What Kind of Trees Belong in the Arroyo Seco???

September 5, 2004 - There will be two opportunities for the public to learn more about an exciting Arroyo Seco stream restoration project this week and to speak up for native habitat.  There will be presentations about the restoration program to meetings of the the Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Committee on Tuesday and the Urban Forest Advisory Committee on Wednesday.

The Arroyo Seco Stream Restoration Project will restore stream and habitat values in the only two unchannelized areas of the Arroyo south of Devil’s Gate Dam.  The first area extends from the dam south to Brookside Golf Course; the second extends from the Holly Street Bridge to the Colorado Street Bridge beneath the 134 Freeway. 

Since these areas have not been degraded by the massive concrete channel that bisects the rest of the Arroyo, they still have tremendous natural values.  They are a powerful reminder of what the Arroyo once was.  They are also models of what a restored Arroyo Seco can be. 

One element of the program that might be controversial is the plan to remove more than two hundred non-native trees in these two areas. A large number of non-native trees have moved into these sensitive riparian areas to choke out the trees and plants that are appropriate to a streamzone.  Some are invasive species that retard the growth of more valuable natives, such as sycamores, willows and cottonwoods.  Others are just out of place in a natural streamzone.

The designation of which trees will go has been prepared by landscape architect Lynne Dwyer, who has long been involved in tree-planting and Arroyo Restoration activities.  As executive director of North East Trees several years ago, Lynne was instrumental in shaping the Arroyo Seco Watershed Feasibility Study, so she has impeccable credentials to determine which trees enhance stream values and which do not.

The Arroyo Seco Stream Restoration Project will restore valuable stream habitat in the two most sensitive areas of the Arroyo south of Hahamongna.  Enhancing habitat is a key part of all stream restoration programs.  Arroyo_Seco_News hopes that you will support the project and other watershed restoration activities.

 


HAHAMONGNA WATERSHED PARK ADVISORY cOMMITTEE

Tuesday, September 7, 2004 - 5:00 pm

Senior Center

85 E. Holly Street, Pasadena

URBAN FORESTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

September 8, 2004 - 5 PM

360 N. ARROYO BOULEVARD

AT BROOKSIDE PARK - PARKING LOT I

  

Here are the species which will be removed:

Species Botanical Name

Common Name

Acacia sp

Acacia

Acer saccharinum

Silver Maple

Ailanthus altissima

Tree of Heaven

Casuarina equisetifolia

Horsetail Tree

Ceratonia siliqua

Carob Tree

Eucalyptus sp.

Gum tree

Ficus carica

Fruiting Fig  Tree

Fraxinus sp. 

Ash

Ligustrum japonicum

Privet

Phoenix canariensis

Canary Island Palm

Pinus sp.

Pine

Pittosporum undulatum

Victorian Box

Olea europaea

Olive

Schinus terebinthefolius

Brazilian Pepper Tree 

Ulmus parvifolia

Chinese Elm Tree

Washingtonia robusta

Mexican Fan Palm

Arroyo Seco Foundation, PO Box 91622, Pasadena, CA 91109-1622 (323) 405-7326