Coaltion of Activists Awarded $508,000 Grant

  • Posted on 31 July 2008
  • By Jeff Yann
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The grant, in part, will be used to restore this river trail area.
PHOTO BY JEFF YANN


A cooperative effort between the Chapter’s San Gabriel River Campaign, City of Duarte, Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) and Amigos de los Rios has resulted in a $508,000 RMC grant to complete improvements to Duarte’s Encanto Park and the adjacent river area. Since its inception in 1999, RMC has been responsible for extensive improvements to the San Gabriel River and its watershed.

Sierra Club activists worked closely with the City and RMC to develop detailed concepts for this environmentally beneficial project and assisted in the grant process that resulted in project funding. The Encanto Nature Walk project includes the following components that will restore native habitat and improve understanding of the river.

  • A small nature center and outdoor classroom located at the south end of Encanto Park.
  • A bioswale running along the west side of the park, which will improve storm drainage and demonstrate the benefits of using native plants to create an effective means of enhancing infiltration of storm runoff to replenish ground water supplies
  • A 1,400 foot nature trail along the river adjacent to Encanto park leading to a viewpoint that looks out into the river habitat with great views up the canyon toward Mt. Baldy.

Total cost of the project is estimated at $1 million, with major funding provided by RMC and Los Angeles County Proposition A funds from both Supervisors Michael D. Antonovich and Gloria Molina. Construction of the river trail facilities will be done by the Los Angeles Conservation Corps through a grant of $150,000 from Supervisor Molina. Project design, funded by an RMC planning grant, was completed by Bluegreen Consulting under the direction of Lynne Dwyer and Martin Kammerer. With multiple project partners including the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the project brings together a strong coalition of participants. With funding now in place, construction is scheduled to begin in September.

The City of Duarte has worked closely with the Sierra Club in exploring ways to improve the river environment to benefit both its residents and visitors. In June, 2005, they became the first city to join the Emerald Necklace Coalition, a multi-agency consortium dedicated to providing a connected series of trails and native plant-landscaped parks along the San Gabriel River, Rio Hondo and their tributaries, thus joining the Sierra Club and Amigos de los Rios in promoting this project. Since that time, they have remained a leader in seeking ways to take advantage of their advantageous location as a link between the urban river area and the San Gabriel Mountains.

The Encanto Nature Walk Project will not only provide a pleasant recreational facility along the San Gabriel River, but will serve to provide information regarding wise water use, natural resources, and the importance of protecting the river. The viewpoint, located on a dike which projects 200 feet into the river channel, provides wonderful views down into habitat growing in this soft-bottomed reach, including abundant bird life Exhibits will explain the function of the bioswale and the river, as well as pointing out common plants and animals that can be found in the area. The outdoor classroom and park trails will provide an excellent venue for visits by local school classes.

The Encanto Nature Walk is directly connected to the County Bikeway system by means of the Puente Largo Bridge, a Pacific Electric transit bridge converted by the City of Duarte for recreational use. The City is also seeking funding to extend the river trail an additional mile to Fish canyon, site of the beautiful, 90-foot, three-tiered Fish Canyon Falls.

Jeff Yann has provided leadership on San Gabriel River improvements since 1999, serving for 8 years as Chair of the Chapter’s San Gabriel Valley Conservation Task Force. He continues to provide consultation to environmental entities and agencies working on Emerald Necklace projects.

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