Hahamongna Watershed Park, named for the Native American village that once nestled there, is one of Pasadena's prettiest places. Now, it's NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that nestles, framed by the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Hahamongna is what it is: some open space, some utility poles, some water spreading basins owned by Pasadena Water and Power, some pathways and trails. It's big and beautiful. Partly wild, partly not. Pasadenish use it for recreation as well as utility, not to mention an important water source. It's also home to coyotes, bobcats, rabbits, snakes and the occasional mountain lion.
Hahamongna's borders touch Pasadena, Altadena and La Canada Flintridge. At its south end is the Devil's Gate Dam, which keeps runoff from the San Gabriels in check so it doesn't flood the Lower Arroyo. Los Angeles County Flood Control manages the dam.
And now the county has a plan to dig out the greenery you see in these photos, and leave the land bare.
Every kid learns in school that plants limit erosion, but despite this fact the County Board of Supervisors decided the "Big Dig" was a good plan to keep silt from building up against the Dam. Surely too much silt is not a good thing, but we don't all agree on the plan for removing it. The County says 425 trucks a day, 5 days a week, for 5 years, is a good idea. That's one truck almost every minute, rumbling through the residential neighborhoods of La Canada Flintridge, west Pasadena and west Altadena. The Arroyo Seco Foundation and a group of Pasadena citizens have offered less drastic plans, but these alternatives have been ignored.
You'll guess my opinion: a less drastic plan is a better way.
A group of concerned, active and influential citizens is raising money to sue the County. They need to pay for it.
I think Hahamongna is well worth it. Thanks for listening (I did the voice-over on the linked video), and thanks for donating. Send in a buck! Or more! You don't have to be from Pasadena to contribute, but you become an honorary citizen in my heart.
Every once in a while we have business to catch up on. On which to catch up. Straggling details. Fragments.
The annual lighting ceremony on Christmas Tree Lane will be this Saturday at 6pm, preceded by a vendor fair in the Altadena Library parking lot at 2. Altadena craftspeople don't generally try to sell you potholders their kids made at school. We're talking fine stuff. I'm going.
I enjoy the Arroyo Verde Awards, presented each year by the Council of Arroyo Seco Organizations. The Council recognizes the year's heroes in the preservation of the Arroyo. This year the ceremony will be held on December 12th at 7pm, at La Casita del Arroyo. I don't know yet who all the awardees are, but I know that Dianne Patrizzi, Patrizzi Intergarlactica, Mademoiselle Gramophone, our Doo Dah Queen, who marched in the Doo Dah parade as Princess Haha (and I don't know how many other personalities she has but these are all good ones), will receive the award for Best Activist. You can come to the awards! It's low-key fun and I love seeing people recognized for their important work.
Friend and photographer Kevin McCollister has a post up at 591PhotographyBlog. If Kevin isn't the finest photographer working in LA today, it's because Ansel Adams came back to life and moved to a downtown loft.
Did I mention this? I have a new book review up at Hometown Pasadena, of Kim Fay's The Map of Lost Memories. I might have mentioned it. I'm on new migraine pills. They are my current excuse for everything.
One:
I said I'd keep the Camelot Where You Are photo contest going until Camelot & Vine is published. As you may know, it's not published yet. Two contest entries wait in my inbox for a third and hopefully a fourth to join them in deadly friendly competition. Take a picture of Camelot Where You Are and send it in (details here). I post it on the blog, everybody votes, and if you win I'll send you a free copy of Camelot & Vine (when it's published, which it will be. See Two).
Two:
Camelot & Vine will be published dammit! (in case you were wondering). I had hoped to have it out in time for Christmas--hell, I had hoped to have it out in October--but obviously, I had no idea how long it would take. January? This is now the plan, and it seems doable (as did October and December, once upon a time). The book has been edited and typeset, the cover's almost ready, and I can't imagine what else will hold it back.
But what the hell, let's come up with some scenarios!
August 23rd marks the end of the period for public comment on the scope of the Environmental Impact Report on the Initial Study for the Multi-Benefit/Multi-Use Project at Hahamongna Watershed Park.
That's doublespeak for:
Pasadena proposes to build an athletic field at Hahamongna, which is currently mostly open space. The name of the proposed field is the Sycamore Grove athletic field. I'm not sure why, maybe because sycamore trees will be razed to build it, along with cottonwoods and willows.
The city also proposes "creek restoration" and "trail restoration." Some bad stuff and some potentially good stuff. They've bundled these things into one project with a confusing name.
It's easy to register your comments, and you don't have to be from Pasadena to do so. Here's the City's link to get you started. Also, the Arroyo Seco Foundation has provided you with a toolkit. At the most recent Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Committee meeting, Loren Pluth of the city staff said comments will be accepted until the close of business on thae 23rd.
