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SBWASC Mission Statement |
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Lake Balboa
The City of Los Angeles Dept. of Recreation and Parks invites you to join a "Make a Difference" Committee that would create a hands-on group of responsible individuals to solve Lake Balboa issues. If you are interested in volunteering, please call Abel Perez, 818-756-8190 . Fire Road in the South Reserve Sports Complex
Navigability and Jurisdiction Evaluation of Los Angeles River |
 The mission of the Committee shall be to oversee, in its advisory capacity, the wildlife refuge areas and other areas of present or potential natural value within the Sepulveda Basin, as well as to support policies and programs that ensure their long-term preservation, protection, and enhancement. |
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Upcoming Events
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January 4, 2008, 8am January 10, 2008 January 27, 2008 (Tuesday) 6:30pm |
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About This Website |
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This website is sponsored by the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Areas Steering Committee (SBWASC) that has been meeting monthly since June 1990. The purpose of the Committee is to advise the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks concerning the operation, maintenance, and improvement of the existing wildlife areas and any future expansion thereof. The Committee may also make recommendations on matters concerning flora, fauna, and other natural resources in other areas within the Sepulveda Basin, such as the Los Angeles River and its tributaries, park land, and open spaces. The membership of the Committee is comprised of organizations with a demonstrated interest in flora, fauna, and other natural resources within the Sepulveda Basin. See the bottom of this page to see the logos of the member organizations and other affiliated agencies, or click the tab at the top of the page. Minutes of the SBWASC can be found here. Regular meetings of the Committee are held monthly, generally on the fourth Tuesday at 6:30pm, usually at the Valley Region Headquarters of the Dept. of Recreation and Parks, 6335 Woodley Avenue, Van Nuys, CA 91406. See “Upcoming Events” on this page for next meeting. DIRECTIONS TO THE WILDLIFE RESERVE Turn north from Burbank Blvd. (or south from Victory Blvd.) onto Woodley Ave., which is ½ mile west of the San Diego Freeway (I-405) and just north of the 101Freeway. Travel about ½ mile to the second possible right turn. Turn east (right) onto Wildlife Way, at the sign for the Wildlife Reserve (and Japanese Gardens). Bear right at the immediate fork in the road and go east ½ mile to the Wildlife Area parking. The Wildlife Reserve is to the south...follow the trail down from the restrooms area. |
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About the Sepulveda Flood Control Basin |
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All property within the Sepulveda Flood Control Basin is owned by the Los Angeles District Corps of Engineers, but more than 80% of the land is leased out for recreational and agricultural uses. Sepulveda Dam, completed in 1941, is a dry-land reservoir, with the purpose of controlling runoff from nearby San Gabriel, Santa Monica, and Santa Susana Mountains.
Besides the Encino and Balboa golf courses, the Balboa Sports Complex, and the model airplane field, most of the Basin was devoted to agriculture (corn and then sod farms). In the mid-1960’s, Burbank Blvd. was extended across the Basin. In the 1970’s the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation built the Donald Tillman Water Reclamation Plant within the Basin (over the objections of the Corp of Engineers). |
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In March of 1981, a revised Master Plan for the area was adopted. At the time, of the 2,150 acres in the Sepulveda Basin, approximately 1,060 acres were committed to recreational uses. The updated Master Plan designated an additional 540 acres for future recreational uses. Included in the plan are provisions for the commitment of approximately 220 acres of land to informal park space, 120 acres for development of a recreational lake, 108 acres for a wildlife management area, and 60 acres for an “arts park” that has been subsequently redesignated for a “sports complex” (the area west of Balboa Blvd. just north of the Los Angeles River. |
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The Master Plan also tried to minimize adverse environmental effects and recommended “designing reaches of newly-formed lakes and ponds |
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In 1979 the Corp of Engineers developed the first area of the Wildlife Reserve (now called the South Reserve), an approximate 48 acre parcel located south of Burbank Blvd and bordered by the Los Angeles River and the Sepulveda Dam on the east and south. A “pothole” pond (fed with piped-in fresh water) was created, and vegetation representing coastal sage scrub and riparian woodlands were planted. |
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The approximate 60-acre North Reserve (north of Burbank Blvd., east of Haskell Creek, west of the Dam) was developed in 1988, featuring an 11-acre lake with an island and wildlife viewing stations. Various revegetation projects have been undertaken since then. |
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the reserve entrance and restrooms. |
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In 1991 the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant Flood Protection Project was finalized, and subsequently a berm was built around the Water Reclamation Plant to protect it from flooding, compensating excavation was performed in various places, and the outflow from the Water Reclamation Plant was rerouted under the dam so the outflow was outside (to the south) of the Dam. The 7-acre berm was planted with California native plants and is the largest native landscaping project developed by the City of Los Angeles. |
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In 1994, the City and Federal governments agreed to sharing the costs on $11 million in improvements in the Sepulveda Basin. The wildlife are was expanded 110 acres to the west of Haskell Creek (on either side of Woodley Avenue). Additional facilities in the wildlife area included trails, restrooms and staging area, signs, benches, viewing blinds and parking. This project was completed in 1999. |
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In spring of 2008, the Bull Creek Channel Ecosystem restoration project began development. Features include 28-acres of aquatic, riparian and native upland habitat to enhance wildlife resources along the Bull Creek channel. An oxbow (or “C”-shaped) side channel will be excavated to allow water to flow from south of Victory Blvd. around an island to the Los Angeles River. Reclaimed water from Lake Balboa will be released into the channel near the oxbow to enhance the existing flow. |
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 above, the riparian vegetation along Bull Creek competes with non-native giant reed in this 2007 photograph. |
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Member Organizations and Affiliated Agencies |
 Southwestern Herpetologists Society |
 The Canadian Goose Project |
 California Native Plant Society |
 L.A. Audubon |
 The River Project |
 The Japanese Garden |
 Sierra Club, San Fernando Valley Group |
 LA City Rec and Parks |
 Resource Conservation District |
 SFV Audubon |
 Tree People |
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Web page and design by Justin Baker. |
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Last Updated 12/22/08 |
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