| Biodiversity in Los Angeles? A Unique Meeting in an Urban Setting
In the ten–year history of the Biodiversity Council, our travels have never carried us to the most densely populated region of California. This summer trip provided a rare opportunity to delve into the unique and sometimes unconventional efforts to connect some of the last open spaces along the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers and comparable efforts to create and maintain the city’s urban parks. Council members were able to share in some of the beauty as well as some of the problems in the Los Angeles basin during the field trip on Wednesday afternoon. The first destination, the Elysian Park overlook, provided a view of downtown Los Angeles as well as the confluence of the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco. Kathleen Bullard (Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy), Lynne Dwyer (North East Trees), Arthur Golding (Los Angeles River Task Force of the American Institute of Architects), and Robert Garcia (Center for Law in the Public Interest) were on hand to answer questions. The group then headed to the Chinatown Cornfields where Arthur Golding, Lewis McAdams (Friends of the Los Angeles River), and Robert Garcia explained the current situation regarding this last piece of open space in downtown Los Angeles. The remainder of the trip included a narrated drive along the Arroyo Seco Parkway and a hike through the Arroyo to the back entrance of the Pasadena Rose Bowl led by Tim Brick (Arroyo Seco Foundation). Following dinner and an uplifting speech by Dorothy Green (Los Angeles and San Gabriel Watershed Council), this unique urban meeting resumed Thursday morning. Claire Schlotterbeck (Hills for Everyone) moderated a session revolving around efforts to protect habitat linkages in Los Angeles County as well as the principles of protecting native habitat and species populations. Each of the four panelists—Dr. M.A. Sanjayan (The Nature Conservancy), Councilman Bob Henderson (City of Whittier), Paul Edelman (Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy), and Dr. Ray Sauvajot (National Park Service)—focused on the four major habitat linkages identified in LA County including the Whittier/Puente Hills, and the Santa Monica, Santa Susanna, San Gabriel, and Verdugo Mountains. The final panel, moderated by Joan Hartmann (Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project) discussed new perspectives on urban parks and landscapes. Los Angeles has the smallest amount of parks of any major urban center in the nation. Each panelist—Robert Garcia (Center for Law in the Public Interest), Steve Treanor (California State Parks), Rudy Retamoza (USDA Forest Service), and Andy Lipkis (TreePeople)—discussed the techniques they use to better address issues related to urban open space. California Biodiversity News: Volume 8, Number 2 |