Please send your comments regarding the scope of the EIR to:
Rosa Laveaga, City of Pasadena, Department of Public Works,
Phone: (626) 744-4321
E-mail: mbmuproject@cityofpasadena.net,
Mailing Address: City of Pasadena, Department of Public Works, Attn: Engineering Division, 100 N. Garfield Avenue, Pasadena, CA, 91101
To help get you started, here are the comments I submitted yesterday:
Dear Ms. Laveaga,
Herein are my comments on the Initial Study of the Multi-Benefit Multi-Use project for Hahamongna Watershed Park.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The description of the project is vague. Under the circumstances, it's difficult to make direct comments.
ATHLETIC FIELD
As a frequent Hahamongna user, I notice the athletic field that is already there is rarely used.
Why are we building a second field there when the first one gets so little use?
Are there records on the use of the first field?
If so, where can I see the records?
If not, how do we justify a second field at that location?
FLOODING
Because the athletic field is to be built in a flood plain, sooner or later all or part of the field will be affected by heavy rains. One possible result is that the field will be flooded and/or washed into the dam.
Does Pasadena have the funds to repair the field during flood years?
Does Pasadena have the funds to clean the remains of the field from the dam during flood years?
Another possibility is that the field will withstand heavy rains, and flood waters will back up north of the raised field. In a low rainfall year, this wouldn't be a problem. In a high rainfall year, this could affect Tom Sawyer Camp, Rose Bowl Riders, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.
Is Pasadena prepared to repair those potential damages and/or respond to potential lawsuits?
Has the regularity and severity of flooding in Hahamongna been studied? Over how many years?
Where can I see the results of that study?
HABITAT RESTORATION
It seems we are destroying habitat only to "restore" it.
How are you defining "habitat?"
How are you defining "restore?"
WATER
Water shortages continue around the United States. The Colorado River is no longer a source for the Metropolitan Water District. Pasadena's watershed feeds the Raymond Basin. Building anything at all in our watershed, at this time in history, is, at best, idiocy, especially something that pollutes with pesticides, oils, gasoline runoff, asphalt, etc.
Can you guarantee 0% pollution of the Raymond Basin, a San Gabriel Valley water resource?
California's governor is proposing a $23.7 billion pipeline to transport water in California, while Pasadena proposes to destroy its own potentially lucrative water resource. Once we've done that, we will have to spend taxpayer money on water we would have already had if we hadn't ruined the watershed with construction, pesticides, gasoline runoff, trash, etc.
Is Pasadena prepared to pay more for water?
What water resources will Pasadena have when the Raymond Basin becomes polluted?
Now that the Colorado River is no longer a source, where will Pasadena get its water?
Can the Metropolitan Water District guarantee enough water to Pasadena in future decades, when we won't have use of our own watershed and/or the Raymond Basin?
Have the above questions been studied?
Where can I see the results of the study?
WILDLIFE
The Initial Study says there will be no impact on wildlife. I have seen a mountain lion within yards of where the proposed athletic field is to be built, not to mention rabbits, deer, squirrels, snakes, and toads.
How have the project's effects on each of these particular creatures been studied?
How are you defining "wildlife?"
How are you defining "impact?"
Have these potential effects been documented, per creature? Where can I see the documents?
Additional auto and foot traffic can't help but impact wildlife. Not to mention lights, which the city says it will not include but which the grant requires.
How does the city reconcile the fact that it does not allow lights in Hahamongna but the grant requires the field be lit until 7pm?
Rare black willow and cottonwood are rebounding in the Hahamongna basin.
How many of these rare trees will be impacted?
Will they be part of the restoration?
The federally listed endangered bird, the Bell's Vireo, has now been documented in the exact area where the athletic field is planned.
What are Pasadena's plans to protect this federally listed endangered bird?
Coupla meetings you might like to go to: they're called "EIR scoping meetings." I believe that means the city is getting its chance to scope out whether or not the people want development at Hahamongna Watershed Park.
I know, I know. We've already told them over and over again that athletic fields belong somewhere else. But we have to tell them again.
There will be two meetings (you're welcome to attend both):
Thursday, July 12th 6:30 pm
Saturday, July 14th, 10am
Salvation Army Fellowship Hall, 960 East Walnut, Pasadena, 91106 (enter parking lot from Mentor, south of Walnut)
The idea is for citizens to come and hear about the plans for Hahamongna and to let their feelings be known. This time it's especially important because our comments will be made part of the public record. Apparently that's not always the case.
If you can't attend the meetings there is a 45-day public comment period. I'll provide the mailing address as soon as I can.
If you'd like to know why I don't think we should build an athletic field in a watershed during a drought, let me know and I'll go into detail. But I think most folks can figure this one out.
