Add your name to help Bring Back Ballona!
Friends of Ballona Wetlands and the Wetlands Restoration Principles Coalition have prepared a support letter for Ballona's restoration, and we need your endorsement! This is a critical step. This letter is our greatest advocacy tool to motivate elected officials and push for speedy permitting, funding, and implementation of the restoration plan. We need support from all over Los Angeles to push County and City officials, after all, these wetlands belong to all Angelenos and will be our legacy to future generations!
Ballona Restoration Support Letter
Subject: BALLONA WETLANDS ECOLOGICAL RESERVE RESTORATION PROJECT
Environmental Impact Report, State Clearinghouse No. 2012071090
We offer our strong support for a robust, science-based restoration of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, in the form of Alternative 1.
California has lost 91% of its coastal wetlands and Los Angeles County has lost even more. Restoration of the Ballona Wetlands will be one of the most significant environmental restoration and public access projects ever undertaken for the residents of Los Angeles County. This is a rare opportunity to provide our State with an invaluable way to stay resilient in the face of climate change, provide a wildlife haven and recreational treasure, and leave a legacy for future generations.
We cannot delay -- restoration needs to move forward. Every day that restorative efforts are delayed, the Reserve continues to degrade. A majority of the wetlands are disconnected from their natural hydrology and overrun by invasive vegetation that prevents native plants and animals from resettling or thriving.
We support a public access plan that protects ecological resources from human impacts while providing educational and recreational opportunities for Angelenos, particularly for Indigenous people, the Gabrielino-Tongva, park-poor communities, low-income communities, and communities of color. A restored Ballona will provide essential open space to over 15,000 disadvantaged households within a short driving distance. Pedestrian and bike paths along the perimeter of the Reserve and information kiosks will provide critical educational opportunities to visitors about the history of Ballona as a sacred site. Upgraded public access infrastructure will provide access for wheelchairs, strollers, and people with different abilities that the Reserve currently lacks. The restored Wetlands will be a destination for students, families, bird watchers, and cyclists from all across LA County.
Wetlands are critical habitat for countless species and provide necessary ecological functions such as carbon sequestration, storm surge protection, flood control, water filtration, and oxygen creation. Without this restoration, we deprive the region of the opportunity for protection from continuing sea level rise, a threat that is not only here, but will continue to endanger coastal communities into the future. Climate resilience should be at the forefront of our minds to guide our priorities and decisions. Restoring Ballona to a high functioning, sustainable wetland is the next step in the fight against climate change.
We support a restoration that strengthens biodiversity and ecological function, expands habitat for special status species, and creates watershed connectivity that will increase water quality and nursery habitat for fish. We support a restoration that reduces habitat fragmentation to the greatest extent possible and provides safe corridors for wildlife passage.
We urge the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Army Corps of Engineers, and all permitting agencies to promptly move forward with restoration of Ballona.
ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING RESTORATION
National Charity League - Westside
Peels2Meals
SCIENTISTS & ACADEMICS SUPPORTING RESTORATION
Alex Hall Professor, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA
Ann Dalkey, MS
Marine Biologist, Retired
City of Los Angeles, Environmental Monitoring Division
Annelisa Moe, MS
Master of Science in Geological Sciences, Cal State Northridge
Christine Whitcraft, PhD Professor, Biological Sciences California State University Long Beach
Edith Read, PhD
Certified Senior Ecologist, (Ecological Society of America) Manager, Ballona Freshwater Wetlands
Emily Parker, MAS
Master of Advanced Studies in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, UC San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Eric G. Strauss, PhD
President's Professor of Biology
Executive Director, LMU Center for Urban Resilience
Eric Stein, D.Env. Department Head, Biology Department Southern California Coastal Water Research Project
Glen M. MacDonald, PhD Distinguished Professor, Endowed Chair of Geography of California and the American West, Department of Geography, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA
James M. Landry, PhD
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Co-Director, Coastal Research Institute, LMU
Jeff Crooks, PhD Executive Director, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
Jeff Haltiner, PhD, PE Consulting Hydrologist
Jeremy S. Pal, PhD Professor and Graduate Program Director Department of Civil Engineering & Environmental Science, LMU
John H. Dorsey, PhD, BCES
Professor Emeritus, Dept. Civil & Environmental Engineering, LMU
John Largier, PhD Professor of Coastal Oceanography, UC Davis
Katherine Pease, PhD
Doctorate of Biology, UCLA
Kenneth Dial, PhD
Professor Emeritus, University of Montana
Kyle Cavanaugh Associate Professor, Department of Geography, UCLA
Luke Ginger, MS
Master of Science in Biology, Miami University
Martha Sutula, PhD Department Head, Biogeochemistry Department Southern California Coastal Water Research Project
Michele Romolini, PhD
Managing Director, LMU Center for Urban Resilience, Adjunct Faculty, LMU Urban & Environmental Studies
Nancy Shrodes, MS
Master of Science in Water Resource Engineering, Loyola Marymount University
Neysa Frechette, MNR
Master of Natural Resources, Oregon State University
Philippa Drennan, PhD
Professor of Biology, LMU
Richard F. Ambrose, PhD
Professor Emeritus and Research Professor
Dept. of Environmental Health Sciences, UCLA
Shelley Luce, D.Env.
Doctorate of Environmental Science and Engineering, UCLA
Thomas B. Smith, PhD Distinguished Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology & Institute of Environment and Sustainability, UCLA
Thomas W. Gillespie, PhD Professor, Department of Geography, UCLA
INDIGENOUS TRIBES SUPPORTING RESTORATION
Robert Dorame Most Likely Descendant, Tribal Chairperson Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California