Visit to Oak Canyon Nature Center

Oak Canyon Nature Center is surrounded by 58 acres of park in Anaheim Hills. Park grounds and trails are open sunrise to sunset, seven days a week

The John J. Collier Interpretive Center is open Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00am-4:00pm
Parking lot gates and restrooms locked at 5:00pm

This looked like Stachys

More of the Stachys look-alike.

A Juli.

Marah or Chaparral cucumber was all over.

This guy was on a mustard plant. Half-hearted online searching says it will grow into a white-lined Spinx Moth.

BLUE DICKS! (Dichelostemma capitatum)

LOTS!

AND LOTS!

Gophers like castor roots

I volunteer in a local canyon that is owned by a land conservancy.  My charter is to survey invasive plants and I do so about once per month, hiking around and doing a little bit of wild gardening to encourage recovery of the local native plants.  I wish I had more time to spend there, so I'm always looking for ways to multiply my efforts.  I may have found an unwitting ally.  Here's how:

Last month I noted in my report the the land conservancy that the castor beans (castor plant or Ricinus communis, a plant from eastern Africa that is considered invasive) were going to seed that that the small to medium sized plants were easy enough to pull from the loose, sandy, soil.

This month I returned to see that the conservancy had been working in the canyon while I was gone and had done extensive cutting of many invasive plants - mostly anise (Foeniculum), which had immature seeds.  (By doing this work they were preventing the seeds from spreading further.)

I also noted that majority of the young castor bean plants were now dead.

I thought the conservancy had sprayed them with an herbicide.  Not so.

Napa river walk

Juli and I had a nice vacation in northern California over New Years. We stayed in the town of Napa, which has a certain amount of appeal all on it's own, even leaving aside the fact that it's the gateway to the Napa Valley wine region. Napa celebrates its river in ways that we don't see much of here in Los Angeles.

Near the place we stayed is a 1.2 mile paved trail that runs along the Napa river.







Interesting side paths go down to the river's edge.











I think we stayed at River Pointe - a timeshare. The buildings are all mobile and the infrastructure is designed to accommodate seasonal flooding. These fences pivot as water washes by but that wasn't a concern for us: all the locals were commenting on the lack of rain when we were there.



- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Ooze on, L.A. River, ooze on

I picked up Keith & Rusty McNeil's California Songbook last summer while in Columbia.



The songs all relate in some way to California history and I like that they give a brief bit of historical context along with each song.

One of the selling points was this song at the back called L.A. River. Keith and Rusty write that the original author is anonymous, but that the song was taught to them in the 1960s by Clabe Hangan.

Lyrics to L.A. River:

There’s a river, a windin’ river, flowin’ through our town.
And it’s not so very mighty, but it sure does get around,
How I long to sit and cool my feet on its sterile banks of gray concrete,
Ooze on, L.A. River, ooze on.
Well it’s not so very mighty, and it’s not so deep and wide,
But its current has a longing to stay at low, low tide,
And I thank the Lord that it’s not blood red, but a peaceful, cool, green
algae instead, Ooze on, L.A. River, ooze on.

Now when the thunder sounds like fury and the rain begins to fall,
I dream that the mighty crashing is that river’s fearless roar,
But the sound I hear is not a dream, it’s a motorcycle goin` upstream,
Ooze on, L.A. River, ooze on.
Well it hasn’t any whitecaps, and it hasn’t any iish,
To see it splash and ripple, it would be my fondest wish,
But it floats its load of sad debris from the mighty sewer to the mighty sea,
Ooze on, L.A. River, ooze on.
Ooze on, L.A. River, ooze on.




- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Ready to go live with What's Invasive!

I've written about What's Invasive! recently.

Briefly, it is an iDevice application (iPhone and Android are currently supported) that is used for mapping invasive plants. Users send geo-referenced photos to a server that provides community confirmation of identification and a map of confirmed locations. This type of map is useful for wildlands and green space management.

After a brief learning process spread over several days I've managed to get the Palos Verdes Peninsula database up and running. It ought to be live any time now pending some finalization that takes place on the server side by teh site administrator. There are at present only four invasive plants that are being tracked, but that's not a limit that we're stuck with, it's just what I felt was appropriate to start.

