Santa Monica Mountains Task Force

One fun fact, little-known by many Angelenos, is that Los Angeles is the only major city in the world bisected by a mountain range. That would be the Santa Monica Mountains… the raison d’etre of this Task Force. It rises in Griffith Park and Hollywood Bowl in the east, and stretches to Point Mugu Rock on the Pacific Ocean in Ventura County, on the west. These mountains, straddling approximately Mulholland Drive/Highway, separate the San Fernando Valley from the “Westside,” and the Verdugo Mountains and San Gabriel Valley from the heart of the city. Along with other agencies, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state agency, is the curator and protector of this asset and legacy.

The crown jewel of the Santa Monica Mountains is the Backbone Trail, running along the spine of the mountains from Will Rogers’ house in Pacific Palisades to Point Mugu, about 67 miles in length. A few years ago, the last sections of this trail in private ownership were conveyed to the County or Conservancy, meaning that today this resource is secure for generations of our posterity. Some years ago, when I was younger and fitter and nimbler than today, I through-ran the entire length of the Backbone Trail in 21 hours. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Most hikers take about a week to complete the trek.

These mountains are constantly under threat from spec-developers seeking to grade, build, and develop in what is now open space wilderness. The mountains, in turn, are subject to jurisdiction by a patchwork quilt of public agencies and political entities. These include the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, National Park Service, California State Parks, Coastal Commission, and other agencies. If your mission is to look out for the mountains, and to seek, protect and enlarge them, that’s a lot of politicians to keep track of.

As you may have noticed from what is filling your mailbox, we’re now in the middle of “Election Season.” The first big primaries are coming up on June 7, with run-offs in November. Like I said, that’s a lot of politicians to keep track of. Those folks will be deciding what development shall be allowed, versus what pristine acreage will be acquired and put up for public use.

The Sierra Club is bureaucratized, and has a “Political Committee” devoted to evaluating and endorsing candidates for national, state and local public office. I’m not on it, thankfully, but two of our members are. It would be improper for me to issue personal endorsements, but I can tell you of some of the key races.

The sprawling, massive City of Los Angeles (population 4 million, second-largest in the country) is divided into 15 districts, each represented by a member of the City Council. By comparison, the state of Wyoming has about half a million people. Three of these 15 districts are highly relevant to the Santa Monica Mountains: 4, 5 and 11.

Mike Bonin, the controversial councilperson for District 11 — including Brentwood and Palisades up to the Valley — is stepping down, and will not run for re-election. That vacuum is being filled by about 8 candidates, each with their own views about development, the environment, building housing for the un-housed potentially in open space, fire danger, and expansion of public wilderness open space. I happen to live in District 11, and have been invited to fundraisers, meet-and-greets, and candidate debates. And I’ve been attending, meeting the candidates and questioning them.

The County of Los Angeles is much bigger than the City. With a population over 10 million, over 4,000 square miles, and with 88 incorporated cities, it’s home to more than one-quarter of all Californians. The County has jurisdiction over a huge section of the Santa Monica Mountains, and is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors, dubbed the “Five Little Kings.” Each of these “kings” commands more governing and financial power ($35 billion total) than the Governors of most states. The race to watch is Supervisorial District 3, which includes most of the mountains. Four candidates are leading: State Senators Henry Stern and Bob Hertzberg, West Hollywood City Councilmember Lindsey Horvath, and small business owner Jeffi Girgenti.

Rob Bonta, California’s Attorney General, is also up for re-election, and is opposed by several candidates. The Attorney General is critical in enforcing environmental protections throughout the state, and represents state agencies like the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, State Parks, and Coastal Commission. All of which are hugely critical to the preservation of our mountains.

Finally, the Mayor’s race for the City of Los Angeles has attracted lots of attention and press. The two leading candidates are billionaire developer Rick Caruso and Congresswoman Karen Bass, representing the 37th congressional district in Washington. Two other candidates, City Attorney Mike Feuer and City Councilman Kevin DeLeon, representing the 14th District, lag far behind. Last week I attended a meeting of community leaders from the Valley and Westside interviewing Karen Bass.

