We cannot afford the TRUE COST of sprawl
As urban areas grow (sprawl), surrounding rural ares are devoured. The TRUE COST of this loss was never taken into consideration. Read more in a terrific editorial by Richard Manning, entitled We Need and Owe Rural People
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Coastal Cleanup Day a Great Success!
September 16, 2006
Sunland location: Haines Channel where it empties into Big Tujunga Wash
Friends and neighbors made the 2006 CCD a great success, helping Ma Nature by removing trash from the river and creed bed. Refreshments, tools and supplies were supplied courtesy of Heal the Bay, Tujunga Watershed Council and Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.
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| click image for link to Heal the Bay. Use Quicklinks to Coastal Cleanup Day. Waivers can be downloaded and signed in advance, saving time at check-in. |
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When one tugs at a single thing in Nature,
He finds it attached to the rest of the world.
John Muir |
In Memorium - Dennis Kroeplin 1941 - 2006
One of the kindest, gentlest, best people who ever walked the planet, Dennis passed away suddenly after a brief battle with cancer on February 17. An environmentalist and animal-advocate who never hesitated to do the right thing, Dennis was that rarest of creatures, an uncorruptable person. I am very happy to have known him, and to have shared many good laughs and adventures out in the Hansen Dam basin, walking the trails with him. His knowledge of local geography and plant life, as well as his keen vigilence in the quest for environmental justice, made him one of the Tujunga Watershed Council's most effective players. When the Army Corps of Engineers illegally dumped into the lower lakes in 2002, Dennis' action-photos of the dumping became critically important evidence that helped our community build its case. Thank you, Dennis, for all that you did on behalf of the animals and your community. Your departure has left a hole that no one else could ever fill. We will miss you greatly.
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Many thanks to everyone who helped make our Coastal Cleanup Day on September 17, 2005 a huge success! We picked up 2000 pounds of trash and removed graffiti in the Big Tujunga Wash. HERE for flyer
Lessons from Hurrican Katrina: Coastal Issues are National Issues
Environmental mis-management (channelization of the Mississippi River and subsequent loss of silt deposits in the Gulf, loss of coastal wetlands to development at the rate of 25 square miles per year in Louisiana alone, inadequate maintenance of levee system...) set the stage for Hurricane Katrina to wreck such devestation. Across the nation, people may now be ready to recognize that coastal real estate needs to be managed for purposes far more important that lining the pockets of politicians, casinos and developers. New Orleans is underwater today because her natural defenses were systematically stripped away by decades of human mis-management. Because New Orleans is under water, our nation's ability to move goods up and down the Mississippi has been crippled, which has devestating impact on the national economy. Not to mention the price of gas.
Yes, Coastal issues are national issues. We all need to understand the real cost of coastal development, and vote accordingly. Unless We the People hold our government accountable for its mistakes, government will go on making the same mistakes.
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| What is the Water Resources Development Act and why do citizens urgently need to ask their elected representatives not to support WRDA until it contains real Army Corps Reform? Hot Topic |
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| December photo |
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| Jan 2005 Hansen Dam & Tujunga Flood images CLICK HERE Jan 2005 - It is now official! Big Tujunga is Critical Habitat for Federally registered Endangered Species CLICK HERE Nov 2004 - Tujunga Watershed Council wins National Award! CLICK HERE Dec 2004 - The photo at LOWER left is one of a series that I call "Why We Fight." (Who says California doesn't mark changes in seasons?) Jan 2005 update - The photo at UPPER left is also an example of "why we fight" !!! Were it not for citizens stopping the Army Corps of Engineers from illegal dumping in 2002, this basin wouldn't be as capable of holding water. Deb Baumann, Executive Director, TWC&S Nature Tours - FREE to schools and youth groups - The Tujunga Watershed Council & Stakeholders conducts nature tours of Hansen Dam and the Tujunga washes. Call 818-486-0712 or email web@tujungawatershed.org to arrange. To read about a past tour, click here. |
