Recent events have highlighted the importance of the Arroyo Seco stream and watershed to the Los Angeles River and all of Southern Californa. Here is the ideal template for responding to the the challenges of water resilience and climate change.
2023 presents an historic opportunity to restore and enhance the Arroyo Seco River. LA County and key local agencies and stakeholders are ready to move ahead with the long-delayed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Arroyo Seco Ecosystem Study, an unparalleled approach to nature-based solutions in Los Angeles County. The LA Fish Passage Program has decisively documented the critical importance of the Arroyo Seco for steelhead trout and other aquatic species in the Los Angeles River. And in the San Gabriel Mountains a comprehensive analysis of how to improve water management for people, fish and wildlife is underway. Attention is turning to the Arroyo Seco and its future.
Several years ago key stakeholders in the Arroyo Seco communities developed a guiding vision for this restoration — the Arroyo River Parks Program. Now it's time to renew and refresh that vision and make it a reality.
The goal of the Arroyo River Parks Program is to link existing parks and open spaces to each other and to the river. Rather than focusing on a few key sites along the 11-mile urbanized stream course, Arroyo River Parks is an approach that will integrate the more than 30 parks and open space linkages that line the concretized stream as part of a cohesive network supporting hydrological, ecological, and social connections — and emphasizing respect for place. Rather than just being parks that overlook a river, these parks and open spaces will be reconfigured as part of the river system.
We look forward to your involvement and support as we pursue this exciting opportunity for the restoration of the Arroyo Seco watershed.
Integrate parks with the river and the river with the parks