So there’s a lot percolating in the pot right now, and Yours Truly is struggling to stay on top of it all. Regardless — please vote on June 7!

Eric Edmunds, Chair
Santa Monica Mountains Task Force

From the office of Councilmember Paul Koretz, Fifth District.

---

March 2, 2022 – LOS ANGELES, CA – Today the Los Angeles City Council voted in favor of a motion that directs the Department of General Services to identify City-owned surplus property in the Santa Monica Mountains Zone and codify that the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) shall have the first right of refusal to acquire such lands for conservation at the City of Los Angeles’s purchase price plus any administrative and management costs incurred by the City.

In 2008-9, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa initiated the “Own A Piece of LA” program to itemize, account for, and offer undevelopable slivers of City surplus land and/or remnant parcels to adjoining neighbors since they are deemed incapable of independent development and can only be of use to adjoining property owners. However, with advanced engineering innovations in recent decades, development in sensitive ecological areas has increased, resulting in the fragmentation and degradation of essential remaining wildlife habitat connectivity and corridors, particularly in the Santa Monica Mountains Zone, home to the Southern California subpopulation of the Mountain Lion. Local mountain lions are now a “candidate” species under consideration for listing as “threatened” under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) by the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

“While I have been working with the City Planning Department for the better part of a decade to protect wildlife habitat connectivity in the Santa Monica Mountains, it is imperative that we be certain we are not at the same time inadvertently selling off parcels for development that could obstruct the very linkages we are working so hard to protect,” said Councilmember Paul Koretz. “Thank you to Councilmembers Raman and Blumenfield for continuing to partner with me in our shared commitment to protect our precious wildlife and habitats in our Santa Monica Mountains.”

“Wildlife habitat connectivity is so essential to the survival of the cornerstone species we share our Santa Monica mountains with, and many areas are in serious danger of being blocked if we do not act urgently and consciously,” said Paul Edelman, Deputy Director of Natural Resources and Planning, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and its chief biologist. “Today’s action by the City Council is so important and affirms the State legislature’s 1979 Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Act, but more steps need to be taken sooner rather than later.”

“Our park land is precious and acknowledging the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s right of first refusal at the original purchase price for surplus City land underscores our commitment and prevents any confusion,” said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield. “When critical open space is lost, it’s usually lost forever and the SMMC is the biggest protector of our wildlife corridors, open space, and indigenous plant species in the region.”

“This motion allows the Santa Monica Conservancy to have the right of first refusal when the city disposes of public land in the Santa Monica Mountains. My district contains so much of the beautiful and unique Santa Monica Mountain range, and I am so proud to partner with Councilmember Koretz to ensure that we preserve as much of this land as possible and prevent it from being developed,” said Councilmember Nithya Raman.

“It is essential for our collective long-term health that caution preempts short-term profit when addressing City-owned open space in the Santa Monica Mountains,” said Tony Tucci, co-founder of Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife (CLAW) who brought this issue to the City Council’s attention. “Today’s City Council vote recognizes that undeveloped City-owned lands of any size in our hillsides let us all “breathe” and that this land has an inherent and immediate value to our environment and a long-term benefit for the wellbeing of both our wildlife and human populations of Los Angeles.”

“Thanks to Councilmembers Koretz, Raman and Blumenfield for ensuring the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy has an opportunity to preserve our precious natural resources one surplus lot and sliver of land at a time,” said Wendy-Sue Rosen, Brentwood Alliance of Canyons & Hillsides.

Los Angeles is located in a global biodiversity hotspot called the California Floristic Province, which means that it includes more than 1,500 endemic plant species, that at least 70 percent of the area’s original habitat has been lost, and that the rest is endangered by human activities. Much of the remaining biodiversity within Los Angeles is located in the mountains and hillsides including the Santa Monica Mountains Zone. Plants and animals need these interconnected ecosystems to continue to exist and flourish within this urban context and this biodiversity hotspot is jeopardized by increased development and habitat fragmentation.

