tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16960253423593819372011-11-18T18:16:34.801-08:00A blog by the Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural AreaFriends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Areahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330709926908407632noreply@blogger.comBlogger821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-42575876103066912612011-11-12T16:31:00.001-08:002011-11-12T18:48:18.675-08:00

I love open space. I love the wild. We understand so little of how our world works and yet ....there are folks who think all they have to do is put up a building and parking lot and "Voilà! Look at our Nature Displays - Aren't you learning?" .... (!??!) You'd think the Pharos came back and stacked some more rocks! (How about another sphinx?) Speaking of old things.... Because of new techniques

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-84101540009840537912011-11-08T14:21:00.000-08:002011-11-08T14:31:23.755-08:00

Well, maybe you should! Here are some articles pointing to some water pork... You did not know that Pigs... er, pork swim? Well, have we got news for YOU! Right HERE at Relief we have a story about  the "what and how" some folks, in some circles, use your hard earned money! (I bolded a few important words, below.) That's where it stands today. And little has changed. The economy still is

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-68058046782573257442011-06-22T10:13:00.000-07:002011-06-22T10:56:06.882-07:00

Biologist and Gabrieleno Indian Matt Teutimez (pictured) will be speaking on the many extraordinary ways in which native plants have been used by Native Americans. 7 p.m. Thursday, June 23, at Franklin Canyon Park in Beverly Hills.Matt has done some truly dynamic presentations on native plants at the Whittier Narrows Nature Center, and tomorrow's event in Franklin Canyon's William O'Douglas

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-62978936691927901732011-04-19T09:51:00.000-07:002011-04-19T10:08:09.225-07:00

When it rains, it pours, the saying goes. And for the San Gabriel River Discovery Center at the moment it's coming down in buckets.The LA Weekly reported yesterday that the Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Area have filed an appeal against the planned water museum and meeting hall, which would, writes Dennis Romero:"essentially tear out a beautiful area along the rivers (the San Gabriel

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-5418176490089353462011-04-15T23:33:00.000-07:002011-04-19T09:50:58.366-07:00

Hot off the press: The San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority's request for $7 million in state bond funds was D-E-N-I-E-D.The Los Angeles Times broke the story Friday online. Here's a more detailed follow-up:Grant request for Whittier Narrows nature center is rejectedBy my calculations, based on the figures in the application the authority submitted to California State Parks, the project

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-71503390406944180902011-03-29T18:43:00.000-07:002011-03-29T19:03:35.517-07:00

Friends President Jim Odling wrote today:The board of the San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority got a surprise at its meeting last week when members of the Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Area delivered more than 1,100 petition signatures opposing the authority’s $22 million taxpayer-funded water museum.Friends board members Ed Barajas, Michael Barba and I delivered the signatures

Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Areahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330709926908407632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-51915222792688183332010-12-28T10:41:00.000-08:002011-01-02T16:28:10.940-08:00

Ah! It was a GREAT DAY! And, I am so happy we (Los Angeles County, US Army Corps of Engineers, the Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Area, the Whittier Narrows Nature Center Associates, San Gabriel Mountains Regional Conservancy, the Whittier Narrows Audubon and the Urban and Environment Group at the Sierra Club) all came together to do this project! GREAT WORK FOLKS!!!! And MANY THANK YOUs

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-49020873162449328002010-11-23T11:19:00.000-08:002010-11-23T11:34:13.746-08:00

In a widely reported development in the story of the controversial water museum proposed for the Whittier Narrows Natural Area, the Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians announced their opposition to the project Thursday at the threatened wildlife sanctuary.“It's one thing for a child to push a button and see a picture of nature. But there is nothing like walking along a trail here, seeing,

Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Areahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330709926908407632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-20387707142182540812010-11-10T13:30:00.000-08:002010-11-10T13:45:37.344-08:00

We’ve started a petition to help the community tell officials that we want the Whittier Narrows Natural Area and Nature Center preserved today and for future generations, not sacrificed to make way for a government and water agency water museum and meeting hall.To go to the petition, including its background information, or preamble, you can click here or click on the link below. You can also go

Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Areahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330709926908407632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-36099615665282447772010-10-28T20:49:00.000-07:002010-10-28T23:25:26.027-07:00

