Santa Anita Wash Oak Grove - Last Call

(Update 1/13/11 - Another LA Times article documents the destruction of the Arcadia Woodlands)

(Update 1/12/11 - the Creek Freak blog has the details on the County Supervisors' stonewall and their intent to proceed with the demolition of the oak woodlands this morning. The LA Times article covers the tree-sitters that entered the area as of late this morning as the demolition work proceeds.)

On Wednesday, January 12, 2011, this grove of about 250 native oaks and sycamore trees in Arcadia, California is scheduled to be destroyed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, in order to install a dumping site for mud, dirt, and debris that has accumulated behind flood control dams. This grove is the last surviving example of untouched flatland woodlands in the alluvial plains exiting the San Gabriel Mountains. In addition to the native trees, the area is home to wildlife, birds, insects, and migrating water fowl. It produces clean oxygen into the air. Other cost-effective options exist to dispose of the dirt and debris. The grove is located in northeast Arcadia, CA:

Thomas Bros. map:
Page 567, D-E, 1-2

Google Earth:
Lat: 34° 9'44.98"N
Long: 118° 1'25.50"W

You can help by contacting the Los Angeles County Board Supervisors at (213) 974-1411 and by writing to:

GLORIA MOLINA
molina@bos.lacounty.gov

MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS
markridley-thomas@bos.lacounty.gov

ZEV YAROSLAVSKY
zev@bos.lacounty.gov

DON KNABE
rvelasquez@lacbos.org

MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH
fifthdistrict@lacbos.org

TODAY 1/11/11: Sign the petition!

A press release from ArcadiaWoodlands.org is out today: “Halt those bulldozers and switch off those chain saws” will be the message delivered by a wide-spread coalition of Arcadia neighbors and environmentalists massing in front of the Board of Supervisor’s at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 11th at 500 West Temple in Los Angeles. They are there to protest the Los Angeles County Public Works (LACPW) proposal to turn a pristine 13-acre oak woodland in Arcadia into a dump for mud and debris removed from nearby local dams.

Although County Public Works has refused several offers to meet with leaders of the Arcadia Woodland preservation movement and has evaded repeated requests for a “date certain” on when their report would be brought before the Board of Supervisors (BOS), organizers are “covering their bases” by appearing on Tuesday, January 11th. “This is a pristine natural woodland that is home to wildlife and some180 old-growth oaks and 70 beautiful sycamores.” says Cameron Stone of ArcadiaWoodlands.org. “We are here to share our love for this place with the Board of Supervisors and show them how they can continue with the important task of sediment removal as outlined in the EIR without destroying the woodland. The Arcadia Woodland is a community treasure that must be protected and respected.”