The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) has unveiled a new professional sports-themed specialty license plate to provide a sustained revenue source to expand park access.

Revenue generated by the specialty license plates will expand access to parks across the state and improve these parks and open spaces.

The first license plate in the professional-sports series is in partnership with the Los Angeles Rams. CNRA looks forward to speaking with more professional sports teams in 2022 to strike agreements to make more specialty license plates available.

FAQ for California Sports Team-Branded License Plates

Order your LA Rams License Plate

Join the MRCA for a community meeting on Mission Canyon Park updates.

Thursday, February 17th from 6:30 pm-7:30 pm

They will be covering the following topics:
– Mission Canyon Presentation: Changes to the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
– Public comments

The meeting will be held in English with Spanish translation via Zoom.

Zoom Info
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83435465318
Meeting ID: 834 3546 5318
Passcode: 774553

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
877 853 5357 US Toll-free
When prompted, enter the Meeting ID

For support CEQA documents, please visit:
www.missioncanyonpark.com

---

La Autoridad de Recreación y Conservación de la Montañas (siglas en inglés MRCA) tendrá una reunión comunitaria, para compartir actualizaciones sobre Mission Canyon Park.

El jueves 17 de febrero a las 6:30-7:30 pm

Discutiremos:
– Presentación de Mission Canyon: cambios al studio inicial/declaracion negative de mitigacion
– Comentarios públicos

Zoom sitio, haga clic abajo
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83435465318
Numero ID de la reunion: 834 3546 5318
Passcode: 774553

Marca por teléfono manualmente
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
877 853 5357 US Toll-free
Despues de marcar, entre el numero ID de la reunión.

Para obtener documents de CEQA de soporte, visite:
www.missioncanyonpark.com

Happy New Year! As I write this, it’s raining… I’m delighted to say. This, plus the big rains we had at year’s end, are hopefully a first step to us digging out of our deep hole from drought and climate change. Soon, the Santa Monica Mountains will be greening up, and hikers and trail-runners can enjoy verdant vistas and a new crop of wildflowers.

Recently, those mountains got a big boost in court, as well. Following a hard-fought, one-month trial in Santa Monica Superior Court, attended virtually by several members of the Task Force, the Judge ruled that residents of a small enclave in Malibu called Sycamore Park have no right to bar access by hikers and the public from using their community to access trails in Escondido Canyon Park.

One defendant in the case was the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), a public agency who owns a parcel of land in the enclave. It lies next to an important trailhead leading to Escondido Falls, the largest falls in the Santa Monicas. Not surprisingly, this trail, and trail-system, are very popular. But in 2015, a handful of Sycamore Park homeowners got together and took it upon themselves to put up “No Trespassing” signs and hire a security guard to keep hikers and the public away from Via Escondido Drive. Not content with that, they sued MRCA (itself a holder of property easement rights on Via Escondido) alleging it had no right to invite in the public.

After hearing from dozens of witnesses and examining dozens of old property deeds, the Court disagreed. Famed hiking expert and author John McKinney testified as an expert witness for us. The Court is about to order the residents to remove their signage, including signs misdirecting hikers to a different trailhead a mile west on Pacific Coast Highway. It will likely order that the security guard can no longer keep the public out of Via Escondido.

MRCA was represented as counsel of record in the case by your Chair. This reminds us again that the Sierra Club Santa Monica Mountains Task Force is a trident with three prongs: trail-building and maintenance by our wonderful volunteers; leading of hikes and outings, to familiarize as many as possible with the trails, panoramas, and wonders of the mountains; and finally, activism in the political and legal arenas.

The Sycamore Park case is not over. Now that the court’s 16-page, single-spaced Statement of Decision has been made (as of January 17th), the trial enters Phase Two. MRCA will sue for money damages over the security guard’s wrongful exclusion of its rangers and agency employees, and deprivation of access to its property. After that, there will probably be an appeal.

