Think More Landscape, Less Hardscape- At Ballona

Where's the Restoration Annenberg? I don't see any.

A new more detailed image of the proposed "Interpretive Center" at the Ballona Wetlands has been created. Hmmm, I thought Annenberg said that they would not add any new parking.

I feel that Annenberg should completely start from scratch on their proposal and think like Malibu Legacy Park, that has interpretive signs around a series of trails, as opposed to a single large building that is disconnected from nature.

Less Hardscape, More Landscape

Playa Vista Phase 2- Littering by Construction Company and Non-Cutoff Light Fixtures

Full-Cutoff
Light Fixture in Del Rey

Non-Cutoff
Light Fixture in Playa Vista

I was just walking along the "Playa Vista Riparian Corridor"a rerouted version of the original Centinela Creek. I noticed that construction workers that were restoring a former hanger that was once owned by Howard Hughes that was adjacent to the Riparian Corridor did not pick up their trash. The trash was allowed it to drift into the Corridor as well as a neighboring park. Hopefully, it will be picked up.

Another story, I have been annoyed for a long period of time by the fact that Playa Vista has installed street lights that produce heavy light pollution (see image). This is going against what the city of LA has been trying to do for the past few years-- use full cut-off LED light fixtures to help conserve energy and to reduce light pollution. The developers have been continuously stating the idea that Playa Vista is a "green development." However, they are being anti-green by using the light polluting, non-cutoff, and energy wasting sodium vapor light fixtures not only in the older Phase 1, but in the new Phase 2 as
well.

Annenberg Foundation Releases Info on Proposed "Interpretive Center" in Ballona

The Annenburg's Planned "Interpretive Center"

The Annenberg Foundation recently released some preliminary drawings on the proposed "interpretive center" in the uplands of the Ballona Wetlands. The images depict a large "interpretive center," many new walking and biking paths in the preserve, as well as two large parking lots, and four baseball fields. 

The foundation also plans to add veterinary facilities, adoption facilities, and educational programs on domesticated animals, on public lands within an ecological reserve. This seems very suspect. Currently, no dogs are allowed within the preserve due to the fact that they could disturb wildlife. If and when the Annenberg Foundation creates the "interpretive center" these laws will need to be overridden. 

The Annenberg Foundation stated that:

"Set within the broader context of urban ecology, initial concepts for the Center include exhibits and programs involving live wildlife and domestic animals, including a domestic animal adoption program; an auditorium; and facilities for school age children visiting the Reserve for field trips."

For more information visit:

http://www.annenbergfoundation.org/node/50770

3.1 Earthquake in Playa Del Rey 4/26/13

Shakemap Courtesy of USGS

Update: There recently was another earthquake, magnitude 2.9, struck at 1:08 pm on 
5/9/13. The quake was detected by my QCN Sensor. The verification of the detection can be seen below.

This is the detection of the most recent 2.9 earthquake on 5/9/13
(Image property of Socal Earth Science Blog)

Update: The earthquake was recently downgraded to a 3.1, and a smaller earthquake measuring 2.7 (originally 2.8) on Sunday the 28th, occurred nearby.

At 7:52 pm, a magnitude 3.2 earthquake occurred in Playa Del Rey, just south of the Ballona Wetlands.   The quake had a depth of 8 miles and had an intensity of IV on the Mercalli Scale near the epicenter. The quake's epicenter was near the location of the 3.7 earthquake in Westchester, in July of last year. At my location just to the north I felt light shaking for approximately three seconds (my quakealarm went off), and then a sharp jolt.

The light shaking I felt was the P-wave, while the jolt was the S-wave of the earthquake. This time difference is used in earthquake early warning technology. As you have heard, the P-wave is usually not felt as strongly, while the S-wave is the stronger and causes most of the damage during a large earthquake. 

If you felt the earthquake and would like to report your experience, go to: 

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci15333497#dyfi_form

Frogs? In Los Angeles?

A Red-Winged Blackbird in the Ballona Riparian Corridor
(Image Property of SoCal Earth Science Blog)

Playa Vista Central Park
(Image Property of SoCal Earth Science Blog)

On Saturday, March 2, 2013, I accidentally left my bedroom window open when I went to bed.  After lying in bed for a while, I thought I heard several croaks that were slightly muffled from the sound of the 90 freeway.  I then jumped out of bed and went outside, and to my surprise, I heard a colony of frogs croaking rather hysterically.

I believe that the frogs are residents of either the Ballona Riparian Corridor or Playa Vista Central Park, several blocks south of my house.

Update: I just heard frogs again on 4/30/13.

If anyone has heard these frogs near Playa Vista Central Park, or are knowledgable about what species of frogs are present there, please comment on your experience below.

The Annenberg Foundation Proposes a Very Controversial "Interpretive Center" on the Ballona Wetlands

Original Image Courtesy of the Annenberg Foundation

The Annenberg Foundation has proposed a very controversial  50 million dollar "interpretive center" on the Ballona Wetlands "Area C."