The most recent newcomer to on the invasives list is Terracina Spurge (Euphorbia terracina). The other three are Anise (Foeniculum vulgare), Castorbean (Ricinus communis), and Giant Reed (Arundo donax). I don't know that there's any A. donax, but I do know that the others are possibly the most common of any plant in the PV wilds. A chart accompanying the following link cites 60+ acres of a 200 acre fire area dominated solely by F. vulgare. In fact, they are considered the dominant invasive plant by the PV Peninsula Land Conservancy.:

The dominant non-native species within the grassland community of the Reserve are wild oats (Avena fatua), black mustard (Brassica nigra), short pod mustard (Hirschfeldia incana), and sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Non-native tree stands were also present along the main trails and hilltops. Non-native acacia (Acacia cyclops), eucalyptus and pine species are also dominant in the pre-fire vegetation communities of the Reserve.

Eventually the plants list ought to expand to include all the above plants.

Blogs I'm reading

I've been enjoying On the public record blog. It reads like an op-ed in the local paper, but larded with links to actual facts and figures. Topics seem to revolve around water public policy and natural resources stewardship with occasional jabs thrown mostly at the right, so if that floats your boat you might want to browse it.

Huntington Beach native plants

I was previously unaware of the Shipley Nature Center. A friend referred me to it today on email.

Shipley Nature Center is an 18-acre natural area located in Huntington Beach, California. Situated within Huntington Central Park, the nature center is not only a sanctuary for the local wildlife, but it is also a haven for the residents and visitors of Orange County.

Our hours of operation are Monday-Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. We invite you to visit us and experience the beauty of nature.


http://shipleynature.org/index.html

Blurb from NWF

Recent Supreme Court decisions have gutted the Clean Water Act's ability to protect our valued wetlands and streams, leaving 50-75% of North America's duck population at risk--not to mention 1/3 of our clean drinking water supply.

I just asked my senators to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act and renew our commitment to protecting our waterways and wetlands. Please ask your senators to protect our waters too.

What will happen to the ducks if we don't act now?. Join me and @NWF to speak up for clean water: http://ow.ly/7QvT #wildlifeaction

Ecological restoration

There's a nice article on ecological restoration in the Christian Science Monitor. I'll leave you with a teaser quote that caught my eye, but there's more to the article than just "kill your lawn".

Asphalt...is not the only surface that creates a boundary between people and the environment. “Mowed lawns surround most factories, schools, churches, and other buildings,” he says, “and they give nothing back to people or the environment.”

Even on a small scale, meadows and open wooded areas do much more than lawns to improve the quality of human life, he says. They are also cheaper to maintain, a concept that has special appeal in hard economic times.

link

Friends / Amigos of the Dominguez Watershed

I've been blogging over at Friends / Amigos of the Dominguez Watershed recently. You ought to check that blog out too.

Dominguez watershed group

There's something new and exciting afoot in my neighborhood. Back on 17 November, 2007, I wrote about an idea I had for greening the Dominguez Channel. During the process of thinking the idea through, I made contact with local watershed guru Jessica Hall, a former Hawthorne resident, who was receptive to the idea. I tried to plant the idea with local government, but I wasn't a strong enough champion, the timing was poor, and it languished.

Still the idea was out there like a seed that needed just the right conditions, and on 26 Jan of this year it started to grow roots: I received a message from Rosalie Preston, who was interested in seeing some park / bikepath / nature functionality restored to the flood control channels in her neighborhood near Harbor Gateway. Rosalie is much more dedicated than I - she had made contact with her local water management boards and personnel. A series of emails followed. I brought Jessica into the conversation. Jessica brought Viviana.

Today I had the privilege of meeting Jessica Hall, Viviana Franco, and Rosalie Preston and we talked for a couple hours about how to transplant the successes of other local watersheds to the Dominguez channel. I think that good things will come of this.

Look for more at the LA Creek Freak blog and at the Dominguez watershed blog Friends y Amigos of the Dominguez Watershed. The link is also over at the right as "Dominguez Watershed News".

We've only just begun.

Hawthorne park in LA Times

LA Times article link

From Lot to Spot

The article recaps a local controversy over converting a long-vacant lot into a park that I mentioned in an earlier blog post.

Vivian Franco, the community activist who has spearheaded the move to convert the lot to a park is far more eloquent than I.

