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Southern Sierran
Coaltion of Activists Awarded $508,000 Grant
BY JEFF YANN
 | 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. [top of page]
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