San Gabriel River Recreation Development

the san gabriel river begins in the angeles national forest above the city of azusa promises that the river flows for nearly forty miles from eastern and southern la county for ending at seal beach in many places it doesn't look like much more than a storm drain power lines and six oh five freeway shadow its ores industries like gravel mine scott gets concrete lined banks but local activists and some government officials say the san gabriel has enormous potential most people don't realize how environmental planner doug delgado stands next to the river in san gabriel canyon in his answer he studied it as a graduate student cal poly are why people don't even know there's a river here they'll say you know that thing at six of clive owen living the people in the system what can torture delgado says a number of private groups and government agencies are looking to the river to form the spine of a continuous network of new and improved parks and wilderness areas to do that you're trying to purchase additional land along the river

delgado says they're also helping to improve water quality and create more habitat for native plants and animals to the seine river can never was like that before people can care but they can be made much more natural and he can in a very beautiful and an imperial amenity to the region delgado says i'm like the los angeles river most of the san gabriel river doesn't have a concrete bottom the soft bottom has a huge advantage with its big advantage think the river has overstayed was editor of the education can procure there there's a lot more wildlife opportunity there are probably more opportunities that need to be explored developed an untested or maybe getting some vegetation on the slopes on the channel levees any plans for additional vegetation in the river that have to be carefully studied to ensure it wouldn't block the flow of storm water or weakened levees delgado says the river also has potential as a

wildlife corridor a lot of animals are moving through the area now what we're getting right now are obviously the season or more tolerant of humans and human development and i really think it's feasible to create a wild what order that could move say a bobcat running close to two million are some of the weirder aspects of the intersection was possible ct your router being studied but all of them would encounter barriers like freeways and dams about fifteen miles further down the river at whittier narrows a county park north of pico rivera here in the stands and the replies of female frontal and friends are writing along one of the worst trailers little more strident that we have a fund and the river is one of the best wow because that was your trees and writes in the riverbed

we're narrows is heavily used by residents in nearby cities like montebello a number of river activists say the reason the san gabriel river hasn't received as much attention as the los angeles river is that the mainly poor and working class populations who live nearby have little political clout that the river is quickly gaining advocates congresswoman hilda so he uses from our monterrey and spent much of her childhood at whittier narrows and other places along the river and recreate and hit it with the wire where you told them elite have everything in there what they're after we would go on a date with families with our neighbor goat three years ago when she was a state senator so he's offered legislation that created the state's first urban conservancy the san gabriel and lower la santa was rivers and mountains conservancy the conservancy's executive director is mary engle angle says one of the conservancy's top priorities is to purchase additional open space near a river a national standards for open space or five acres or one

thousand people generally speaking in the la area we have about half of that another top priority for the conservancy is to improve recreational opportunities for a taste of one of the san gabriel river is most popular amenities angle texas for a bike ride at the river from its end point at sylvia's but i think you know there is james bond down there you know the down the la river and there's not enough beds but in the scale of the fcc's cormorants are also diving in the river the least turned a tiny endangered aquatic bird flies by on its way to the beach the bike trail runs the length of the river from seal beach to azusa but it's exposed and hot engle says the conservancy will look into the possibility of planting trees near the path it will also work to connect and improve equestrian and hiking trails we have a system of

trails right now but a lot of them are not connected up to do the rest of them there's large areas that don't have any trails in them at all much of angles work involves getting local cities municipal agencies and both la in orange county to improve and quart made their effort is no small task says paul yost conservancy board member and city councilman in seal beach apartment they have their own pot of money they have their own you know everything all male group or not do alone individual point lookout five of their own area and have a bigger vision with him typical congresswoman solis' has suggested making the river the centerpiece of the national recreation area she's introduced legislation to have the national park service study the possibility at this point the id is considered a bit of a long shot politburo says that's at least partly because the cities along the river are likely to balk at the possible loss of local control of a national park

have a federal land grab from takeover making power making powerful local still yo says cities along the river are waking up to the importance of open space and they're starting to recognize the potential of the san gabriel river for kpcc news i'm elsa set sail in seal beach