Salon columnist Will Doig gets it right in his recent piece about urban waterways. If you want to find out what’s happening in cities across the country, give it a read. I know here in L.A. we are making real progress toward reclaiming our river.
See you on the river, Jim Burns
Los Angeles Flood Control, open thy gates!
The dog days of summer have brought us more than just heat and a freakish rain storm: the bill opening the river to recreation and education is now law. I’m surprised by the lack of MSM coverage of this important event.
See you on the river, Jim Burns
This message from our friends at FOLAR:
“You probably read that SB 1201 is now at the desk of the Governor.
On our website, it shows how citizens can ask him to sign the bill.
Would you mind circulating the contact info to the fishing community?
” See you on the river, Jim Burns
I got to spend several hours on the river this morning, and all I have to show for it is this photograph of a toad. The one carp I spotted saw me first, and even though he eventually came back for another look, he decided the odds of swallowing my bread fly were next to zero. But the good news is this little guy, who was around five-to-six inches long. I saw him lazing in some slow water, surrounded by hundreds of tiny mosquito fish. This is the first toad I’ve seen down there, so my question is, Western Spadefoot Toad, Western Toad, or something completely different?
See you on the river, Jim Burns
At 7 a.m. on a Friday in the Valley, most early-bird go-getters think about what they’ll do after work. First though, they’ll chug, chug, chug down surface streets to a freeway; then hear the buzz, buzz, buzz as the digital world insistently wonders why not take those eyes off the freeway and get a load of this. A mug of very hot coffee, a few harsh words for other drivers and in due time, they’ll be in their parking spots at the office. That’s life in the Friday fast lane.
But as our group of truant workers donned hard hats, snapped on life jackets and sat our butts just right in kayak bottoms, the workaday world couldn’t have been farther away.
“Usually I’d be at my desk, answering emails and drinking coffee,” one of our group of seven said.
Exactly.
During the two hours we spend on the river, our three corpsmen kept us in line. They taught us not to be afraid of the water (tested and safe, thank you very much); they helped us not to slip and fall during each of three unexpected portages; they rescued at least a few of us from errant willow-branch overhangs and ill-placed sandbars. And they made us feel at home for those two glorious hours as we paddled along, hearing “river right” to spot a white heron just reaching flight, or a mallard honking the right of way over our elongated, colorful crafts.
The real magic happened once our group of seven couldn’t see/hear the freeway. All became country quiet.
“People think it’s somewhere in Louisiana,” said one of our guides, “because of the plastic bags.”
True, there was some trash, but as another floater commented, not nearly what we expected.
Hey, there’s a certain thrill to kayaking around a drowned shopping cart. And an authenticity to this very-urban river that’s just beginning to heal from years of our neglect.
Bottom line: Go and experience this yourself. It’s worth the $50.
Prediction: Five-year contract in hand, the Corps going to make this tour an L.A. “must do.”
See you on the river, Jim Burns
Yesterday, L. A. River Tours (a.k.a. L.A. River Expeditions) received its tour operator license from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for this summer season of boating. The program will be expanded in terms of the number of people it serves, but apparently not in terms of new areas of the river, which should again be the Sepulveda Recreation Basin.
Beginning of rant:
If I didn’t fish, I probably wouldn’t care about plastic bags or banning them. But, hey, I do fish, and enjoy plying our urban waters as often as I can. And that’s why I support the Pasadena single-use plastic bag ban that goes into effect July 1. Here’s some background on the decision.
You can say all you want about the evils of the nanny state, but here’s a personal review of how well our waters have fared without our Uncle Nanny:
— item, 1998, West Fork weekend overrun overwhelms me. How much trash can anyone actually leave in a river? Take a look at these recent, enlightening photos from West Fork San Gabriel Conservancy.
— item, 2007, used throwaway diaper floats by, blind-pooping me in the leg, on Bouquet Creek. Admit to gag response.