The past is prologue, as the saying goes, and so news coming out of an agency struggling to build a $22 million publicly funded water museum proposed on the Whittier Narrows wildlife sanctuary should have taxpayers and ratepayers very worried about how officials are handling millions of their dollars.At the Oct. 18 meeting of the San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority, board President

Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Areahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330709926908407632noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-61508127429575959352010-09-29T17:06:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:28:37.850-07:00

The timing is suspicious, to say the least.Three months after the state Department of Finance issues a report and audit (link below) declaring that the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy "has not exercised adequate fiduciary oversight of bond funds," the conservancy's executive director announces her retirement.Faustinos, who earns $84,000 annually, told the Times

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-55924417161744308832010-09-27T18:02:00.000-07:002010-10-01T07:53:00.957-07:00

This is a pieced together collection of maps all of which were created by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1986. It depicts what would happen if the Whittier Narrows Dam failed. The document is in a public library in New Mexico and I borrowed it and scanned the maps and then, put them together in Photoshop. The only alterations were to cut the edges to make a smoother connection between one map and

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-80685417652552928972010-09-27T17:55:00.000-07:002010-09-27T17:56:42.164-07:00

... including on TELEVISION!

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-86446987643570376602010-09-20T16:49:00.001-07:002010-09-20T17:25:19.914-07:00

If officials at Central Basin Municipal Water District have their way, cities, water retailers and ratepayers who get their water from the district could end up paying millions of dollars over the coming years to prop up a financially troubled water museum project that a district official concedes customers do not want.At the most conservative estimate, projected over the time Central Basin and

Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Areahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330709926908407632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-77807385805861968822010-09-14T15:42:00.000-07:002010-09-14T15:54:32.940-07:00

Eight months after a government agency dominated by unelected water executives and public employees gave its approval for a controversial publicly funded $22 million water museum, the same agency appears to have no firm idea of the project’s long-term operations and maintenance costs. Nor has the agency been able to secure funding commitments to pay the long-term costs.At a meeting of the

Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Areahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330709926908407632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-46680779943654310652010-09-02T21:05:00.000-07:002010-09-02T21:49:57.460-07:00

In the most recent edition of the Pasadena Audubon Society's newsletter, Laura Garrett writes of two opportunities to help save important foothill areas of the San Gabriel Mountains.Sensitive wildlife habitat in Pasadena's Hahamongna Watershed Park (located near JPL) could be turned into sports fields, parking lots and roads if a majority of the city council has its way.While the proposed project

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-23662865341685559742010-08-29T13:17:00.000-07:002010-08-30T11:21:20.111-07:00

And then there were none.The last community-based environmental organization on the booster committee for the troubled San Gabriel River Discovery Center water museum project voted in July to remove itself from the committee.The exit of the local chapter of the California Native Plant Society is the latest page in an exodus from the project. In past years, the Discovery Center Authority claimed

Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Areahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330709926908407632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-41746531633617099022010-08-24T11:48:00.000-07:002010-08-24T11:53:22.009-07:00

What do the Whittier Narrows Natural Area, Ballona Wetlands, Abalone Cove Shoreline Park and Rancho Los Cerritos all have in common? At each location, officials have decided that nature education begins not with nature but with bulldozers.In recent months, naturalareafan has learned that the proposed San Gabriel River Discovery Center isn't the only project in Southern California following the

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-72338227619131925742010-08-12T16:58:00.000-07:002010-08-12T18:48:16.013-07:00

The yearlong debate surrounding the $11 billion water bond shined a bright light on what government officials like to call "water education facilities" -- a category that includes the proposed San Gabriel River Discovery Center.What did that light reveal? That such projects are little more than government pork.Democratic legislators, Republican legislators, political observers -- people from

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-3070281803768873312010-07-16T12:36:00.000-07:002010-07-16T13:21:27.314-07:00

Most times, we all need each other.

