9:00 am - 12:00 noon Where: Meet us at Surfer's Point Park and Ventura Beach (C-Street) across the street from the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Channelkeeper will have a small booth set up on the grass lawn in front of the $2 parking lot. Look for our sign off Shoreline Drive. Contact Ben at ben@sbck.org for special parking instructions. What: Instead of conducting our regular monthly sampling activities, this month Ventura Stream Team will focus on collecting special samples throughout the watershed, which volunteers will bring back to our booth to be analyzed immediately using special equipment. Results will be plotted and posted at our booth as samples come in. This month, we will focus on analyzing samples for sulfate. In the Ventura River watershed, different groundwater sources are known to have varying concentrations of sulfate. Analysis of sulfate in surface water samples could help shed light on complex groundwater and surface water interactions that are known to contribute to nutrient pollution problems in the river. No prior Stream Team training is

required to participate in this event, and all ages are welcome.

Goleta Stream Team - February 6th

Stream Team is Channelkeeper's volunteerbased water quality monitoring program. Every month, volunteers join Channelkeeper staff to test for common water quality parameters at numerous sites in the Ventura River and Goleta Slough watersheds. Come join us to help protect our local waterways; we will be sampling in Goleta on Sunday, February 6th at 10 am. For more information, visit our website, email us or call 805.563.3377 ext.0.

King Tides Photo Initiative Help Document Impacts of Rising Sea Levels
According to a report by the Pacific Institute, the ocean along California's coast is projected to rise as much as 55 inches by the end of the century. To help document the potential impacts of rising sea levels, groups throughout California, the US and Canada are calling on citizens to submit photos taken during high tides of areas known to flood and erode, and areas where high water levels can be gauged against sea walls, jetties, bridge supports or dikes. The photos will help to identify and catalog coastal areas currently vulnerable to tidal inundation, and to promote awareness of the specific potential impacts of sea level rise on our region to support climate change mitigation and adaptation policies. Particularly high tides are predicted on February 17th (6.3 feet at 8:22 am click here to view tide predictions for the Santa Barbara area), so please get out your cameras and help us with this fun project! Area locales vulnerable to high tides include (but are not limited to) Isla Vista beaches, Goleta Beach County Park, Leadbetter Beach, Butterfly Beach, Miramar Beach, Carpinteria Salt Marsh, Hobson State Beach and Faria State Beach. Please submit your photos to SBkingtides@gmail.com and include your contact information, photo location (GPS position, if possible), orientation, date and time of day. Submitted photos and information will be compiled by the California Coastkeeper Alliance, who is coordinating a statewide effort to document potential impacts of sea level rise along our coastline.

Student Art Show Reception & Awards Ceremony - March 6th

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper is hosting our eighth annual ocean-inspired Student Art Show, "What the Channel Means to Me." Please join us for a public exhibit, reception and awards ceremony on Sunday, March 6th from 2-4 pm at the beautiful Kim Kieler Gallery at 1 N. Calle Cesar Chavez #5 in Santa Barbara, where Assemblymember Das Williams will present our awards and prizes to the winning artists. The goal of the show, which is open to high school students from Carpinteria to Goleta, is to inspire local youth to create art that celebrates the natural beauty and diversity of the Santa Barbara Channel, and for their art to inspire others in our community. The show is juried by a local artist, and the winners will receive cash prizes and awards that they can invest in their education. The entire show will remain on display at the gallery through March 18th, and the winning pieces will be featured at our Blue Water Ball on March 19th.

From2010ArtShow:"Cousins bytheSea"byAlexisIreland, SanMarcosHighSchool.

11th Annual Blue Water Ball - March 19th

Please join us on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at the Santa Barbara Woman's Club (Rockwood) for Channelkeeper's eleventh annual Blue Water Ball. This year's event will feature delectable hors d'oeuvres, fabulous local wines, a delicious dinner, an auction, live music by Mezcal Martini, and a celebration of Channelkeeper's many recent victories for clean water on the South Coast. We are delighted to present world-renowned open-water swimmer and author Lynne Cox as our keynote speaker and honoree, and Geoff Green as our Master of Ceremonies. Channelkeeper is currently seeking event sponsors, auction item donations and volunteers. Please contact us at 805.563.3377 ext. 4 or lindsey@sbck.org to sponsor, donate, volunteer or reserve your tickets today!

Become a Channelkeeper Member!

Your support for Channelkeeper's efforts is needed now more than ever. Become a member of the Channelkeeper crew today with your taxdeductible donation. You'll be investing in clean water and healthy communities along the Santa Barbara Channel today and for future generations. With your membership, you will receive our regular newsletters, news updates and action alerts, invitations to special Channelkeeper events and fun volunteer opportunities, and a free Channelkeeper sticker. All new donors contributing $50 or more can also receive a Channelkeeper t-shirt, and for donations of $250 or more, quarterly issues of Waterkeeper magazine. Sign up today by calling 805.563.3377 or emailing us.