Franco's zeal and idealism have run headlong into reality -- into local politics, dizzying bureaucracy, a weak economy. The lot, the way she tells it, has become a singular, hidden monument to land-use inequity -- to the discrepancy in green space available to the wealthy and the poor.

The lot is 100 feet from the house where Franco was raised. It was a loving home, with parents -- a mother with a third-grade education and a father who worked as a janitor, both Mexican emigres -- who preached the gospel of education and hard work. But as a kid, she suspected that she was no better than the abandoned lot down the street. That, she said, was wrong, and it is an experience that defines thousands of lives.

"That lot is who I am," she said. "You have a shared consciousness in a neighborhood, and that lot stamped us. This was a place of crime and blight, and it shaped our attitudes, our identities. If it was green and had a few trees? Yeah. A whole new world."

Griffith Park in the LA Weekly

Another article on the dismal future of LA's greatest park.

Of interest is the power that the article ascribes to local city councilman Tom Labonge, in who's district the park resides.

PERHAPS NOWHERE IS THE CURRENT PUSH led by Los Angeles City Hall and its platoon of private lobbyists for an overbuilt, overcommercialized, re-engineered L.A. better epitomized than in the unfolding struggle over the so-called Melendrez Master Plan for Griffith Park.

"Pleasure pier": Tacky commercialization envisioned on Los Feliz Bridge.

The voluminous report, prepared at a cost of $400,000, is packed with ideas for jazzing up the nation's premier swath of urban wilderness — aerial tramways, parking structures, meeting rooms, paving, concrete and concentrated development that many feared would include restaurant and hotel chains.

Given that the whole point of Griffith Park is the opposite — to preserve unspoiled natural beauty for all citizens, rich and poor alike, to use for free — reaction to the plan has been predictable. Virtually everyone hates it.

link

Water, parks, lawns

Water and waterways are in the news recently.

A recent journey by kayak down the LA River was designed to show the Army Corps of Engineers that the LA River is navigable, thereby qualifying it for protections greater than non-navigable waterways. The best photos I've seen are on the LAist blog, Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 The LA Daily News has some too.

The LA Times spouts off about desalination in the opinion pages back on April 10 and more recently in a July 28th opinion piece entitled Oceans of water.

Jessica Hall and Joe Linton, long time sustainable use advocates, have a new blog, L.A. Creek Freak, about waterways in Los Angeles. There's a permanent link over in the right hand column.

Meanwhile the LA Weekly is keeping up on the sad state of LA's parks which I have mentioned previously with a short article on the planned downtown Civic Park. Rolling Out L.A.'s Cement Carpet laments the lack of greenery in the "park" and points out that the long concrete-lined space, as-designed, is suited more for commercial ventures with opportunities for "programmable spaces" and "branding opportunities". Some experts believe that no amount of taxpayer money will make Civic Park work because it sits on a very difficult land site, and its true beneficiaries were never intended to be Angelenos but egotistical politicians and rich developers who needed it as a fig leaf for the massive Grand Avenue project.

Meanwhile back in my small town, an ordinance is being planned for review by the City Council on Aug 12th to address what they see as a growing problem. From an email I received, "If it passes, Code Enforcement will be able to cite people for yards with to much dirt, weeds or dead grass and plants. I saw the council talked about it on channel 22 this weekend; they talked about all the dried lawns in front of houses and the weeds and unkempt lawns. First time offenders will get a fix-it ticket, after that there will be fines, starting at 100 dollars up to 500 dollars. They want home owner to take care of their lawns, watering and weeding."

Of course I'm personally concerned given the summer dormant time for many of the native plants in my garden. Come by at the wrong time of year and the currently GLORIOUS buckwheat in full flower will have faded to rust brown - not a problem in my book, but of course it will be brown and look dead / unkempt to most city employees. Bien sur, I'll water my remaining turf lawn to stay on the good side of John Law, but I really don't like the implicit assumption that only a green lawn is a sign of good care-taking.

I guess my local city decided that with everybody's lawn greening up that it didn't need to spend $300k to purchase a long-vacant lot in an area of town that has needed more park space for years. This was covered in the Daily Breeze. Even though there's about $9 million in City reserves, it seems that the City is unwilling to touch it in the face of a declining revenue stream and potential layoffs, even for a park that might eventually pay them back.