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-66345690054341602852010-06-27T18:01:00.000-07:002010-06-27T18:16:41.727-07:00

Our lawsuit targeting the controversial, expensive and destructive San Gabriel River Discovery Center project continues to protect the community’s prized Whittier Narrows Natural Area, a historic wildlife sanctuary of tremendous ecological value.We filed the suit in February, under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, which the Planning and Conservation League calls the state’s “

Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Areahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330709926908407632noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-17992884553087009832010-06-20T18:14:00.000-07:002010-06-21T09:39:55.332-07:00

In a serious blow to the controversial San Gabriel River Discovery Center, the local chapter of the Sierra Club in May refused to endorse the proposed water museum and meeting center that threatens important community and environmental resources in east Los Angeles County .One Sierra Club member said the center appeared to be a monument to water districts and county agencies. Another said the

Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Areahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12330709926908407632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-987757562977930632010-06-13T23:19:00.001-07:002010-06-13T23:21:15.653-07:00

The Whittier Daily News and other Los Angeles-area media are reporting that the U.S. Forest Service wants to bring lands that stretch from the Santa Monica Mountains to the San Gabriel Mountains "under federal protection and would study the possibilities of trail development, land acquisition and preservation of wildlife corridors that connect different sections of open space in

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-45866051087672435982010-05-22T07:18:00.000-07:002010-05-22T08:39:33.715-07:00

Ed Barajas teaching kids and their parents about NATURE.. the old fashioned way! Out IN IT!Read another article today.... another group of experts talking about Climate Change. This time this group, from the United Nations, says that protecting biodiversity is MORE important then working to stop Climate Change! Then I read that another group of scientists who have grouped together to try to get

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-53518727851281888232010-05-20T08:57:00.000-07:002010-05-20T09:06:53.867-07:00

It was a..... U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and environmental Design of the HIGHEST Platinum level!!!!(not really.... but folks followed the orders from folks at the top... and no one questioned their motives or their deficiencies in their work ethics.)Photo taken by a Department of Energy Contractor.

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-50045509466960078222010-05-02T01:07:00.000-07:002010-05-02T01:49:24.739-07:00

GO!!!!!!!! BIRD-A-THON!!! COUNT THE BIRDS(hint: 5 birds, 2 invertebrates on this page)The Friends are holding their inaugural Bird-a-thon May 14 - 16 to raise money for the cause of saving the Whittier Narrows Natural Area.The proceeds from the Birdathon, an event in which individuals or teams count birds and collect sponsorships based on the number of species they spot or in a flat amount,

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-67838050566229406992010-04-23T23:18:00.000-07:002010-04-24T00:28:29.080-07:00

Don't miss the LA Weekly's stunning, sobering story on the proposed San Gabriel River Discovery Center: "Pave to Save Whittier Narrows?""Funding — including some of the construction money — has not been secured. The Discovery Center Authority does not even have an updated estimate of future operating costs."While reporter Tibby Rothman looks at the important environmental questions that plague

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-35816024768288000592010-03-25T21:56:00.001-07:002010-03-25T23:06:35.755-07:00

Would you situate a multimillion-dollar building intended to be used by tens of thousands of people -- including children -- each year in a liquefaction zone sitting atop "the fault that could eat L.A."?That appears to be exactly what the San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority intends to do with its controversial project.A story at latimes.com last Saturday reported that the March 16 Pico

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-59749651392946734812010-03-04T18:46:00.001-08:002010-03-04T18:46:50.422-08:00

A couple of events this weekend are giving people in the San Gabriel Valley opportunities to take concrete steps to help the environment.The San Gabriel High School PTSA is hosting a free e-waste collection 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday in the school's south parking lot at 801 S. Ramona St. in San Gabriel.For more information, call (626) 308-2352.And the Sierra Club's Montebello Hills

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-70699154035212064712010-02-28T21:58:00.000-08:002010-02-28T23:39:57.027-08:00

Remember the movie Contact? Remember when, after the destruction of the first spaceship, billionaire S. R. Hadden reveals to scientist Eleanor Arroway that a second spaceship had been secretly built?"First rule in government spending," Hadden says. "Why build one when you can have two at twice the price?" But such spendthrift ways don't appear ambitious enough for the RMC."First rule in

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-77336011723398587912010-02-21T21:49:00.000-08:002010-02-21T23:03:35.817-08:00

The City of Montebello is holding a recall election on Tuesday in which voters will decide whether to oust city council members Robert Urteaga and Kathy Salazar and replace them from a field of seven candidates -- four running for Urteaga's seat and three for Salazar's.According to a pamphlet printed by the League of Women Voters of Whittier for the candidate forum on Feb. 11, each voter, even if

