We hope you have a happy Thanksgiving holiday and are able to spend time with family and friends.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust is thankful for you and your care and concern for our local wetlands. As an organization we have come a long way from that first group of citizens who gathered in someone’s living room to begin the conversation of how they, ordinary people, could work together to advocate for the protection and preservation of Los Cerritos Wetlands. Fast forward to today where almost half our wetlands are safely in the public’s hands, and the conversation is more and more about how best to restore and rehabilitate them.
That is good news, and it is important to take the time to celebrate it.
With appreciation for your support and vision of a fully restored Los Cerritos Wetlands,
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Lambe,
Executive Director
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust
P.S. Cooling temperatures mean the wetlands will be at their best for our upcoming walk to check out the Marketplace Marsh within Los Cerritos Wetlands.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust is a proud endorser of Measure W, the Safe Clean Water Parcel Tax.
Measure W will modernize Los Angeles County’s 100-year-old water system in order to better protect public health and our environment, and to maximize a cleaner, locally controlled water supply.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust supports Measure W for the following reasons.
Measure W reduces harmful pollution that regularly flows into our local wetlands.
Each year, many marine mammals, seabirds, and fish die, either from mistakenly eating plastic garbage and other toxins, or ensnaring themselves. Annually, over 4000 tons of trash and plastic gets cleaned from our beaches. Stormwater picks up chemicals from pesticides, fertilizers, plastics, metals from our cars, pet waste, and other contaminants as it flows over the streets and other developed areas into our rivers, streams, and the ocean, threatening public health and marine life. That’s why beach closures follow nearly every heavy rain.
Measure W will enhance and redesign existing green spaces (and create new ones), so that we can recharge our groundwater and capture runoff through diversion structures, infiltration chambers, and pre-treatment systems. Developing new projects and updating our current infrastructure system, specifically for stormwater, will improve our ability to cope with the changing climate, increasing demand, and other pressures.
Measure W helps make our community more resilient against the impacts of extreme weather. Droughts, followed by historic rain, are here to stay. Therefore, a smarter water system will prepare our region for the effects of a changing climate. As extreme weather becomes the new normal, we need to decrease our reliance on imported water that we pay to bring into L.A. County.
Measure W will capture valuable rainwater before it runs into our rivers and ocean.
Every year, L.A. County loses over 100 billion gallons of water, enough to meet the annual needs of more than 2 million people. Because so much of our region is paved over, too much precious rainfall is lost to the ocean before we can capture it for use. When we experience heavy rains, our system captures only a fraction of rainfall.
For the reasons above and more, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust endorses Measure W, and we hope you agree. I urget you to learn more about Measure W and read the ballot language. Then please share with your friends and neighbors the importance of voting for Measure W to support clean water– for our local wetlands, for our community and for our future.
This summer, the Los Cerritos Wetlands and the Land Trust made headlines. See the Long Beach Business Journal’s coverage of recent Coastal Commission actions here.
Additional coverage of the Coastal Commission hearing from the Press Telegram can be found here.
Additional local coverage of the deal as it developed is linked here.
OurWaterLA is a diverse coalition of community leaders and organizations from across Los Angeles County united to create a strong water future for Los Angeles. Their goal is to secure clean, safe, affordable and reliable water for drinking, recreation and commerce, now and for the future. The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust is proud to be a member of the coalition, and we are particularly excited about the opportunities to protect local wetlands as well as the important component of stormwater run- off capture. Capturing and using or storing stormwater runoff when it rains can help communities increase water supply reliability, and keep polluted runoff out of sensitive wetlands.
Join the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust in supporting clean water in Los Angeles, sign up to be a supporter of OurWaterLA, and help spread the word. The coalition is supporting a ballot measure to help fund the Safe, Clean Water Program, and we urge you to email our local County Supervisor, Janice Hahn and tell her you support the measure. Also, if you can, please attend the meeting below, where the vote will be held.
Who: Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust supporters and anyone you know who supports clean water.
What: A press conference at 8:30AM, followed by a Board of Supervisors vote to put the measure on the ballot. Email acabrera@laane.org for futher details or to rsvp.
Where: Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 W Temple St., Los Angeles CA 90012
When: 8:30am-12pm, July 17th
Why: We need as much support as possible at the County Board of Supervisors’ vote on the Safe, Clean Water Program to decide a) whether to put a property tax on the ballot to raise $300M for stormwater projects, and b) what the program for spending this money will look like, including job and equity standards as well as environmental protections.
Wear: A blue shirt!
It’s summer time which is a great time to get outside and enjoy our local wetlands. Join us and our partners, biologists and environmental educators from the environmental consulting firm Tidal Influence, on a wonderful hike at Los Cerritos Wetlands on Saturday, July 7th. We are skipping our August nature walk because of the heat, so this is your best opportunity until September to get outside and enjoy some of our local natural open space.
Our walk will begin with a brief orientation to our wetlands. We will stroll through heritage coastal sage scrub and historic dredge spoils, while looking for raptors (birds of prey) and a number of other species that nest in the area. As we pass the salt flats, we may see tiger beetles and coyote tracks before hiking up to the Heron Pointe Cultural trail to discuss how tidal circulation shapes our local wetlands.
We will complete our walk by heading back along the access to the parking. Bring binoculars, if you have them; we will observe many different kinds of interesting wildlife.
WHAT: Raptor Ramble on the Hellman Portion of Los Cerritos Wetlands.
WHEN: Saturday, July 7th, 2018, at 8:00 am sharp! Parking lot gate will open at 7:45 am and close at 8:10 am. No late-comers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10:00 am.
WHERE: Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach.
Close-toed shoes required, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
RSVP: Email Elizabeth at elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org