How could it pay them back? Decreased costs of crime related to the attractive nuisance of the abandoned lot, increased property taxes from the improved value of local homes, no immediate cost of maintenance due to a maintenance grant that is already in place. See also From Lot to Spot.

---

Hawthorne group loses fight for park
By Sandy Mazza, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 07/23/2008 11:25:35 PM PDT

A Hawthorne community group lost its years-long battle to convert a blighted, vacant lot into a park this week when the City Council voted not to support the effort.

The group, From Lot to Spot, secured more than $300,000 for the city to buy the Caltrans-owned property, which abuts the Century (105) Freeway at 118th Street and Doty Avenue. Since the group could not legally purchase the property itself, its members wanted Hawthorne to buy it and allow the group to develop and maintain it with grant funds.

On Tuesday night, the plan failed to get three votes needed for passage, leaving the door open for a business owner and longtime campaign contributor of Mayor Larry Guidi and his allies to buy the lot.

Guidi and Councilwoman Ginny Lambert were against the plan, while Councilmen Gary Parsons and Danny Juarez supported it. Councilman Pablo Catano, who is recuperating from a stroke, was absent.

Guidi said he is skeptical that the groups - including the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and Los Angeles Conservation Corps - that promised to pay for the park and its maintenance would actually do so.

"Have all these organizations guarantee it and I'll personally bring the item back," Guidi said. "Have them write you a letter."

Viviana Franco, executive director of FLTS, said the group has an approaching deadline to buy the property, and that the council's decision effectively blocks its path to securing the funding.

"This lot has been vacant for 20 years," Franco said. "This property has created a blighted neighborhood."

Parsons and Juarez argued the open space area is needed in the densely built, park-poor city. "Our risk is zero," Parsons said. "Give them a chance to succeed. If they do, we get some green space. If they don't get the money, we won't support it."

Juarez suggested that the city conditionally support the park, as long as the money is donated, so FLTS can meet its approaching deadline to secure the property. Guidi and Lambert disagreed.

"We don't know what kind of a park you're going to put there," Guidi said. Franco said that the park would have been designed based on community input.

The 0.3-acre lot is owned by the California Department of Transportation, which had left the land vacant until Franco started asking questions in 2006.

Having grown up a few houses away from it, Franco wanted to know why the lot had been allowed to deteriorate into a trash dumping ground and a workplace for prostitutes.

Caltrans responded by putting the property up for sale.

Franco tried to convince Caltrans to sell or lease the lot to FLTS to build a park for a lowered price. Caltrans refused, saying state law forced the agency to sell it at market price.

In April, Hawthorne business owner Ali Awad placed a deposit on the $300,000 property at a Caltrans auction. Awad owns Repossess Auto Sales and is a longtime campaign contributor to Guidi and his allies.

After Awad put down the deposit, Franco took her fight to the California Transportation Commission, which approves the sale of Caltrans-owned land, in May. The commission granted a stay on the sale and gave FLTS 90 days to raise $300,000 to buy the property.

Awad told the Daily Breeze that he had no plans to develop the lot, and instead was interested in it as a tax deduction and investment. He was firmly against the group's effort to take it over.

"I bought it," he said when asked about the issue in June. "(Franco) gave wrong information to the (CTC). She said the city wants to buy it. If the city wants to buy it, I can't do nothing about it."

Guidi expressed Awad's position at the Tuesday meeting, saying that he believed Franco lied to the California Transportation Committee in May, claiming the city wanted to purchase the lot.

"The stay you won was based on you misrepresenting the city's position," Guidi told Franco.

Franco said that was not true: "I have the transcripts, and in no way did I say the city would pony up the money."

In a letter, Caltrans District Director Douglas Failing confirmed that Franco said she was working with governmental agencies to buy the property, rather than saying the city wanted to buy it.

Franco secured a $300,000 grant from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and an agreement with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps to maintain it and employ local, at-risk youths. The park would have also been used as an educational space for high school students to do service learning projects, Franco said.

Despite the rejection, Franco said the group has another plan to turn the lot into a park, perhaps by working with Los Angeles County.

