Whittier Narrows Master Plan meeting Wednesday

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 the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

How is bulldozing dozens of mature trees and paving over wildlife habitat in a county Significant Ecological Area to build a meeting center for bureaucrats and a 150-car parking lot in any way compatible with conservation or restoration?

The information I've picked up from the project's Notice of Preparation and from an article in the Whittier Daily News raise a few questions.

First, why is the WCA the lead agency on this rather than the landowner, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? (USACE's Sepulveda Basin Master Plan is also being revised, but there the corps apparently hasn't ceded control of the planning process.)

Second, why is the Whittier Narrows scoping meeting being held midweek, 2 - 4 p.m.? Is the WCA intentionally trying to suppress public participation? Or is the WCA staff simply disinclined toward weekend or evening meetings? (Again, contrast this with USACE's Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., meeting regarding Sepulveda Basin.)

And third, why is the Discovery Center being proposed for what is identified in the new master plan as a conservation and restoration zone? (See map above.) How is bulldozing dozens of mature trees and paving over wildlife habitat in a county Significant Ecological Area to build a meeting center for bureaucrats and a 150-car parking lot in any way compatible with conservation or restoration?

The logic stays screwy when you read in the Whittier Daily News that Norma E. Garcia, deputy director for Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, says they "didn't want to intensify the use of Whittier Narrows."

How is doubling annual visitation of the natural area to 120,000 people without first analyzing the potential impacts of such growth anything other than intensifying use of Whittier Narrows?

Perhaps the county and the RMC need to get their story straight.

An expression of gratitude on Thanksgiving

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 Jim Odling and the other members of the Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Area who helped to give me and many others a voice on the Discovery Center issue.

Members of the community, who have spoken with great heartfelt eloquence about the importance of the Natural Area to them and to their families over the decades.

The twentysomethings and teenagers who have shown me that protection and preservation of the Natural Area is an issue that crosses generational lines.

The many accomplished and inspiring community and environmental activists who I've met through organizations such as the Nature Center Associates, Audubon Society and Sierra Club.

My family, for their support now and on so many past occasions.

A heartfelt thank you to all of you and to many others. You have given me more than you know.

Authority board meetings public in name only?

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 Authority

About a year ago, a member of the community attending a 1:30 p.m. weekday meeting of the board said that such meeting times were inappropriate when most of the purported beneficiaries of the project--the community, families, students--would be unable to attend.

Executive director Belinda Faustinos responded that the board would consider moving meetings to a more appropriate time for the community. But when the 2009 board schedule was published shortly thereafter, every meeting was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on a weekday.

But wait! The Discovery Center board did finally change its meeting times.

Has the board, consisting solely of government bureaucrats and water district executives, deigned to give the public a true chance to participate in a process and project that will likely cost taxpayers and rate payers tens of millions dollars--for a water museum?

Only if you think 8:30 a.m. on Monday mornings is a convenient time for "public" meetings.

The board thinks it's convenient--for its own members.

According to Ms. Faustinos (in the board packet for last Monday's meeting), having these meetings at 8:30 a.m. "was determined to be the best time for all of our Board Members."

But not to worry, folks. Once the board decides how it's going to spend your money, they'll make a special effort to have an afternoon meeting for you. But don't count on getting a good estimate on the cost of construction, much less on how much it's going to cost you to run your new water museum.

Here's hoping you can spare the vacation time for these so-called "public" meetings. Because heaven forbid we inconvenience the authority.

East Yards to host cumulative impacts workshop

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 collectors in their own neighborhoods.

The workshop will take place in the EYCEJ Community Room, 5117 Kinsie St., Commerce 90040.

The workshop will include training supplies, Spanish translation services, dinner and child care services.

Registration is required. See contact info on the EYCEJ home page.

A bit of tidying at the nature center

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 volunteers and staff.

There are some very nice items in the gift shop: a good selection of books, some wonderful nature photographs, naturalist equipment for kids, and small items to serve as mementos of a visit to the Whittier Narrows wildlife sanctuary.

There are a number of nature walks offered each month by the Associates, the staff and now the Whittier Area Audubon Society.

Plan a visit or just drop in for some peace among the wildlife.
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More photos at Flickr.com

Rescue Dog Association at the Natural Area

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 told me they trained their dogs for open area searches, trailing and cadaver searches in various environments and settings.

I asked whether they'd had any involvement in the post-Katrina rescue and recovery efforts, and he said members had traveled to the Gulf area, with one staying out there four weeks.

I mentioned my own interest in the Natural Area, told him there were plans to build a big water museum and conference center.

His reaction?

"There's too much concrete already," he said, "and too little open space.

"That's why kids want to stay indoors and play video games. Their only chance to see nature is when playing with their Wii."
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Photo: California Rescue Dog Association.

Whittier Narrows named best educational hike

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 being alone."

Krainin also mentions the transmission towers, power lines and billboards that mark the Natural Area as being part of an urban landscape. Yet, he writes, "this is a quiet, relaxing place, completely free of charge. That much, at least, is the way nature’s supposed to be."

Photo: Preschoolers from the Nueva Maravilla Child Development Center in Los Angeles on a visit to the Whittier Narrows Natural Area on April 1, 2009. (Photo by Lou Orr)