But for the moment, there is much to celebrate. The last time we had this much joy was two years ago, when the Task Force went to court and single-handedly stopped wealthy U2 guitarist “The Edge” from grading pristine and protected wilderness above the Malibu Pier in order to build five mansions.

It’s a war that never ends, folks. Constantly, we need courage and stomach for battle. Again, Happy New Year to all. And hope to see you at our next Zoom meeting on February 7th!

Eric Edmunds, Chair
Santa Monica Mountains Task Force 

Like many other lovers of these local mountains, I was eager to see what the week of heavy rains had wrought along several (ostensibly water-adjacent) trails. And, like many, I wasn’t disappointed: gushing waterfalls, and creeks and streams with strong enough flow you might’ve expected a sun-speckled fish to pop out here and there. 

KTLA reported on this (temporary) wetting of our wildlands:
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/rain-brings-seasonal-waterfalls-back-to-santa-monica-mountains/ 

It’s important to keep in mind, though, that the rains weren’t heavy enough to relieve us of the drought. According to the State of California’s Drought Action website, it would take 140% of the state’s normal annual rainfall to put us in a surplus, so to speak.

At the same time, it’s hard to overstate the immediate damage that severe storms can have on trails, and parks in general. Personally, I witnessed the flood damage in Malibu Creek State Park: piles of debris so high and dense that it was difficult to even navigate a way to the M*A*S*H filming site. The Bent Arrow trail (above) is officially closed for the time being, and reports of landslides and downed trees in Hondo Canyon and the Garapito Trail, respectively, are but two of many similar incidents we are working in partnership with the land agencies to address.

See smmtf.org/trail-crew for information about volunteering to help repair the trails.

Governor Newsom’s 2022-2023 budget bears some heartening news for local wildlife and its supporters: namely, $10 million allocated for the Liberty Canyon wildlife crossing in Agoura Hills, a vision now quickly marching toward a much-needed reality.

Newly christened in September 2021 as the 101 Freeway Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, the bridge is projected to run 210 feet long and span the entire ten-lane freeway, and construction is set to begin this month.

The Coastal Commission has been given a new legislative weapon to fight those who would damage coastal environments.

Senate Bill 433 would ensure the Commission’s authority to levy fines for practices destructive to native flora and fauna, such as that of the Great Blue Heron, discussed in this L.A. Times article.

Previously, they could only fine private property owners who restricted access to public coastal areas. Now, those who bulldoze, or tree-trim, better think twice.

The Twenty-First Century Dams Act is a recently-introduced bill that would invest $21.1 billion to enhance the safety, grid resilience benefits, and power generating capacity of America’s dams, and provide historic funding to remove dams that are no longer necessary.

The Santa Monica Mountains Task Force, along with California Trout and the Surfrider Foundation Los Angeles Chapter, is in favor of passing this bill, and we plan to work to get it passed in congress to secure funds to help remove the Rindge Dam in Malibu Creek State Park.

The Rindge Dam was built in 1926 by the Rindge family, to have access to the Malibu Creek water to irrigate the crops on their ranch. However, the dam was decommissioned in 1960.

Southern California steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were abundant in the Malibu Creek before the dam was built; consequently, the Rindge Dam prevented the anadromous fish from migrating to the ocean. As a result, the Southern steelhead is now on the endangered species list.

The removal of the Rindge Dam would restore the Malibu Creek ecosystem and possibly bring back the Southern steelhead in the Malibu Creek. However, the construction cost of the dam removal is more than $100 million. Funding has been a big issue holding the project up.

In addition, the removal of the dam will bring back sand to the Malibu Lagoon beach. The dam prevents rock sediment from flowing down to the beaches, resulting in beach erosion, according to Michael Monak, Chair of the Coastal Preservation initiative at the Surfrider Foundation Los Angeles Chapter.

Please write your representative and senator to urge them to vote YES on the Twenty-First Century Dams Act and bring back the ecosystem to Malibu Creek, restoring not just the habitat for the Southern California steelhead trout but also for the western pond turtle, two-striped garter snake, and the Pacific lamprey.

Visit house.gov to find your representative.