"It was up to the city last night, and their decision has tremendously put an obstacle in the way, but we are moving onward and upward," Franco said. "We feel it's an opportunity they're passing up."

LA Weekly Article - Parks and Wrecks

I've been very busy with work and unmotivated to post. I'm hoping that the rest of my summer doesn't go by so furiously. Perhaps today is a harbinger of a slower pace to come.

The LA Weekly can often be counted on to produce in depth and insightful criticism of Los Angeles policy and politics. This week's article on Parks and Wrecks is right on target.

Although I don't live in Los Angeles, the distinction between the city of Los Angeles and the greater LA area is lost to people who visit. I've written before about a desire for local green space and where I think it could go, so the LA Weekly article resonated with me.


Not only does Los Angeles (and the Greater LA area by extension) have less parkland per capita than other major cities, we also have more abandoned/unused parks than other major cities. This suggests that one ought to investigate what makes a park successful and the concept of "permeability" is offered up and defined as "well lit, open, accessible." This theme isn't developed directly in the article, but does enter into the picture when local governments talk not only of building parks, but maintaining or rebuilding them - recurring costs that tend to put a damper on politicians' enthusiasm.

The Weekly states that the possibility of failure for the LA River revitalization is high, given history and current politics. The Olmstead brothers' plan for Los Angeles, developed in 1930, was abandoned almost as soon as the ink on it was dry and jurisdictional issues plague any decision making process that involved the LA River.

Dominguez Gap Wetlands

Bottom line - the money's out there, you just have to have the will power.


Long Beach cuts the ribbon on a wetlands wonder
By Pamela Hale-Burns, Staff Writer
05/08/2008

LONG BEACH - At first glance, you might not think the site is a
flood-control channel, but that's exactly what it is.

With an array of beautiful flowers and wildlife in the background,
Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don
Knabe cut the ribbon at the opening of the $7million, 50-acre
Dominguez Gap Wetlands project in Long Beach on Thursday.

The first of its kind in the region, the wetlands project, along the
east and west sides of the Los Angeles River between Del Amo
Boulevard and the San Diego (405) Freeway, still offers flood
protection along the river's urban lower reaches.

But it also helps improve groundwater quality, restores some native
habitat and offers trails for walkers and horseback riders.

"This is a great day for the Los Angeles County and for its water-
quality partners," said Knabe. "The project's open space, water-
quality improvements and groundwater recharge make it a cost-
effective solution for addressing some of the county's toughest
regional issues."

Water flows into the wetlands from the river and Long Beach-area
storm drains. Some 1.3 million gallons per day is then treated by
the wetlands' plant life, which removes traces of heavy metals,
organic carbons, oil and greases from urban runoff.

"We want to deliver water that is of some quality to our community,"
said Mark Pestrella, assistant deputy director of the County of Los
Angeles Department of Public Works. "We know that we will reduce the
nutrients a significant amount."
The treated water from the east basin flows into the west basin for
storage and groundwater recharge or flows into the L.A. River.

"The purpose of this project is to provide flood protection, improve
water quality and to provide water conservation,

" said Diego Cadena,
County Public Works deputy director.

The construction of the 37-acre east basin includes one mile of
treatment wetlands, pedestrian and horseback trails, bird
observation decks, woodland and riparian habitat and a bike trail
rest station.

Some of the wildlife native to the area, including the red-
shouldered hawk, the great blue heron, and the tri-colored
blackbird, are returning to the region, according to county
officials. Plants like purple sage, buckwheat, monkeyflower and
willow trees are also part of the habitat.

"It adds recreational opportunities like hiking, biking and a rest
area," said Cadena. "There are educational opportunities as well.
It's a true multipurpose facility."

The 24-hour facility is open to the public except on storm days,
when it is closed for security reasons.

"We want the public to come out," said Cadena. "You're right in the
middle of the city but you'll believe you are somewhere outside of
L.A. It's so beautiful and peaceful."

Although plans have been under way since the early 1990s,
construction took 18 months and was funded with a $2.35 million
Proposition 13 CALFED grant, $200,000 from Proposition 40 funds
administered through the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, $400,000
from the California Coastal Conservancy Wetland Recovery Project,
and $4 million from the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.

The 15-acre west basin will add 450 acre-feet of water a year to the
system - an acre-foot of water is enough water for two families of
four for one year.