— item, 2010, Hanging out on the L.A. River with new-found, grade-school kids who want to learn to fish. No child should have to play near trees fouled by dozens, and dozens and dozens of filthy plastic bags. Drove home truly pissed off.
So, if you’re an urbanite who is equally pissed off about the bag ban, I suggest you go down to the L.A. River, or to any of our beaches, or to the mountains and pick up some of the junk that’s been left behind. For some reason, cleaning up after others when you’re supposed to be enjoying yourself brings it home.
And if you’re a libertarian fly fisher, come up with a better solution than the ban. Not theory, somehow based on the Constitution, but something that might actually decrease the junk floating around the Southland.
Meanwhile, I’ve been hoping that either the city or local business will give bags away for a day, as the Department of Public Works folks did in La Canada last year. No word as of this writing. Once you’ve got your own bags, just keep them in your car. It took me about three months to get tired of walking into the store sans bag. That’s what my wife calls “training” … She’s right!
Now, about those plastic bottles …
End of rant.
See you on the river, Jim Burns
When I first began exploring the L.A. River, problem No. 1 was finding it. My son and I encountered lots of barbed wire fences, dead-end big box parking lots, and industrial parks, all situated basically on the river, and all with no access granted. That was two years ago, and even though I now have my favs that get us to the carp, the river is basically an insider’s secret.
So, too, are the pocket parks scattered around its concrete banks. The first time I heard about the Yoga Pocket Park in Atwater Village, I thought someone was pulling my downward dog-facing legs … not so. The originators of this tiny green space — I believe the lead was Northwest Trees, but can’t swear to it — were afraid that a more traditional exercise park, based on stations for strenuous physical exercise, would bring gangs.
Today, walking north from the golf course in Atwater Village, through Steelhead Park (another hard-to-find spot, but from the golf course parking lot, head toward the freeway and you’ll see it), you’ll see North Atwater Creek Pocket Park after about 10 minutes of hoofing. Check out the waters here as well …
Open for about eight weeks, the park shows what the river will eventually become: neighborhoods connected instead of rejected; green grass instead of broken asphalt; good vibes instead of creepy. Take a look at the pics below to get a feeling for the place. And, fishermen, there’s a working water fountain, in case you’re thirsty.
Was it worth the $4 million that came primarily, according to city info, from the settlement of two Clean Water Act enforcement actions? Yes, yes, it was. Bring your rod and check it out. And if you have kids, bring them as well.
See you on the river, Jim Burns
With the upcoming river cleanup happening Saturday, it’s an appropriate time to check in with California State Senator Kevin De Leon SB1201, a bill that could bolster efforts to open up the Los Angeles River for lawful recreational uses, such as fishing. For context and the finer points, read this excellent summary from Legal Planet, a collaboration between UC Berkeley School of Law and UCLA School of Law. The site defines itself as “providing insight and analysis on energy and environmental law and policy.”
As a fly fisherman, here’s my beef in a nutshell: I’m tired of being in a legal access morass as soon as I cast into the water.
“We want to see legal access to the river for kayaking, fishing, and swimming. This won’t be the panacea that changes the river over night, but it will create a legal basis for people to come down to the river, FoLAR’s Lewis McAdams said to the wonky The Planning Report late last month.
“Fishermen have been ticketed. The City just uses a loitering ticket because they don’t have any L.A. River tickets. Of course it usually gets thrown out, but people have to spend the day downtown dealing with it. We want people to feel that the river is open. When I started Friends of the Los Angeles River, my first official act was cutting a big hole in the fence, declaring the river open. It’s only taken 25 years to get to this point. We’re at the point where the river is about to be opened, and we’re pushing the door gently open wider.”
See you on the river Saturday, Jim Burns
Photographer Derek Bourassa was out on the river, snapping shots last week, as the carp boil went crazy. He was nice enough to let me post this amazing shot. For those of you who go beyond shooting with an IPhone, he reports this photo was taken using a Canon EOS REBEL T2i. Check out more of his nature shots on the river at http://www.flickr.com/photos/derek72.
See you on the river, Jim Burns
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