And the Winner Is.......
Monday, March 8, 2010 at 11:31AM From Patagonia's The Cleanest Line
If you watched the Academy Awards last night you may have seen Patagonia's founder, Yvon Chouinard, appear on a commercial for the American Express Members Project, a new partnership with social-action network Takepart.com. The piece was filmed in and around Ventura County by academy award winning cinematographer Robert Richardson and directed by Scott Hicks of "Shine" fame.
The dam that's featured is the Matilija Dam, an outdated monstrosity that sits 18 miles upstream from Patagonia HQ on a tributary of the Ventura River. With its crumbling concrete and silt filled reservoir, Matilija Dam no longer serves any beneficial purpose. Its removal would allow native Southern Steelhead trout to once again use the river to spawn, and give local beaches a much needed boost in sediments (more sand) from the steep canyons of Matilija Creek.
If successful, it would be largest dam ever removed in the United States.
All proceeds that Yvon receives from the commercial will be divided between five of environmental groups of his choice: Concervacion Patagonica, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Freedom to Roam Coalition, Native Fish Society and Save our Wild Salmon.
patagonia, yvon chouinard in Film and Video
Reader Comments (4)
Ahhhhh much mor einteresting that Hollywood IMHO. Thanks Chum!
Steelhead issues aside (for a brief moment), that dam also serves as a reminder of the multitude of other So Cal reservoirs that are filling or are all-but-full of silt. Some of these mountains are naturally releasing insane amounts of sediment and it all settles in these lakes. Speaking of beach sand, Ventura's chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is a strong part of the team fighting to bring Matilija down. Would love to see this come down in my lifetime (along with so many others).
YC should run for public office. That would be some real change we'd all be better off for.
That is an inspirational advertisement. He has always been a great man and we should all take his words of advice. My father had a mountaineering course with him and can attest to the greatness of his legacy.
What an inspiration, he builds great products, has the best customer service, provides hundreds of jobs, and protects our resources. The smug folks over at Simms could learn a lot about walking the walk from Mr. Chouinard.