Find out what makes Hahamongna Watershed Park so special, why every visit there inspires me and so many others, and why I can't resist taking pictures at every step along the trail (bring your camera!). Learn from experts about the history, natural habitat and current threats to this special place, including LA County's giant sediment removal project. All that and you get to walk. About.
If you want to be an insider, you can volunteer to help. Last year's Walkabout was a huge success. I'm told this year's will be even more fun, but I find that hard to believe.
Seems I've been giving you a lot for your calendar lately. There's so much good stuff I can't post it all. Is March always this busy?
You thought I was finished yesterday. Nope! There's more. Here are some good things to do this weekend for those who like to get their hands (and hiking boots) dirty. If you know of an event, please feel free to add it to the comments.
The Arroyo Seco Foundation offers a Mount Lowe Railway hike on Saturday. Sunday, there's a volunteer opportunity: a Central Arroyo Clean-up with super-naturalist and native plant expert Tim Martinez.
It's going to be gorgeous this weekend, if a tad toasty. Bring a water bottle, wear a wide-brimmed hat and enjoy autumn's glory in southern California.
Update: The comments are always part of the post and today isn't the first time they make it better. Here's what Bellis had to say this morning: "I hope lots of people will go on one of the guided hikes in Rubio Canyon, where the Mount Lowe railway tracks are still visible in places. The privately-owned part of the canyon was recently purchased from a generous landowner by the Arroyo and Foothills Conservancy with donations from many local residents and others. Thank you to all those who saved this lovely canyon so we can hike in it forever.
We have the women of Pasadena and Teddy Roosevelt to thank for saving the Lower Arroyo Seco park pictured in your photo - but that's another story."
It's a given that we run, bike, hike, ride our horses and walk our dogs in the Arroyo Seco. We also park our world-famous football stadium, our childrens' museum and our aquatic center there. And around those popular people magnets, we park our cars.
The parking lots need occasional maintenance, and I joined a clean-up last weekend. Wilson Lau, Watershed Coordinator at the Arroyo Seco Foundation (ASF), put out the word on the Arroyo Seco chat list ("What better way to show love for your country than to clean up the Arroyo?...Gloves and trash bags will be provided...") and I posted about it here on PDP.
I expected the turn-out to be small, but it was small. Besides Lau and Tim Martinez, a college student, native plant expert and one of the ASF's top volunteers, the only person to show up besides me was a PCC student who shuns the spotlight, so to speak. The four of us cleaned several large islands in two hours. 15 or 20 people could have done the whole parking lot in about 90 minutes, but I doubt they would have had more fun.
Our parking lot islands are populated with black sage, little red berry and California rose. The latter's hips shimmy in the photo above and its thorns wrote their tale on my forearms. I got an excellent upper body workout.
The islands, and the spaces next to them that look like they're paved with beige bricks, are a permeable filtration system that removes trash and impurities from storm water before it runs into the Arroyo stream bed. I never knew a parking lot island could be an engineering marvel, but in Lot I they are marvels indeed.
Another marvel is the number of cigarette butts down there getting filtered out of our water. An amazing amountof cigarette butts. I said to Wilson, "Are these things major polluters? Or do they biodegrade?" He said "Oh, they biodegrade if you give 'em a hundred years or so."
If you'd like to be informed about Arroyo volunteering opportunities, you can fill out the ASF's volunteer form. There's always something to do. It's likely you'll meet Wilson and Tim in the process. Big plus.
Don't fill up your weekend yet! I've got something for you to do Saturday morning: fill up some trash bags.
Join Wilson Lau, watershed coordinator at the Arroyo Seco Foundation, in an Arroyo clean-up day!
Yessssss! It's going to be fun! I love cleaning! You should see my house! !!!!!!!!!
Okay, you should not see my house. I don't love cleaning. But I love the Arroyo, so I'll be there. That's a big deal, because it means I'll miss the farmers' market and I'm out of granola.
Meet Wilson in the parking lot by the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center Saturday, July 9 at 9:00a.m. Gloves and trash bags will be provided. Wear work clothes and closed-toe shoes. Although it's supposed to be cooler this weekend than last, "cool" is relative. I recommend a water bottle, sunscreen and perhaps a wide-brimmed hat as well. Something jaunty.
The Parker-Mayberry Bridge is a small, graceful bridge under the colossal, graceful and more famous Colorado Street Bridge. The Parker-Mayberry doesn't have a Wikipedia page, nor do many links point in its direction. Scroll down to the second photo in this post by Pasadena Public Information Officer Ann Erdman to see how the two bridges compare in size.
