Just 10 years after the Ballona Wetlands were acquired and preserved (an endeavor that took decades), they are again under attack. The Annenberg Foundation, which has done impressive work elsewhere, plans to purchase the wetlands, develop part of it, and restore Area C. The latter proposal has been described as "a phony restoration" to "give crony engineering companies some business" and "way too aggressive" for the highly- sensitive habitat. Annenberg claims their plans have been misrepresented, but there was no elaboration.
On Thursday, October 17, a demonstration was held outside the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills during that facility's very extravagant grand opening. Protest signs supported Annenberg's various plans, that include a pet rescue center, but lambasted any construction on or restoration of Ballona, which is among the remaining five percent of L.A.'s wetlands that has not been destroyed.
(Photo courtesy of the Wetlands Defense Fund.)
Story and photos: Ballona Wetlands Again in Jeopardy by R. Plesset
Ballona Wetlands Again in Jeopardy