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-49348919619974747462010-01-28T16:25:00.001-08:002010-01-28T19:28:13.430-08:00

Ignoring the growing chorus of opposition to the proposed Discovery Center, the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy and its partners voted to bulldoze wildlife habitat and an existing nature center and replace them with a project few people actually want.But the project still needs county board of supervisors approval and -- the real challenge -- to scrape together $30 million for construction.The

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-47428354850924453642010-01-17T20:44:00.000-08:002010-01-17T22:16:12.541-08:00

Throughout history, empires have announced and reinforced their power through architecture meant to dominate. Be it Rome or London or Madrid, or the capital of any other current or former power, these places announce the hegemony, past or present, of the men and women who built them.The proposed San Gabriel River Discovery Center seems exactly this kind of announcement of empire, with the

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-42642503435019393162010-01-12T21:51:00.000-08:002010-01-12T22:18:45.184-08:00

The San Gabriel River Discovery Center final EIR was released last week. No reaction here to it yet, other than to say there's a strong air of "Authority right, public wrong" about it.The 1,200-page document is available on the Discovery Center Web site.The Web site also states that the final EIR will be on the authority board's Jan. 20 meeting agenda "for consideration for adoption."The meeting

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-47113304062818428392010-01-07T20:55:00.000-08:002010-01-07T23:44:30.185-08:00

Interested in learning how the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy--also known as the RMC--got its start? Join the Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Area this Sunday for a presentation by former California Assemblymember and co-author of the founding legislation, Sally Havice.Havice, a professor of English at Cerritos College, will give her presentation at 2

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-54921018241444075182009-12-29T23:37:00.000-08:002009-12-29T23:39:29.590-08:00

In the course of some recent research I happened upon some Whittier Daily News Stories on the Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Restoration Authority and its activities and projects.The contrast between its habitat restoration focus and the bulldozers-and-buildings focus of the San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority is truly striking.The newspaper's Mike Sprague wrote on Nov. 21 that

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-19760821880471148742009-12-20T18:40:00.000-08:002009-12-20T19:25:33.872-08:00

Yet another Rivers and Mountains Conservancy project proposed for the Whittier Narrows Natural Area could set back the cause of resource conservation said a senior Water Replenishment District official on Wednesday.The district's senior hydrologist, Nancy Matsumoto, said that the Lario Creek project, a proposal to dramatically alter a channel used to move water from the San Gabriel River to the

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-78862791490699115962009-12-15T19:06:00.000-08:002009-12-15T20:40:02.019-08:00

A meeting to solicit comments from the public on a new master plan for the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area is scheduled to take place Wednesday from 2 - 4 p.m. in Pico Rivera.The location of the meeting is the Pico Rivera Parks and Recreation Department's community room, 6767 Passons Blvd.The meeting is being called by the Watershed Conservation Authority, a joint powers authority consisting of

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-78227351720674044572009-11-26T14:07:00.001-08:002009-11-26T21:45:02.456-08:00

I want to take a moment today to express my gratitude for the opportunity I was given when I learned about the effort to protect the Whittier Narrows Natural Area and Nature Center.So I'd like to say thank you to . . .Journalist Louis Sahagun for the 2008 story that alerted me to the threat posed by the San Gabriel River Discovery Center to nature, to the community and to taxpayers.People like

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-22735981466355795952009-11-19T21:14:00.001-08:002009-11-20T18:58:32.893-08:00

The supposedly "public" meetings of the San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority are anything but. And they seem to get less public all the time.Meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Monday mornings "was determined to be the best time for all of our Board Members." -- Belinda Faustinos, San Gabriel River Discovery Center AuthorityAbout a year ago, a member of the community attending a 1:30 p.m. weekday

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-61172702673846152992009-11-10T20:11:00.000-08:002009-11-10T20:24:20.474-08:00

East Yards Communities for Environmental Justice will host a two-day workshop on the cumulative impacts of pollution.The workshop, held 6 - 8 p.m. on consecutive Thursday's beginning Nov. 12, will provide information on toxins, polluters and decision-making processes that affect the community.An expert at the second meeting, Nov. 19, will teach data collection and help people become data

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-71109280391045531112009-10-25T23:56:00.000-07:002009-10-26T00:42:43.818-07:00