The Annenberg Foundation states that:
"(The interpretive center will include)... an auditorium, classrooms, a public lobby, exhibits on wildlife and domestic animals, facilities for an animal adoption and care program, veterinary facilities for animals on site, retail space, parking, and office space for staff."

It seems suspicious that the foundation wants to have veterinary facilities and animal adoption programs in an ecological reserve. A similar project in the Palos Verdes was not constructed due to a large amount of opposition in the surrounding communities (primarily, because it would have been built on public land). In my opinion, why does the foundation need to be so cheap? Can't they afford their own land to build an animal hospital and adoption center, instead of taking publicly owned land?

Although supporters say that the interpretive center would be built on highly degraded land in the uplands that has been dumped on and inhabited by the homeless, it is obvious that the area can be easily restored to precious upland habitat. Upland "Coastal Sage Scrub" habitat within California is a quickly disappearing, with only 15% remaining undeveloped. With 50 million dollars, the interpretive center can be built elsewhere.

The proposal can be seen at:  http://www.annenbergfoundation.org/node/50770

The Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project

One of the Original Alternatives 
"Alternative 5"
Later Revised Because it Was Too Drastic
Courtesy of SMBRC

The Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project is a planned restoration of the Ballona Wetlands by the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission and Foundation. The Plan will restore the tidal flow into the degrading wetlands near Playa Del Rey and Marina Del Rey, and will remove the concrete levees of the Ballona Creek that which was channeled in 1938.

Since 2008 SMBRC created five alternative means of restoration, which were later narrowed it down to two  revised possible plans: "alternative 4", and "alternative 5".

Alternative four involved creating many culverts from Marina Del Rey into the northern portion of the wetlands, creating a tidal influence into the degraded section. It also included more culverts into the southern half of the wetlands, also increasing its tidal influence. This alternative did not include the removal of the levees in the creek.


Alternative 4
Courtesy of SMBRC

Alternative five, which was revised from a major diversion of the creek into a less drastic measure. It involved the removal of most of the levees and the diversion of the creek into a more meandering route, into the northern and southern portion of the wetlands. This alternative involved changing the path of a portion of Culver Blvd. in the wetlands. This alternative is considered by many as "risky" due to the exposure of the wetlands to the direct influence of the runoff and trash from the creek.


Alternative 5
Courtesy of SMBRC



The Current Preferred Alternative
Courtesy of SMBRC

Alternative five was later thought to be the most effective alternative in restoring the wetlands, and alternative four was ruled out. In January 2012 funding for the project was approved, and the alternative was revised even more. The cost of changing the path of Culver Blvd. was found to be very costly, so it was ruled out. Instead, the path of the creek would be changed slightly, and a levee on the north side of Culver Blvd. would be built. Also it was decided that the portion of the wetlands south of Culver Blvd. would be made into a "managed marsh" that would only be fed by culverts that could manage the amount of sea water entering, to prevent the over-flooding of the portion of the wetlands due to sea level rise.

Information Retrieved from:
http://www.santamonicabay.org/BWRP/bwrpdocuments.html

The Ballona Wetlands- A History of Tragedy and Success

The original ecology of the Ballona Creek Watershed

The Ballona Wetlands is a 600 acre ecological reserve, located near Playa Del Rey in Los Angeles County. It is the last wetlands in Los Angeles county and once filled the area from Venice to the Westchester Bluffs, but was lost through a century of development.

In the 1920's people in search of oil ravaged the land and polluted it to a point of disaster. In the 1930's the Ballona Creek was channeled and realigned, separating the wetlands from the creek, causing the loss of tidal influence on the habitat.

Ballona Wetland Acquisitions 
Courtesy of the Sierra Club

You would think that the situation could not get any worse, but it did. In the 1960's the construction of Marina Del Rey destroyed over 900 acres of the wetlands, and a majority of the remaining wetlands were filled with dredged soil that was left over from the creation of the harbor.


When Howard Hughes died in 1976 a majority of his land, which included a majority of the wetlands was quickly targeted by developers. The Summa Corporation Playa del Vista Plan, which proposed to develop 1,115 acres of the wetlands and open space, planed to only leave a minuscule 72 acres of wetlands to be restored.

The Ballona Freshwater Marsh with the
Playa Vista Development in the Background
(Image Property of SoCal Earth Science Blog)

When the Summa Corporation sold the development to Maguire Thomas Partners in 1990, the company negotiated with wetland supporters (Friends of the Ballona Wetlands). As a result of negotiations, a significant portion of the wetlands was saved. By 2003, around 600 acres of the wetlands were preserved. To this date, the Friends of the Ballona Wetlands are restoring the degraded wetlands, and The Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission has proposed a plan that will reconnect the Ballona Creek with the wetlands through the removal of the concrete levees encasing the creek.

For more information visit:
http://www.ballonafriends.org/