Sierra Club Ballona Wetlands Restoration Committee

So much life at the Ballona Wetlands ~ sometimes you have to slow down and look closely!

We urge you to watch this interview - now! - of CA Senator Holly J. Mitchell. Aura Vasquez is the interviewer! Sierra Club has endorsed Senator Mitchell for Los Angeles County Supervisor, 2nd district.

Our Committee was present and our chair spoke to California officials during today's [virtual] California Fish & Game Commission meeting. Represented were other allies, including Ballona Institute, Ballona Ecosystem Education Project and Al Gore's Climate Reality Project. Comments were excellent! We spoke opposed to the bulldozing project that is masquerading as a "restoration," revealed the connections between SoCalGas and the gas storage facility under the Ballona Wetla...nds that would benefit most from the massive excavation project and stated that public access could be improved if the gates were open where SoCalGas now enjoys access, but the public does not. On the other hand, there were 2 groups who have received significant funding from SoCalGas (one has a board member who is a SoCalGas executive) - and who spoke - in FAVOR of moving forward the bulldozing project, claiming the wetlands are not thriving and suggested that the bulldozing is needed to provide public access. All false premises and not what the CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife usually supports! Is the CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife captured by SoCalGas? Why else are they supporting such a destructive project? No certification of the Environmental Impact Report has happened as of yet. We asked the the Commission convene a public meeting BEFORE such certification and approval is granted by the Department of Fish & Wildlife. (The Fish & Game Commission is the entity that designated Ballona Wetlands as an Ecological Reserve, and they set the regulations that the Department of Fish & Wildlife is supposed to comply with.)

So much beauty at the Ballona Wetlands!

Wetlands are vital carbon-sinks, she (Lisa Levinson from In Defense of Animals) continued. This is precisely the type of habitat destruction that accelerates climate change. The answer is not to destroy LA’s last coastal wetlands; the answer is to close the destructive gas storage facility. https://ladyfreethinker.org/activists-fight-back-against-p/

Just a little more than 200 signatures remaining before we get to 5,000! At 5,000, we will be sending these petition signatures off to the a Governor, so if you have not yet signed, please do ~ and ask your friends and neighbors! https://www.change.org/DefendBallonaWetlands

Take action here by signing the petition to stop this catastrophe: idausa.org/saveballona Rise up against the destruction of Ballona Wetlands during this Town Hall hosted by In Defense of Animals and moderated by Molly Basler of GREEN DREAM CAMPAIGN. Key speakers include: Ethan Senser, Southern California Organizer, Food & Water Watch - California; Tony Hale, Executive Board Member of the California Democratic Party, Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party; Max Gold...berg, Corresponding Secretary of the PPDC - Pacific Palisades Democratic Club; Marc Saltzberg, Executive Board Member of the West LA Democratic Club; Dorothy Reik President of the Progressive Democrats of the Santa Monica Mountains, defending Wetlands for years. Outraged by a plan to bulldoze Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, a fast growing movement comprised of political, environmental, climate, and animal welfare orgs are mounting a campaign to stop the bulldozing of 640 acres, home to thousands of species, some threatened and endangered, LA’s last coastal wetlands. Find out more at Defend Ballona Wetlands & www.defendballonawetlands.org

This message, from our allies who we are working with to DEFEND the Ballona Wetlands. - PLEASE SHARE! Join this interesting Town Hall mtg. tomorrow am. Grab your coffee or tea and settle in - while you hear from political leaders rising up against bulldozing Ballona Wetlands on LA's coast. Close the gas storage field. Stop the Bulldozing. Register here: https://bit.ly/2UoF3lk ... Breaking news: Outraged by a plan to bulldoze Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, a fast growing movement comprised of political, environmental, climate, and animal welfare orgs are mounting a campaign to stop the bulldozing of 640 acres, home to thousands of species, some threatened and endangered, LA’s last coastal wetlands. Find out more at www.defendballonawetlands.org Two of the most potent democratic clubs have just overwhelmingly passed two NEW resolutions to defend Ballona Wetlands. Pacific Palisades Democratic Club is the latest to strongly voice opposition to this reckless plan. West Los Angeles Democratic Club recently joined in solidarity, supporting the closure of the Playa del Rey gas storage facility, which is the entity that would most benefit from bulldozing and excavation! Join our online Town Hall to hear the latest from local political leaders and to discover how you can help save Ballona Wetlands. Green Dream Campaign, In Defense of Animals, and Climate Reality Project co-host this online Town Hall featuring key speakers. Here's the speaker line-up: Event Host, Lisa Levinson, In Defense of Animals Panel Moderator, Molly Basler, Green Dream Campaign, Climate Reality Leader 1. Ethan Senser, Southern California Organizer, Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Action 2. Tony Hale, Executive Board Member of the California Democratic Party (& co-chair of the state party's resolutions committee), Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Resolution Committee 3. Max Goldberg, Corresponding Secretary of the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club 4. Marc Saltzberg, Executive Board Member of the West LA Democratic Club 5. Dorothy Reik President of the Progressive Democrats of the Santa Monica Mountains, defending Wetlands for years. Be sure to register to get the Zoom link to join our Town Hall: https://bit.ly/2UoF3lk

This beautiful bird ~ the Great Blue Heron ~ is the totem animal for an elected official who we *know* loves the Ballona Wetlands. LA City Councilmember Mike Bonin! So ~ in honor of an amazing decision by the US Supreme Court today, here's to Mike Bonin and to a bird that Henry David Thoreau once opined ought to perhaps have citizenship, because of so many things we have in common. We are all related, are we not?

Please sign this petition to Governor Newsom. https://www.change.org/DefendBallonaWetlands

The Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve is a MOSAIC of DIFFERENT ecosystem types. Some of the species there need higher salinity water, like this Stingray. Some of the species there need lower salinity water - like the Pacific Chorus Frog, which would die if it were placed into the same water as the stingray. It's complex, and there are different ecological niches for each of the numerous species - many of them rare - which are relying on this beautiful PUBLIC reserve.... The CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife has plans that would demolish the Ballona Creek levees and invite in saltwater at levels that would kill many of the species at Ballona, if there are any species animals remaining after they capture them, cage them or bulldoze them!

Have you signed this petition to Governor Newsom yet? Yes, he's busy, but our government is still open, and the agencies that are moving forward with this terrible plan are still in motion. The Governor needs to hear from thousands of concerned people - that we want him to WITHDRAW this misguided, destructive project.... https://www.change.org/DefendBallonaWetlands