A wetland in Long Beach is in danger of being flattened for a pay-for-play sports park.
The 60-acre remnant of a riparian corridor, known as Willow Spring, originated well up in the watershed and emptied into the L.A. River. The city of Long Beach is moving forward with a plan to obliterate the historic topography and habitat in favor of a sports park for which users would be charged a fee.
More than 600 acres of land at the Ballona Wetlands is now in public hands and safe. Or is it? Title of the land did change hands from Playa Vista developers and is now owned by the state of California. But Sierra Club activists know from many decades of experience protecting Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and many other public treasures, that the work of protecting this special place where the Los Angeles River and several other streams converge continues, only in a different direction.
R.J. Secor is hiking again after Mt. Baldy accident
Reprinted with permission from the Arroyo View, the newsletter of the Pasadena Group.
Mountain climber and author R.J. Secor is famous for his classic guide book, The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails; his climbing guides for Aconcagua, Denali, and the volcanoes of Mexico; and internationally for his mountaineering exploits around the world.
Banning Ranch Park and Preserve Task Force
Banning Ranch, which is 412 acres of coastal bluffs and wetlands in the Newport Beach area of Orange County, has recently been the recipient of some small but important victories. The Banning Ranch Park and Preserve Task Force has been working hard for five years to protect this property.
San Diego Chapter Border Committee
As members of the Sierra Club, our main goal is to protect the natural environment. One of the top threats to the preservation of wilderness is the enactment of corporate-driven international trade agreements that supersede environmental and human rights protections at both the national and local level.
Three incumbents were reelected and four new members were elected to the Angeles Chapter Executive Committee in November's election.
Reelected to two-year terms were Virgil Shields, Donna Specht, and Jay Matchett. Also elected to two-year terms were Jan Kidwell and Dean Wallraff.
Elected to one-year terms were John Fries and Joe Young. All terms begin Jan. 1.
Senior Regional Representative
There's no other place like it in California. Tejon Ranch is 270,000 acres of land owned by one corporation and sitting at the crossroads of the Sierra Nevada, the South Coast mountain ranges, the San Joaquin Valley, and the high desert. Deer, mountain lions, and other threatened species live on the land while the imperiled California condor soars overhead on the lookout for roosting and feeding opportunities.
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
Member Training Workshop
The Angeles Chapter's Annual Member Training Workshop is coming up on Feb. 11 at the Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Pasadena. If you've taken on new responsibilities in the Chapter and need help learning the job, this is the program for you. The session on 'Where Am I? Naviguessing the Sierra Club,' for example, can help you figure out how your job fits into the big picture of the Club.
Vice-chair, Angeles Chapter Conservation Committee and Chair, Ballona Wetlands Restoration Committee
We hear lots of talk today about restoring the Los Angeles River, restoring the Ballona Wetlands, restoring Bolsa Chica Wetlands. What does restoration really mean?
Webster's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition, defines restoration as: restored, or being restored; specifically, a) reinstatement in a former position, b) restitution for loss, damage, etc., c) a putting or bringing back into a former, normal, or unimpaired state or condition.
Sierra Club Angeles Chapter
617 W. 7th St, Suite 702
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 10-5 or by appointment
The Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club welcomes your participation in its century of involvement in the enjoyment and protection of our planet's environment. The Angeles Chapter spans Los Angeles and Orange Counties in Southern California, with an extensive program of hikes/hiking, national and international travel, local conservation campaigns, political action, and programs for people of all ages.
Copyright © Angeles Chapter Sierra Club