"The Dominguez Gap Wetlands project will have a measurable impact on
water quality and return enough water to the groundwater system to
meet the supply demands for 900 families of four for one year,"
Cadena said.

The L.A. River has historically been polluted by stormwater and
runoff that collects on the city streets and communities, due to
littering and illegal dumping of automobile fluids and other
contaminants.

"We want the public to know it starts with them; the cigarette butts
they drop, the trash," Cadena said. "They are a key component to
water quality and helping solve the problem."

Last Child in the Woods

I've been reading _Last Child in the Woods_ by Richard Louv. He speculates upon a beneficial nature / mind link.

see http://www.thefuturesedge.com/

One of the central elements of Mr. Louv's thesis is that because nature is a highly enriched environment, it can have beneficial effects on peoples' (particularly childrens') mental states. He has a well-written argument that I won't repeat here.

My experience with my son at the Lair convinced me that Mr. Louv has a bead on some elements of truth. My son went to the Lair somewhat unhappy and came back much happier, a state that has persisted. His best activity there was unstructured play in the creek - exactly the sort of play that Mr. Louv states is most beneficial.

I am aware that you can draw an infinity of lines through one data point.

Dominguez Channel restoration?

Some time ago I read about the Marsh Street Park, a 5 acre park developed with an eye towards improving watershed management in the Los Angeles River watershed. The park cost about $1M, which was paid for with County of LA Prop A bond money (about 1/3) and the remainder paid by the Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy via funds they received from the State of California.

I live in the Dominguez watershed. With all the attention given to the Los Angeles River in recent years, there's no reason we shouldn't make some improvements locally. It turns out that the LADPW has a fairly thorough master plan for the Dominguez watershed, though it has received virtually no publicity compared to its more famous neighbor.

There's a long list of reasons to reexamine our watersheds and remediate the damage done when they were paved over. The two main reasons are to offset environmental degradation and to increase recreational areas and open space. In Los Angeles City, the national guideline for park density (10 acres per 1000 people) is only 11% fulfilled and places like Griffith Park have to turn away patrons on peak days. The South Bay is similar. Therefore, any small improvement in the amount of public lands would be of significance both for people and for the environment.

As I see it, there are four opportunities for the City of Hawthorne in the Master Plan:

1. Dominguez Channel present day headwaters are between Kornblum Ave and Doty Ave just north of 117th St, heading southeast down under the 105 Fwy and then turning east next to 120th. There is little adjacent area on its southeast leg, since houses back onto the Channel. However, once it turns east at Yukon Ave next to to 120th St, there appears to be some land on the north side that would be suitable for a naturalized park redevelopment. The land is triangular and next to the (elevated) freeway on the north side. It's max 200 ft wide (N-S) and about 2000 ft long (E-W). On this eastern leg of the Channel, it runs above ground next to 120th then heads underground and reappears heading south parallel to Crenshaw. (item 2)
   
2. Dominguez Channel south of 120th St at Crenshaw (between Hawthorne Airport and Lowes shopping center), using the fenced and unused parking area adjacent to the Channel to the west. The paved area seems to be about 1500 feet long and 150 ft wide.
   
3. 132nd street drain, a tributary to the main Channel. This is about a half mile stretch, but matters may be complicated because it looks like the drain may be on or may cross the Hawthorne / LA County border. One map has it mostly in Hawthorne.
   
4. Holly Park, the small northwest corner of the LA County owned Chester Washington Golf Course. This is probably of no consequence, except that the original headwaters of the Dominguez Channel are on the golf course and are planned for daylighting, so there may be some improvements available for Holly Park.
   

Scanning through section 4 of the Dominguez Watershed Master Plan, I see that they have a 2-5 year plan to "Daylight Historic Streams to Restore Wetlands" (section 4.5.3.7). This explicitly includes the original headwaters of the Dominguez Channel (in Chester Washington Golf Course just north of Imperial Highway) where it currently flows in an underground storm drain to join the open Channel a half mile or so south of 120th (in the city of Gardena, I think). "Storm drains traversing parks and vacant areas" are also mentioned as candidates, which might point the finger at the 132nd street drain. The time line of 2-5 year is perhaps a bit optimistic given the 2004 publication date of the Master Plan, but is also an indication of the priority that they would like to give this task (relatively high, it would seem).

