In an extraordinary act contrary to long-standing Democratic Party interests, an L.A. County Democratic Party committee adopted a resolution on January 14, 2014 proposed by the Ballona Institute’s Marcia Hanscom that would effectively prevent the Ballona Wetlands from being restored [1]. An earlier version of this “Do Nothing” resolution was rejected by the Westchester-Playa del Rey Democratic Club last fall [2].
Ballona Institute has peddled this proposal to neighborhood councils and clubs around the Westside, seeking opposition to the state’s plans for a comprehensive Ballona restoration. The state will publish several Ballona restoration alternatives for public review and comment in the project Environmental Impact Report (EIR), now expected late this year after nearly two years of development. One alternative would remove about ¾ mile of the straight, concrete-banked Ballona Creek channel west of Lincoln Blvd. and replace it with an earthen-banked meandering channel surrounded by tidal marsh. Friends of Ballona Wetlands has consistently supported a comprehensive tidal restoration of Ballona.
After the County and Feds built that well-intended but poorly planned concrete channel which unintentionally strangled the Ballona wetlands by isolating it from daily tides, the County then compounded the damage by dumping millions of cubic yards of dredge spoils from Marina development atop 200 acres of adjacent tidal wetland. Now 14 to17 feet high and covered mostly with weeds, this fill dirt south of Fiji Way must be excavated down to 2 feet or lower elevation before incoming tides can again nourish the land as they had done prior to Marina construction.
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Knowing full well such work must employ bulldozers, scrapers and backhoes (as distasteful as that may sound), Ballona Institute and other fringe groups continue to publicly oppose correcting those past environmental mistakes, baiting gullible audiences with hyperbolic tales of sensitive species and polluted water. The resolution adopted by County Dems reads, “the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other government agencies are considering plans to significantly alter the reserve; by bulldozing massive amounts of earth that would radically change the current habitat and eliminate or displace current flora and fauna; and remove the current levees that would release polluted water into the fragile ecosystem.” The resolution goes further, stating that any activities at Ballona shall be undertaken via “community-engaged restoration” and “only using hand tools or small equipment for habitat enhancement and restoration.”
Contrary to these misrepresentations, the state’s proposed reconstruction of Ballona will increase natural habitat area, improve habitat quality and species biodiversity, restore historical rare habitat types, including those that support endangered species, improve water quality, and provide well-regulated public access. All of these goals are mandated by the state’s Coastal Act adopted in 1976 following voter approval of Proposition 20 in 1972, overwhelmingly supported by Democrats. Since then, state and federal environmental law, policy and regulation advocated by Democrats have aimed squarely at restoring degraded and infilled coastal lands back to their former tidal conditions wherever possible. The County Dems resolution makes a 180-degree turn on those long-standing goals.
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In an October 2012 letter to the state, Friends of Ballona Wetlands estimated that it would take at least 46 years to execute even a modest Ballona restoration with only hand tools and a 50-person community volunteer workforce working 350 days a year. It took Friends of Ballona Wetlands nearly 20 years to weed just 13 acres at the Ballona dunes with a regular, weekly volunteer workforce. The Ballona reserve lands cover nearly 600 acres, making a “community engaged” restoration with hand tools sheer fantasy.
Meanwhile, the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter held a meeting on February 19, 2014 where members heard Hanscom’s plea, as well as a summary of the degraded status of the wetlands from Karina Johnston of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, managers for the state project. There was much discussion and questioning, but it was clear that members still had much to learn regarding the full implications of the "hand-tools only" approach. The most enlightening exchange of the evening came in a simple question from Dr. Edith Read, Board Member of Friends of Ballona Wetlands, who asked Hanscom, “So, based on your presentation are you really suggesting the Sierra Club come out in favor of keeping the concrete Ballona flood control channel?" After a brief hesitation, Hanscom replied, "Yes."
Enjoy your Ballona Wetlands!
