Meet your chapter

Airport Marina Group

The facts

Established 1970

Serves the 1,900 Sierra Club members who live in Venice, Marina del Rey, Westchester, Inglewood, and the L.A. Airport area.

The group works to save natural resources, to promote the enjoyment of nature, and to educate the public on natural wonders around the world.

The good work

The AM Group advocates for Marina del Rey to be maintained as a working person's harbor as it was originally intended. Marina del Rey, which was originally part of the environmentally sensitive habitat area of the Ballona Wetlands, is the largest human-made small craft harbor in the world. The area supports seals, sea lions, and whales, as well as a host of smaller sea creatures and birds.

The group envisions a long-term conservation plan that will look at the Ballona Creek, the bluff, the lagoon, and the beach as well as the airport areas. They are working with other organizations and with local politicians to help create an 'emerald necklace' that would reach from the Los Angeles River to Baldwin Hills Park, then to Ballona Creek, through the wetlands to the ocean, and down to the El Segundo Dunes. This area would provide a wildlife corridor beginning at the Santa Monica Mountains on the north and connect to the Los Angeles River.

The group's current conservation campaign is to save the only upland bluff of the Ballona Wetlands west of Lincoln Boulevard. It is a registered sacred site of the Gabrielino-Tongva Indians whose ancestors' graves were dug up there by a developer in 2003. Once graced by vernal pools and home to the fairy shrimp, the bluffs were one of the main feeding areas for great blue heron. The Sierra Club, along with Ballona Ecosystem Education Project and Spirit of the Sage Council, sued the Coastal Commission on its approval of a coastal development permit for a luxury development on the 23-acre bluff top. Local citizens are investigating possible land swaps and applying for state funds to acquire the bluff. Although the California Supreme Court did not revoke the permit for building on the bluff, the court ruled that the Coastal Commission can look at the impact of a project inside the coastal zone if the project will impact areas outside the coastal zone. The group is also working with the community to save 300 acres east of Lincoln as a holding basin for Ballona Creek during the rainy season.

The group is working on a new website that will feature a video of local natural treasures, warn of threats to the area, and outline the actions needed to protect it.

The fun stuff

Every Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm, the group leads a conditioning hike from Del Rey Lagoon Park through the Marina to Burton Chace Park and back. Recent programs have included presentations on the Galapagos Islands, reflections on Walden Pond, and a speaker from the National Park Service who addressed threats to local mountain lions. Membership chair LeAnne Warren shared a slide show on gems of the Westside, presenting easy hikes, wildlife, and nesting areas in and around Marina del Rey. Last summer, they shared a potluck dinner to celebrate successes and to engage more members in activities.

How to

The group meets on the third Monday of every month except August and December in the community room at Burton Chace Park at the far west end of Mindanao Way in Marina del Rey. Doors open at 7:30pm and the general program begins at 7:45. The meetings, refreshments, and publications are free. To hear a message about upcoming events, call the group's hotline, 310-485-8008. For more information, call the group's office, 310-737-1111.

-Michelle Nuzzo