Other activities called out in section four of the master plan that might fall allow for funding within the plan scope are:

"4.5.3.8 Investigate feasibility and restore concrete-lined tributary channels" Clearly the Hawthorne stretch between the airport and Lowes would qualify, but they also mention the 132nd St drain, also in Hawthorne.

"4.6.3.5 Create Additional Nature Centers"

"Increase brownfields redevelopment" Does that fenced parking lot by Lowes qualify as a brownfield? What about the industrial areas adjacent to the 132nd street drain?

"4.6.3.4 Create Watershed Enhanced Recreational/Bike Trail Along Dominguez Channel" There are already maintenance roads along the sides of some areas adjacent to Hawthorne City. Seems like an easy one to implement there. At the end they write, "While this action is written specifically for the Dominguez Channel, opportunities for other recreational trails should be examined for tributary channels that empty into the Dominguez Channel (e.g., 132nd, 135th, Del Amo, Torrance Lateral)," so the 132nd street drain again gets mention.

Possible grant sources are: Five-Star Restoration Challenge Grant Program, Proposition 13, Proposition 40, Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project Work Plan and Small Grants Programs, Proposition 13 CALFED Drinking Water Program, Proposition 40 monies administered through the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, the California Coastal Conservancy's Wetland Recovery project grant monies.

Arroyo Seco Convergence in LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/media/acrobat/2007-11/33772759.pdf

LA makes investment in its river

River plans are all the rage now. The LA City council just approved one for the LA River, so why not have one for poor little Dominguez Channel?

Check the Friends of the LA River web site.

See the actual plan http://www.lariverrmp.org/

My emphasis in italics.

City Council approves plan to revitalize the L.A. River
By Steve Hymon, Times Staff Writer
2:41 PM PDT, May 9, 2007

Embracing an ambitious and expensive vision, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved 12-0 a long-awaited blueprint for revitalizing the much-maligned Los Angeles River.

The plan -- which itself cost $3 million -- calls for spending as much as $2 billion over the next half century on more than 200 projects along the 31 miles of riverbed within Los Angeles' city limits.

It took five years to frame the details, but the roots of the proposed river restoration go back to a fledgling group of environmentalists who in the late 1980s began insisting that the river could be much more than a concrete-lined flood control channel.

"This is a great step," said Lewis MacAdams, founder of the activist group Friends of the Los Angeles River. "One of our first slogans was when the steelhead trout returns to the Los Angeles River, then our work is done, and to see an acknowledgment of steelhead in the plan -- well, I like that."

Echoing that thought was an ebullient councilman, Ed Reyes, who represents parts of northeast Los Angeles and is chairman of the council's river committee.

"This is now a real mandate that declares the river is a real river and we're going to give it life and support the way it supported us when Los Angeles was first started," Reyes said.

Among the proposed projects are dozens of new parks and pedestrian walkways and bridges. The plan also calls for some river-adjacent areas to be rezoned to allow for more housing to be built near the waterway and its parks.

At its most extreme, the plan proposes knocking down one of the concrete walls that contains the river to expand the channel and make it look more natural. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is studying that prospect.

"It's incredibly visionary and I think they've set the bar high," said Nancy Steele, executive director of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council. "The key is going to be implementation."

Steele said that both the city and region have a rich history of putting together plans for rivers and then never following through. She noted that the river plan doesn't include upstream tributaries.

Hitting on that point, Councilman Richard Alarcon voted for the plan but threatened to withhold support unless studies are conducted to include parks along tributaries in his district. "In the Valley" the river "goes through all the rich communities," Alarcon said.

Alarcon represents the northeast San Fernando Valley, which is bisected by the Tujunga Wash.

The council also committed to begin creating a three-tiered management structure to oversee the restoration plan's implementation.

A joint powers authority between the city and county would manage projects within the river channel, a nonprofit appointed by elected officials would manage and construct parks along the river, and a philanthropic organization would help raise private funds.

Other thorny issues remain: finding money for projects -- state and federal help will likely be required -- and improving water quality. The city is in the early stages of a federally ordered cleanup of several pollutants in the waterway, including trash, bacteria and heavy metals.