On Saturday, members of the Whittier Narrows Nature Center Associates took the bull by the horns and cleaned and tidied the nature center gift shop.It wasn't spring cleaning, but fall cleaning. Which makes sense since fall and winter are the height of bird activity at Whittier Narrows.The project was the idea of Associate Jessica Nava, who led the effort that involved about half a dozen

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-36208549103617697392009-10-18T23:23:00.000-07:002009-10-18T23:40:24.988-07:00

I stopped by the Whittier Narrows Natural Area this morning and found the parking lot full of SUVs, people in khaki and lots of dogs.Turns out the all-volunteer California Rescue Dog Association, or CARDA, was holding a training session there.A member told me they had 12 - 14 members present and an equal number of dogs. Lots of German shepherds and Labrador retrievers, if I remember correctly.He

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-51677081786400646422009-10-04T16:20:00.001-07:002009-10-04T16:35:53.868-07:00

The secret's out: the LA Weekly just named the Whittier Narrows Natural Area best educational hike.The Natural Area appears in the Weekly's current "Best of LA" issue.Todd Kraining writes that "deep inside the sanctuary, the solitude of the desert can be a liberating experience." But he also says that, "With all the paw prints pressed into the sand around you, you have the feeling of never quite

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-31292667124911321362009-09-29T21:19:00.000-07:002009-09-29T21:44:17.300-07:00

The documentary Split Estate, will be screened at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, at St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Whittier.The film "maps a tragedy in the making, as citizens in the path of a new drilling boom in the Rocky Mountain West struggle against the erosion of their civil liberties, their communities and their health."A preview is available on YouTube.The free screening will be followed

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-828552281827024482009-09-22T22:00:00.000-07:002009-09-22T22:41:43.880-07:00

A recent story in the Eastern Group Publications family of newspapers shows that Central Basin Municipal Water District is taking growing criticism for its decision to more than double a surcharge on water to its customers.The water district is one of four agencies and water districts that is spending millions in taxpayer and ratepayer money on the controversial San Gabriel River Discovery Center

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-77966907160375234802009-09-11T18:55:00.000-07:002009-09-11T19:11:09.969-07:00

The Friends calendar of activities has been updated, and there's lots of good stuff still ahead of us this month.This Sunday is the Friends monthly working meeting. Now that the comment periods have closed on the Discovery Center Authority's draft EIR and the Army Corps of Engineers' environmental assessment, we'll probably be discussing next steps in the campaign.The meeting is at 1 p.m. in the

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-13953949337185434142009-09-01T22:18:00.000-07:002009-09-01T22:42:19.698-07:00

The Sierra Club's Save the Montebello Hills Task Force is having a giant yard sale Friday, Sept. 4, through Sunday, Sept. 6.The sale is a great opportunity to clear out some clutter or pick up a gently used item--all while supporting the cause of saving the Montebello Hills, the city's last remaining open space.Items may be brought on the days of the sale at the corner of Avenida de la Merced Ave

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-33546952137688286012009-08-27T10:44:00.000-07:002009-08-27T11:24:25.255-07:00

Yesterday, The chair of the Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Area, Jim Odling, and I visited the Placerita Canyon Natural Area and Nature Center in Newhall, Calif.For me, the visit was a chance to see firsthand the results of a recently completed $2.1 million "eco-friendly" renovation of the nature center that I learned of through a story in The Signal.My impression of the renovated nature

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-57796070484607731172009-08-25T16:01:00.000-07:002009-08-25T16:13:25.737-07:00

I just want to say thank you to everyone who was able to submit comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on its San Gabriel River Discovery Center environmental assessment.It felt like a chore to me to find the energy to comment on the EA after we put so much energy into commenting on the draft environmental impact report. But it had to get done, and it got done.So again thanks for taking the

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-59105523851072345352009-08-13T23:19:00.000-07:002009-08-14T00:31:27.692-07:00

There seems to be much activity these days regarding the Whittier Narrows, a possible national recreation area designation for the San Gabriel Mountains and River, and a possible trail linking Eaton Canyon to the Rio Hondo.The Whittier Daily News reported on this month's Visioning Whittier Narrows event. The Friends were at the event, providing information on the campaign to save the Natural Area

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-84253814993765061022009-08-09T23:57:00.001-07:002009-08-10T00:34:18.565-07:00

