Jefferson Trail Rehabilitation Project

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Friends of Ballona Wetlands have invested thousands of hours working with elected officials and city agencies to remove the encampments along Jefferson at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh. 

Image taken on Jefferson Boulevard before the City of Los Angeles CARES + cleanup on July 26th, 2023. LA Sanitation, Parking Enforcement, LAPD, and LAHSA were onsite.

For the last 3 ½  years, the destruction of the Marsh habitat was in plain sight to all who passed by or tried to visit. It will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take decades for the Marsh to heal. Hundreds of native plants and trees were cut down or trampled, 100+ tons of debris was dumped, biohazardous materials were discharged, several acres of fire damage, vandalism of the educational signs and benches, creation of social trails segmenting habitat, and spreading invasive weeds had severe impacts on the habitat.

 During this time, 100s of people called and emailed our office, frustrated at the loss of public access and the damage being done in an area they used to walk to enjoy nature. All expressed dismay at the lack of progress and looking for answers.

Finally, last December, the Friends found an ally in the newly elected Councilwoman Traci Park, who was eager to move the residents in RVs and camps off the sensitive ecological habitat and into housing.

On Wednesday, July 26th, after months of careful planning by the Councilwoman, her team, and several city agencies, they accomplished what we had been told for so many years would be impossible. 1,000+ feet along Jefferson Boulevard in front of the Ballona Freshwater Marsh was cleared, and another twenty tons of debris were removed.

All encampment dwellers were notified before the scheduled date that their vehicles would be towed if they did not move. As with every City of Los Angeles’ CARES+ Clean-Up, LAHSA (Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority) was on-site to offer people housing. 

Continuing this effort, on Thursday, August 4th, the entire stretch of Jefferson from Culver Boulevard to Lincoln Boulevard - more than 3,000+ feet along the Freshwater Marsh and the Ecological Reserve is now cleared of RVs, cars, and the associated debris. 

As a result of the cleanup more than 3,000+ feet along the Freshwater Marsh and the Ecological Reserve is now cleared of RVs, cars, and the associated debris.

We are now working with the Ballona Wetlands Conservancy to clean and repair the Jefferson Trail. The next steps will include testing the soil for contamination levels, replacing more than 200 mature native plants cut down or trampled, and repairing trails and fencing. 

We are grateful to Councilwoman Traci Park and her staff, EcoKai Environmental, Lucy Hahn and the Friends of the Jungle, and every community member that stepped up to protect Ballona. There is still much work to be done, but we are confident that once the repair is completed, Jefferson Trail will reopen for all nature lovers to enjoy soon.

In the meantime, we offer docent-led tours of the Freshwater Marsh and Saltwater Marsh a few times a month. Join us to learn more about the Ballona Wetlands. Register for an upcoming tour by visiting our Community Events Calendar! 

If you would like to help us rehabilitate Jefferson Trail, we will announce community volunteer days in October. For updates, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this page.