COSF News   (September 2007)                                    

Rangers and volunteers working together
Thanks to the COSCA Rangers, to Adopt-A-Trail volunteer Steve Forman, and to many other volunteers, the Arroyo Conejo Trail in Newbury Park has recently undergone major improvements. From the trailhead at the Rancho Conejo Playfield, the trail now connects to Lynnmere Trail and Wildwood Park. Click here for a route map. You can do a nice easy hike to the stream crossing and back, or a moderately strenuous hike that includes the Lynnmere loop, or even down into Wildwood Canyon. Check it out!


CLU Service Day
There is a trail work day scheduled for Saturday September 29, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. It is a Special Conejo Open Space Project and CLU Service Day. All volunteers are welcome. For information and directions to the meeting place, please contact the leader: Jerry Mitcham 805-492-6522.


17th Annual Conejo Open Space Trail Work Day
The Annual Trail Work Day, sponsored by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) is scheduled for October 13, 2007 (rain date October 20). Hikers, equestrians, mountain bikers, and all open space enthusiasts are encouraged to show their support of the COSCA trail system by participating in this event. Youth programs will be held at the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden. Buses will take trail work volunteers to various work sites in the Conejo Open Space, where rangers and qualified trail crew leaders will supervise all work crews. Each volunteer will receive a free sack breakfast, and following the trail work, participants will be treated to a barbecue lunch sponsored by Carlson Building Materials of Thousand Oaks. During the barbecue, there will be drawings where participants will be eligible to win prizes, including the grand prize: a mountain bike donated by Bill's Bike Shop of Camarillo.


War is declared on non-native plants in the Conejo Open Space
Non-native plants in our open space crowd out native grasses and other plants. Over time, these pest plants reduce the variety of native plant and animal life.

Working with the COSCA Park Rangers, the Conejo Open Space Trails Advisory Committee, supported by the Conejo Open Space Foundation, has established a Non-native Plant Task Force. The Task Force is targeting several highly invasive non-native plants, including arundo, fennel, and palms. All open space enthusiasts are invited to participate in this effort. Using Trail Watch or Trail Patrol reports, or the Non-native plant report form on the Conejo Open Space Foundation website, volunteers can report locations of the targeted plants. Rangers will determine the appropriate action for eradication. The task force progress will be documented on the Conejo Open Space Foundation website.

Meet some of the people working in support
of our Conejo Open Space

Conejo Open Space Foundation (COSF) Board (clockwise from top left): Ginny Bowers, Nicole Tindell, Elizabeth Brown, Elayne Haggan, Julia Osborn, Melanie Ashen, and Burt Elliot.

Conejo Open Space Trails Advisory Committee (COSTAC) (and others as noted, clockwise from top left): Nicole Tindell, Nathan Lee (alternate), Ginny Bowers, Michael Richards, Elizabeth Brown, Jerry Mitcham (alternate), Shelly Austin (COSCA Associate Planner), Steve Forman (COSCA Volunteer), Paul Smith, Elayne Haggan, Glen Kinney (Supervising Park Ranger), and Julia Osborn.