Winter Trail Safety Alert -- Quicksand & Bogs Action Alert - SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: The City of Los Angeles proposes to extend its "Sphere of Influence" over an additional 30 square miles of the Northeast Valley, from Big Tujunga to the Santa Susanna Mountains. This will have enormous impact on future development in the foothills. Notification of this Proposal was published in the usual tiny print towards the back of the newspaper on Thursday, November 25 - Thanksgiving Day. The Public Comment deadline is December 27 (two days after Christmas) even though materials needed to review for the proposal will not be available until January. We need more time to review and discuss this proposal. Please contact your Councilmember! Talking points: 1) Request extension of Public Comment deadline; 2) Item is called "Sphere of Influence per CF 00-2206;" 3) Original notification was published Thanksgiving Day with Public Comment deadline of December 27; 4) Given that related materials will not be available for review until January, plus the difficulty of obtaining information or holding meetings during the holidays, it is only fair that the Public Comment period be extended through January. Thank you! Background story, complete proposal file and updates will be published here soon. CD2 Wendy Greuel: (213) 473-7002 CD7 Alex Padilla: (213) 473-7007 CD12 Greig Smith: (213) 473-7012 On the Radar Screen (no action needed.... yet) - East Valley (Waste) Water Recycling Project... Is this the first stage of the "Hansen Area" project, under a different name...? The last we heard of the "Hansen Area Water Recycling Project," the public was demanding that a full EIR be done on the effects of irrigating the sensitive habitat of the upper Big Tujunga Wash with treated sewage water. There's been no further word on the "Hansen Area" project, but during this week's City Council (on December 16) a motion was initiated to lease property for the purpose of constructing water distribution pipelines, pumping station and storage for something called the "East Valley Water Recycling Project." Similarities between the two projects are striking. Stay tuned for updates. Update 12/20/2004 ~ Canyon Hills (aka Whitebird) MANY THANKS to all the folks who turned out for the December 9 hearing. THANK YOU for getting involved. Our community plan, horsekeeping tradition, open space, wildlife and recreational trails are all jeapardized by this proposed development. CLICK HERE to learn more. Happenings 2005-04-16 ~ Please join us in celebrating Earth Day! Fun for the whole family! 10-2pm in Sun Valley Park (8133 Vineland) 2005-04-02 & 03 ~ Theodore Payne Foundation's Native Plant Garden Tour - 10am to 4pm click here 2005-02-19 ~ Free TREE give-away 2004-12-21 ~ Notice of Public Hearing - Tuesday, December 21, 2004 at 7:00 pm, Sun Valley Recreation Center, 8133 Vineland Ave, Sun Valley CA 91352, Construction & Demolition/Inert Debris Processing Facility Permit For Looney Bins, Inc. (East Valley Diversion Recycling Facility) - CLICK HERE 2004 October ~ Our Lakes have Names! By popular vote, the community has named the two natural lakes in Hansen Dam... Lake Homer & Lake Marie. Named for Homer & Marie Hansen, whose horse ranch once occupied what is now the Hansen Dam Flood Control Basin (taken via "eminent domain" from Homer & Marie by the Army Corps, 70 years ago). By naming the lakes after the Hansens, the community not only honors their memory, but we are all reminded of this area's ranching heritage. Homer & Marie Hansen were married on horseback in Big Tujunga Canyon (the entire wedding party was on horseback!) Note -- the bigger lake is named Homer, and the smaller (more petite) lake is named after the smaller and more petite Marie! Many thanks to the Foothill Sentinel for helping sponsor this contest. 2004-07-02 ~ Deadline for Public Comments on the Hansen Area (waste) Water Recycling Project has been extended to July 2. Click HERE 2004-05-24 ~ Arundo Day a Fabulous Sucess! We have hundreds of photos from the day, which will be put into displays, posted on website, and made available upon request. Meanwhile, click HERE for a small sampling of just a few of the smiling faces who made the day so special. (flyer in: English or Spanish) Learn more about Arundo from the Foothill Sentinel article and the TWC press release. |
Tujunga Watershed Council Goes to Washington! Dateline: Washington DC & Lake View Terrace, May 5, 2004 -- The TWC recently participated in a Corps Reform Network-sponsored lobbying effort at our nation's capital, giving personal testimony about Hansen Dam and the need for Army Corps Reform. Nearly 60 senate offices were visited (that's nearly two-thirds of the entire senate!) CLICK here for press release. Corps Reform -- April 2004 Foothill Sentinel article Corps Reform -- May 2004 Foothill Sentinel article |
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Big NEWS - Army Corps & Hansen Lakes clean up announcement: Also Big News - 5 (five) tributaries of the Tujunga Watershed (including Big Tujunga Wash) have just received official designation as critical habitat for a Federally Endangered Species -- Click: Fish & Wildlife's 2/27/04 press release Whitebird Development -- Don't allow "Divide and Conquor" to succeed. We must all stand together if we are to preserve our area and its open spaces. |
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12/11/03 National Public Radio's All Things Considered covered the Hansen Dam lakes dumping issue in a story entitled "Protecting Hansen Dam. CLICK HERE for the link to play the piece. Story description as posted on KPCC's website: People living around Hansen Dam organize to force the Army Corps of Engineers to remove huge amounts of concrete, rebar and other construction material the Corps has dumped in the lake. (The Hansen Dam story won't stay on KPCC's front page. If you access this web link after 12./12/03, you may need to search KPCC's archive to find the story.) |
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| 3 helicoptors at once over Hansen's big lake |
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