Just when you thought it was safe to put down your red pen for marking up Discovery Center environmental documents, another deadline approaches.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' environmental assessment is out and its Aug. 20 comment deadline is less than two weeks away.The document can be found online at the Discovery Center Authority website.It looks as if comments will only be accepted if they

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-16565979800931875442009-07-30T23:55:00.000-07:002009-07-31T04:59:54.494-07:00

The Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Area will be in the Lakes Area--what I usually call Legg Lake--on Saturday for the Experience Whittier Narrows event.The event is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The folks from the Sierra Club's Montebello Hills campaign will have a booth there too.The Visioning Whittier Narrows website states the event "will share preliminary ideas about recreational

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-53911357853976443582009-07-28T23:18:00.000-07:002009-07-29T00:20:18.769-07:00

I took a tour today of Los Angeles' Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve.Partly I looked forward to seeing something new, partly I wanted to compare the Whittier Narrows Natural Area to another wildlife area in Southern California.I and a couple of other people from the campaign were led on our tour by members of the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Committee. The three of us were impressed by the abundance

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-57544011979602427602009-07-24T13:00:00.000-07:002009-07-24T13:31:45.221-07:00

I'm certain many of us have had the experience of seeing mystery charges on some of our bills. Well, something similar may be going on with the San Gabriel River Discovery Center.Earlier this week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its environmental assessment on the discovery center.Wait, you say, how does this differ from the draft environmental impact report?Why weren't these two

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-11469958332365667372009-07-22T06:46:00.000-07:002009-07-22T07:19:42.408-07:00

Public opinion matters.I'm modifying my statement of a few days ago. A bit of reflection and the recollection of a statement by Abraham Lincoln have allowed me to recognize the value of public opinion."With public sentiment, nothing can fail," Lincoln said. "Without it, nothing can succeed."In the matter of the discovery center, this goes at least to the question of the project's credibility.At

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-17503840605287140082009-07-19T21:40:00.000-07:002009-07-19T23:21:42.669-07:00

If you needed proof that the San Gabriel River Discovery Center is museo non grata in the Whittier Narrows area, yesterday's meeting on the project's draft EIR provided an avalanche of proof.Of 20 people who spoke during the oral comment period, only two said they supported the project. (And there was some question whether one of those two had been a consultant on the discovery center during the

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-72433997860398489422009-07-16T16:42:00.000-07:002009-07-16T17:40:34.371-07:00

The second and final public meeting on the San Gabriel River Discovery Center and its draft environmental impact report is scheduled for Saturday, July 18, 2 - 4 p.m., at South El Monte High School in South El Monte.At the first meeting, held June 24, no speaker from the community supported the discovery center proposal. Most spoke in favor of protecting nature and the Whittier Narrows Nature

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-74313217546465829542009-07-14T18:05:00.001-07:002009-07-14T18:50:14.432-07:00

Why is Central Basin Municipal Water District (service area pictured at right) continuing its financial support for the proposed $30 million San Gabriel River Discovery Center at the same time that it's raising rates on its customers and making internal budget cuts?The revenue report from the Discovery Center Authority's June 18 board report shows that Central Basin contributed $80,000 for fiscal

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-23249369891858068162009-07-12T20:49:00.000-07:002009-07-12T22:25:03.206-07:00

A recent story in the Whittier Daily News highlighted the apparent return of some sensitive bird species to the Whittier Narrows.A recent sighting of a yellow-billed cuckoo "has set off biologists and birders around the area and has brought new attention to the Whittier Narrows, and specifically a 4-mile stretch of the Rio Hondo," writes journalist Ben Baeder.The bird, a relative of the

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-47538593292398944102009-07-06T09:39:00.000-07:002009-07-07T11:22:36.333-07:00

The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that county nature centers, including the Whittier Narrows Nature Center, and county-controlled beaches at three area lakes will be closed on Mondays due to a seven-percent budget cut for parks.The Natural Area park will still be open to the public on Mondays.Hugo Maldonado, the county's chief lake lifeguard, told the Times that, rather than eliminate any

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-38908049697791877622009-07-03T01:24:00.000-07:002009-07-03T01:56:12.738-07:00

