July 2014

The Lower Arroyo Trees Will Live!

Lower Arroyo Trees

Over 400 people signed our recent petition to save four native trees in Lower Arroyo Park that were slated to removed. The space occupied by three coast live oaks and a California sycamore would have been used to expand fly casting programming. The strong and prompt community action was another demonstration of the strong support for protecting and preserving the natural character of the Arroyo.

You can view the petition and community responses here.

Occidental College Steps Forward to Manage the Lummis Home

Lummis Home-El AlisalThe Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks has announced that they will begin negotiations with Occidental College to operate the historic Lummis Home - "El Alisal." ASF together with Highland Park Heritage Trust and other community organizations have been working with the Eagle Rock-based college to support their application and eventual operation of the facility. We look forward to the new possiblities this opens for one of the invaluable cultural treasures of the Arroyo Seco.

The Lummis Home is located at 200 E. Avenue 43, Los Angeles 90031 and is open Friday through Sunday from noon to 4pm. You can find more information at http://www.socalhistory.org/historical-sites/lummis-home.html.

Steelhead in the Arroyo Featured in New Exhibit and Book

The fascinating story of steelhead in the Arroyo Seco is featured in a new book, "Against the Currents," published by the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. John G. Tomlinson, Jr., tells the story of Charles Holder of Valley Hunt Club fame and his depictions of this spectacular fish and how it used to frolic in the Arroyo Seco stream.

Steelhead begin their lives as rainbow trout in the mountain watershed and then migrate to the ocean where they make the physical transformation into steelhead. Later they would return to their stream of origin to spawn and die.

The Aquarium of the Pacific has also installed a permanent exhibit on the steelhead in Southern California as part of their watershed exhibit.

There are still native rainbow trout in the mountain watershed of the Arroyo Seco. During flood events some of them reach the Pacific Ocean, but will they ever be able to return to spawn? The Arroyo Seco, as Holder and Tomlinson document, is the most likely stream to restore steelhead in the Los Angeles River system.

DamNation in Pasadena

ASF joined with Patagonia Pasadena last month to host an outdoor screening of the brilliant documentary "DamNation," which tells the story of the plethora of dams that have been built across the US in the last century and of campaigns to remove the most destructive ones. The video was co-produced by Matt Stoecker, who surveyed the Arroyo Seco years ago exploring fish passage issues. Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard gave a stirring speech introducing the documentary, and ASF's Tim Brick focussed attention on our least favorite dam, Brown Canyon Dam, which blocks the Arroyo Seco stream 3.2 miles into the Angeles National Forest.

The drought is real!

Lake Oroville is the chief storage reservoir of California's State Water Project, which usually provides about a third of Southern California's water. This year it will provide nothing. The June storage level was the second lowest since the reservoir was built more than forty years ago.

Visit our conservation page and learn more about how you can help.

Don't forget that there are many rebates available for conservation investments around your home or business. Visit socalwatersmart.com or contact your local water provider for more information.

ASF at Levitt Pavilion Pasadena

We are going to be engaging the community at Levitt Pavilion Pasadena's free summer concert festival in Memorial Park Pasadena on three nights this summer. We have one more date scheduled:

Come and enjoy an evening of fun and entertainment, and don't forget to drop by and say hi!

You can find more information about summer events and activities on the Arroyo Seco Calendar.

Arroyo Seco Calendar

Your guide to special events related to the Arroyo Seco, the Los Angeles River,
the San Gabriel Mountains, and key environmental issues in our region.

Sun, July 20
The Great Root Beer Taste-Off
5 – 8pm
Galco's Old World Grocery, 5702 York Boulevard, Los Angeles 90042
The Great Root Beer Taste-Off will finally settle the question on everyone's mind — what IS the best root beer? Tasters will have more than 75 types of root beers, birch beers and sarsaparillas to sample and make their own decision. As always, Galco's Summer Soda Tasting 4 is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition that is fighting to have Los Angeles' first museum as well as the Casa de Adobe opened once again to the public full time.
Thu, August 7
Just Add Water: The Discussions - Some Like It Hot
6:30 – 8:30pm
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles 90007
How to survive and thrive in a hotter L.A., and adapt to climate change and increasingly stressed water supplies, all while creating a more livable, vibrant city. PANELISTS: Alex Hall, Professor at UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Frances Anderton, Host of KCRW's "DnA: Design & Architecture", Dr. John Harris, Chief Curator at the Page Museum and Head of Vertebrate Studies at NHM
Fri, August 8
Levitt Pavilion Pasadena: BMI Summer Nights: Ceci Bastida
6:30 – 10pm
Pasadena Memorial Park, Pasadena 91101
Levitt Pavilion Pasadena makes live music accessible to all, creating stronger and more connected communities, while celebrating the diversity of cultures, promoting appreciation of the arts, and enriching family values through 50 FREE concerts each year. Arroyo Seco Foundation will be exhibiting at this concert to promote water conservation and discuss local watershed issues. Come say hi and enjoy an evening of fun and music!
DAMNATION — Free Screening of Patagonia film
6:30 – 8:30pm
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles 90007
Join us for a free screening of Patagonia’s film, DAMNATION. First: Bring a picnic and get comfy in our Nature Gardens Second: Embark on a powerful film odyssey that explores the change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders, to the growing awareness that our futures are bound to the life and health of our rivers. We’ll have a brief panel discussion, prior to the screening, moderated by scientist-turned-filmmaker Randy Olsen. Advance Reservations Required.
Tue, August 12
Arroyo Seco Stream Team Meeting
7:00 – 8:30pm
Pasadena Humane Society
Levitt Pavilion Pasadena makes live music accessible to all, creating stronger and more connected communities, while celebrating the diversity of cultures, promoting appreciation of the arts, and enriching family values through 50 FREE concerts each year. Arroyo Seco Foundation will be exhibiting at this concert to promote water conservation and discuss local watershed issues. Come say hi and enjoy an evening of fun and music!

News of the Arroyo

An archive of news stories about and related to life in the Arroyo Seco.

Click on the title link to read the entire story.

Title
Summary
U.S. farmers making hay with alfalfa exports to ChinaJune 8, 2014 — Guess where all that alfalfa that they're growing in the Imperial Valley is going?
California's drought getting even worse, experts sayJune 19, 2014 — Almost 33% of the state faces exceptional conditions. About 25% of the state faced those conditions last week. Every part of California remains in what is considered severe drought.
Outreach: Unearthing The North Branch of the Arroyo Seco with Jane TsongJune 23, 2014 — Jane Tsong is an environmental artist and designer who is interested in how gardens and green spaces can be locations where local cultural history is archived and celebrated. She visited the students at LFCSA to discuss the North Branch, a tributary of the Arroyo Seco, that is currently hidden underground. Students learned about the natural history of the creek, its relationship to the development of Sycamore Grove, and how it was moved underground.
California lawmakers should not procrastinate on water planJune 25, 2014 — George Skelton warms Sacramento legislators that they better get busy compromising to develop a plan to meet California's future needs.
Sierra Madre considering stricter measures in face of continued California droughtJune 26, 2014 — Water use restrictions in Sierra Madre get tied up in the controversy over development of the Mater Dolorosa Retreat House site in Sierra Madre. Will Sierra Madre move to mandatory restrictions or impose a building moratorium?
California water bond: The burning questionsJuly 6, 2014 — Here's the latest on the water bond on the November 2014 ballot.

Arroyo Seco Foundation
Los Angeles River Center, 570 W. Avenue 26 #450, Los Angeles, CA 90065
PO Box 91622, Pasadena, CA 91109
(323) 405-7326 | info@arroyoseco.org

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