How much area did the Ballona Wetlands originally occupy? The Ballona Wetlands were once larger than LAX, the L.A. Coliseum, and the Staples Center combined! volunteer now »
Historic Moments
1978 Friends of Ballona Wetlands incorporated as a 501c3 nonprofit organization Ruth Lansford, Howard Towner, and Ed Tarvyd among first Board members
1979 Tours begin along Ballona Creek, inaugurating the Friends Education Program
1984 lawsuit filed against California Coastal Commission
1990 Settled lawsuit with successful outcome of saving 340 acres of Ballona Wetlands, funding for Ballona Wetlands Foundation, commitment to create Freshwater marsh, and land set aside for Ballona Interpretive Center within development
1992 Initiated tide gates project with multiple agencies including Army Corps of Engineers, County of Los Angeles and Heal the Bay for self-regulating tide gate installation
1994 Created Ballona dunes restoration program as a volunteer effort
1998 Received funding for paid staff for dunes restoration
2002 Ballona Tide gate installation completed creating a healthier salt marsh
2003 Dedication of Freshwater Marsh and creation of Freshwater Marsh docent program
2003 Fostered state purchase of Ballona through Trust for Public Land
(600 Ballona acres now owned by the State of California)
2004 / Ongoing Active Stakeholder with Coastal Conservancy and California Fish and Game for interim Ballona stewardship and long-term restoration planning
2005 Successfully advocated for an Ecological Reserve designation for Ballona Wetlands with California Fish and Game
2005 Board Development Recruited five new Board members, 2 became emeritus
2006 Created and approved three-year strategic plan
2007 In partnership with LMU, launched Pollution Prevention Project to reduce pollution in the Ballona Watershed
2007 / 2008 Focus on Fundraising with new funding from City of Los Angeles for Pollution Prevention; Southern California Edison and Sony for dunes restoration and education; William C. Bannerman Foundation and JiJi Foundation for organizational capacity
2008 Jacob Lipa named as Board President
Catherine Tyrrell named as Vice President
Ruth Lansford assumed Founder title
2009 The Friends celebrate 31 years of wetlands restoration, preservation and stewardship. We also receive new funding from Southern California Edison and Sony for dunes restoration and education, and a $25,000 capacity building grant from the S. Mark Taper Foundation