The Child Development Consortium of Los Angeles and photographer Lou Orr have graciously given the Friends permission to share photos from the April 1 visit of preschoolers from the Nueva Maravilla Child Development Center to the Natural Area.The kids and their chaperon went on a walk through the Natural Area with docent Jim Odling and visited the nature center and its collection of snakes,

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-4726279341357939052009-06-30T09:28:00.001-07:002009-07-01T01:05:37.261-07:00

Last week, community members and supporters of the Whittier Narrows Natural Area sent a clear message to the San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority: "Don't build your $30 million, 18,000-square-foot regional watershed visitor center on our open space, our wildlife sanctuary, our center of outdoor education." On June 24, the Discovery Center Authority held a public meeting at South El Monte

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-36047054586748266252009-06-28T16:34:00.000-07:002009-06-28T16:39:16.972-07:00

A good day bringing people together.

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-18347514986049119962009-06-20T13:44:00.001-07:002009-06-20T13:57:47.412-07:00

Ray Williams, professor of biology and a veteran of successful environmental campaigns, will speak Sunday, June 21, on tackling environmental impact reports and will focus his comments on the San Gabriel River Discovery Center draft environmental impact report.His talk comes just a few days before the first of two public meetings scheduled on the San Gabriel River Discovery Center DEIR, which was

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-49293957008741777362009-06-14T21:03:00.000-07:002009-06-14T23:49:38.837-07:00

For a project that is ostensibly designed to promote environmental stewardship, the San Gabriel River Discovery Center is pretty hard on the environment.The project is planned for the Whittier Narrows Natural Area, the only wildlife sanctuary on the San Gabriel River, part of the Whittier Narrows Significant Ecological Area and part of an Audubon Society Important Bird Area. But the impact on

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-47662848173105057342009-06-09T19:13:00.000-07:002009-06-14T20:07:39.922-07:00

Ray Williams, professor emeritus of biology at Rio Hondo College and veteran of many successful efforts to protect threatened areas of the Southern California, provided the Friends this list of helpful tips.While a draft environmental impact report may seem intimidating at first--the Montebello Hills Specific Plan DEIR certainly intimidated me--they cover a broad spectrum of areas. And even the

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-55559254230622453922009-06-07T16:10:00.000-07:002009-06-09T19:36:10.293-07:00

After two years of delays, the draft environmental impact report on the San Gabriel River Discovery Center was released Friday.The release of the DEIR also signaled the opening of the 60-day public comment period, which ends on Aug. 3, 2009.The report, nearly 900 pages in length, is available online at the Discovery Center Authority website.It's also available in print at three Whittier Narrows

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-628138403829657372009-05-31T19:43:00.000-07:002009-05-31T20:23:05.586-07:00

Louis Sahagun recently wrote a brief but great story on a program at Dorsey High School that has kids helping to try bring the cactus wren to the new Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook State Park.The work they're doing includes restoration of cactus sage brush habitat and construction of artificial nests in an effort to bring back a bird that hasn't been seen in the area for a decade.Sahagun writes

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-69307712631757787882009-05-28T21:07:00.000-07:002009-05-28T22:22:02.622-07:00

The San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority likes to argue that the communities around Whittier Narrows are underserved in the areas of environmental education.How accurate is that claim?The SRGDCA is planning a 25-mile service radius around the discovery center, so I decided to figure out what other nature, science and education-focused museums lie within 25 miles of the Whittier Narrows

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-54126009363587903362009-05-26T22:00:00.000-07:002009-05-26T22:36:14.700-07:00

The public comment period on the Montebello Hills Specific Plan draft environmental impact report closes Thursday.Motivated by that quickly approaching deadline, I finally got off the dime, reviewed portions of the biological resources and recreation sections of the document, drafted some comments and submitted them to Montebello's director of planning and community development, Michael

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-81268651191894896862009-05-24T23:15:00.000-07:002009-05-25T11:53:11.781-07:00

I'd been unable to understand, until a few days ago, how the San Gabriel River Discovery Center, a project that would destroy 10 or 11 acres of habitat within the only wildlife sanctuary on the San Gabriel River, qualified for $3-million grant from a state conservation agency. The answer, it appears, is that it didn't qualify, but the agency gave the money anyway.As the California Public

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-57049589301042159382009-05-08T20:02:00.001-07:002009-05-09T10:55:25.739-07:00