The Parker-Mayberry Bridge was built in 1916, three years after the Colorado Street Bridge. I had thought it was the older of the two, but no. The earlier structures on this spot in the Arroyo Seco were the Scoville Dam and Bridge. "Remnants of the early construction can still be found there," according to the Arroyo Seco Foundation.
The Parker-Mayberry is closed to automobile traffic, but you can approach it on foot. While walking in the Lower Arroyo Park, continue north on the west side of the the wash past the footbridge and cross under the Parker-Mayberry and Colorado Street Bridges. Soon you'll be above the water where I took this picture early in my blogging career. From here you can walk onto the Parker-Mayberry Bridge. Behind you there's stonework; likely the remnants the Arroyo Seco Foundation refers to.
Dogs on leash. Look out for poison oak. Let me know what you find.
I led a group of at least 900 wonderful people (okay, maybe 35, but still wonderful) through the old Oak Grove Park area and across the Devil's Gate Dam. We made stops to learn from experts about the park, its history and the critters who live there. The presenters were fascinating and so well-informed we could have spent our whole morning with each of them.
Tim Martinez (above) charmed the crowd with his talk about the different habitats at Hahamongna. Tequila does not grow there (I knew that), but sage does, and when you soak sage in tequila you get a soothing ointment for sore muscles. Tim knew a lot of other cool stuff, but for some reason the tequila sticks in my mind.
Laura Garrett of the Pasadena Audubon Society had 'em riveted as well. She knew everything about the Hahamongna birds and spoke knowledgeably of species after species, playing their calls on the stuffed animals you see in the center of the photo (not dead--plush). How many species of birds live at Hahamongna? A lot! You can see photos of some of them taken by local treasure Denis Callet at his pbase site.
Other presenters included Tim Brick of the Arroyo Seco Foundation (sponsor of the event) on the scope of the Arroyo Seco, Michele Zack on history and how the Tongva people lived in the Arroyo, Brad Boman from Pasadena Water and Power on water (he took my group under the dam to see the devil!), and our very own Barbara Ellis speaking about the wildlife that thrives at Hahamongna. I was so busy listening to Bellis that I forgot to take her picture! Luckily, Debbi Swanson Patrick of Altadena Above It All was in my group and she got plenty of great shots. She got a good one of Bellis. If you were on my tour, she probably got a good one of you, too.
Big thanks to Wilson Lau and Tim Brick of the Arroyo Seco Foundation for putting it all together. It was a great day.
Okay. I'm not going to talk about Hahamongna now for at least a week, maybe more, at which time I'll remind you about the meeting of the Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Committee on March 22nd at 6pm. You can wait 'til then or you can mark your calendars now.
The famous Tommy, of My Life With Tommy, had an opportunity to check out Hahamongna Watershed Park the other day. He gave it countless stamps of approval (the solid ones responsibly removed by Tommy's human, Susan).
When the rain came after the Station Fire in late 2009, water rushed off the mountains bringing with it the mountain's unprotected surface. Tons of ash, sand, rocks and burned tree trunks filled the watershed. As much as Tommy enjoyed inspecting the rubble, it's got to be cleaned out from behind the dam. There is some dispute, however, as to the best method for doing so. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has looked at only one alternative: digging out 50 acres of natural vegetation (read: wildlife habitat), turning Hahamongna Watershed Park into Hahamongna Wasteland Park.
If you'd like to help prevent that, or just learn more, click on SaveHahamongna.org. For starters, from the home page you can sign up for updates and sign the Save Hahamongna petition (and check out the videos to see why a watershed is not a great place for a soccer field).
Susan, Tommy and I strolled through some of the beautiful, semi-wild acres we may soon be missing. You can do the same any time, or join the Hahamongna Walkabout sponsored by the Arroyo Seco Foundation February 19th. Tours will leave each half hour from 9:00 am to 10:30 am, so click here, learn more about the Hahamongna Walkabout and reserve your place.
This past July 7th, 23 local bloggers raised their collective voice to protest the construction of soccer fields in our watershed. Our voices joined the chorus of other citizens and we were heard; instead of two soccer fields, now only one is proposed. Not perfect, but a damned sight better.
For our efforts, the Hahamongna Bloggers will be awarded the Best Advocacy award at this Thursday's Arroyo Verde Awards.
Quoting the Arroyo Seco Foundation's website: "The Arroyo Verde (Green Arroyo) Awards are the most prestigious local environmental awards. The awards recognize those who have made a valuable contribution to protecting and improving the Arroyo Seco watershed and our local communities during the past year."
I'm proud and pleased that we've won an award. Even more, I'm thrilled that we joined forces to speak together and help protect our beautiful watershed.
Our voices may be required again in the future, but for now we get to congratulate ourselves. If you were a Hahamongna Blogger and I haven't sent you the information, email me! Let me send you the info so you can come to the party!
