Does this look like a dump?

Posted on | January 6, 2011 | 2 Comments

The Pasadena Star-News has the latest on Los Angeles County’s plans to clear cut 11 acres of native woodland for use as a dump site for sediment from the Santa Anita Dam. The Sierra Club, California Oaks, Pasadena Garden Club, Pasadena Audubon Society, Sierra Madre Mountain Conservancy and San Gabriel Mountains Chapter of the California Native Plant Society are circulating a petition to save the Arcadia grove of oaks and sycamores. Short comments are admitted by the petition. Mine, along with this briefest of background, boiled down to this: To keep our trash from reeking as it hits landfills, waste managers use lawn clippings as “Alternate Daily Cover.” These clippings could be composted and storm debris used instead. In other words, why waste perfect landfill material on pristine woodland? Objections that trucking sludge causes pollution are certainly valid but given that we already cart around our trash and yard clippings every week, I would need convincing that we need to dump yearly storm debris on unblemished sites because we’re suddenly so squeamish about transport. For a December LA Times piece, click here and LA Creek Freak on it, here and here. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden research fellow Barbara Eisenstein has a first class chronology of events and links at her website Weeding Wild Suburbia. Joshua Link has built on that and provides an exhaustive overview on LA Creek Freak. For the California Native Plant Society San Gabriel Mountains Chapter open letter, click here.

Hat tip to Joshua Link. This post has been updated. Links have been added.

Comments

2 Responses to “Does this look like a dump?”

  1. Joshua Link
    January 6th, 2011 @ 12:53 pm

    Hi Emily,

    Thanks so much for the post. For some additional info, I just posted an update on the Arcadia Woodlands on LA Creek Freak last night (including a plethora of links). Time to save this wonderful place is running out…

  2. Barbara Eisenstein
    January 6th, 2011 @ 7:26 pm

    Thanks, Emily. Hope we will be heard.

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