The Montebello City Council last night extended the public comment and review period to 60 days on a controversial 1,200-unit development proposed for the Montebello Hills, which provide important habitat for wildlife such as the threatened California gnatcatcher.The fight over the plan proposed for the 488-acre property owned by Plains Exploration & Production Company is something I was only

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-22890912271914595392009-05-04T19:53:00.000-07:002009-05-05T17:39:12.435-07:00

With the expected release later this month of the draft environmental impact report on the San Gabriel River Discovery Center, it makes sense that focus would naturally gravitate toward the project’s serious environmental flaws.A project that would destroy some of the most accessible acres of the Natural Area, the discovery center would be 15 times bigger than the current nature center. It would

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-32629239465006723432009-04-21T20:24:00.000-07:002009-04-21T20:39:16.457-07:00

A recent LA Times article reported on a reborn Owens Lake and its almost overnight impact on birds.The 100-square-mile lake near Sequoia National Park was turned into a salt flat after LA DWP diverted its waters into the Los Angeles Aqueduct. But since 2001, the utility “has flooded portions of the lake bed to control choking dust pollution.”The result, Louis Sahagun writes, is “one of

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-3305322017352095412009-04-17T17:29:00.000-07:002009-04-17T19:56:59.237-07:00

The Whittier Narrows Natural Area and our efforts to shed light on the threat posed to it by the proposed San Gabriel River Discovery Center were the subject of an April 15 post to the Los Angeles Times’ Greenspace blog.“Opponents of a proposed $30-million interpretive center at the Whittier Narrows wildlife sanctuary,” wrote journalist Louis Sahagun, “are ramping up their effort to block the

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-87112084415942635172009-04-09T18:39:00.000-07:002009-04-09T19:01:53.270-07:00

While the cartoon above doesn’t deal with green construction, it raises the question of what constitutes a truly green choice.A big part of the Discovery Center Authority’s marketing campaign for its 18,230-square-foot science museum (nearly three times the size of Eaton Canyon Nature Center and 15 times bigger than the current Whittier Narrows Nature Center) is that the building will be LEED (

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-1573779884373216222009-04-05T18:09:00.000-07:002009-04-05T20:21:02.697-07:00

The LA Times, Daily News and La Opinion are all reporting the impending Chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidation of the Children's Museum of Los Angeles (pictured above), a project a decade and tens of millions of dollars in the making.The long road to failure for the Children’s Museum—and the similar path being followed by the Metropolitan Water District's Center for Water Education in Hemet, Calif.

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-3377111906586846212009-04-03T13:57:00.000-07:002009-04-03T14:35:49.971-07:00

OH! I forgot..... One other issue with Erosion Control Blankets rolled out and now embedded with weeds and all over the Sanctuary, is that the 'green' that you see is a dye. Dyes of this color are for marking places to indicate that something has been 'laid' down which is either a pesticide or a herbicide.Questions of the dye itself have been raised. What is its toxicity? People who work at the

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-74434764692424916142009-04-03T09:59:00.000-07:002009-04-03T14:49:20.564-07:00

This is Grace Allen at the Whittier Narrows. She has worked there for quite a number of years as a docent. The day I took this picture, she said she did not want to take the children out on the walks anymore. Her eyes were filled with tears. The Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department said there were too many weeds (mustard, specifically) and so they were going to eradicate them.There

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-61300874240188263072009-04-03T09:48:00.000-07:002009-04-03T09:59:00.337-07:00

A snowy egret on the bank of the San Gabriel RiverOn March 14th, Shannon Pankratz, Gerardo Salas, and Phuong Trinh from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Division, Los Angeles Office, came to talk about the role that Corps-Regulatory plays in our environment and local communities. Gerardo and Shannon typically work within areas of San Bernardino County, while Phuong works within Los

tardigradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08187110159439977682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1696025342359381937.post-21833117092854217942009-04-02T21:01:00.000-07:002009-04-03T23:42:10.655-07:00

How many permanent watershed exhibits does an area need?The San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority (DCA) envisions a 25-mile service radius for the science museum it’s proposing to build on the Whittier Narrows Natural Area. That means most of the communities from the San Gabriel Mountains southwest to the Pacific Ocean—including all the communities in the vicinity of Whittier Narrows—would

naturalareafanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294329842374104176noreply@blogger.com1