Ballona Institute is com- memorating the 10th anniversary of the date that the last parcel of land at the Ballona Wetlands was transferred to a state resource agency for protection by announcing that the year ahead will be filled with celebratory events.
The events planned include a Nature Science Summit, a series of hour-long “Conservation Con- versations,” a day-long event filled with artistic nature expres- sion, and a Gala Luncheon during which several elected and former elected officials will be honored, along with a panel of distinguished journalists and some outstanding community heroes. Among the honorees will be US Congressmembers Janice Hahn and Maxine Waters, former L.A. City Councilmem- ber Bill Rosendahl and former California Governor Gray Davis.
July 7 marks 10 years since then State Controller Steve Westly signed a letter, transferring the deed to approximately 73 acres of land east of Lincoln Boulevard and north of Ballona Creek known to many as “Area C.” Westly’s precedessor, Kathleen Connell, when she was standing for election to be Mayor of LA, along with citizens who’d launched a “Free Area C” campaign, are credited with taking actions that caused Playa Vista REIT investors Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to decline exercising their option to pur- chase the land backland which Playa Capital developers had previously planned to develop.
The land transfer in 2004 was hailed as significant, since the land had been claimed by devel- opers, state tax collectors and various politicians, who wanted it variously for low-income housing, a county courthouse or funds for state education needs. Today the same land is being coveted by billionaire heiress Wallis Annenberg who wants to build a dog and cat shelter and adoption center along with an urban, manicured park, not the wild nature ecological reserve it currently is.
As part of the Celebrate Ballona! Gala Luncheon later this year, Rosendahl will be honored with the presentation of the first-ever “Ellen Stern Harris Coastal Champion Award.” Ellen Stern Harris is credited with spearheading the citizen initiative known as Proposition 20, which led to the state legislature’s adoption of the California Coastal Act and creation of the California Coastal Commission. She is often referred to as the “Mother of the Coastal Act.” Harris was a member of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and one of the first Coastal Commissioners, appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in 1973. She died in 2006, but celebrated with activists in 2003 and 2004 when the Ballona Wetlands acquisition become a reality. She noted this acquisi- tion was important to her, since she’d watched lobbyists wrangle over this land 30 years before.
“This honor is so appropriate for Bill Rosendahl, because Ellen was a champion for the public’s interest, and so is Bill,” President of Ballona Institute Robert “Roy” van de Hoek said. “Ellen would have been very pleased to know that Bill Rosendahl would be the first recipient of an award in her name.”
Executive Director of Ballona Institute Marcia Hanscom explained the impact that Stern Harris had on those who worked alongside her.
“Ellen was one of my mentors, and this honor is not only for Bill, but also for Ellen. Interestingly, she contacted us after watching one of our Ballona activists being interviewed by Bill on his cable public affairs program,” Hanscom said. “And from that time until the acquisition, she was constantly giving us advice, editing my writing and helping steer our course toward success. She was an invaluable advisor.”
Ballona Institute also plans to recognize the 50th anniversar y of Marina del Rey, which, while originally carved out of the his- torical Ballona Wetlands, is now viewed by conservationists as a part of the Ballona Valley, an “Important Bird Area,” recog- nized by the National Audubon Society.
Ballona Institute plans to continue efforts to protect the wildlife both at the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, as well as in Marina del Rey, where Egrets and Herons nest and roost. Ballona Institute advocates for the County, the State, and the City of Los Angeles to all embrace the ecotourism potential of the area, while furthering the highest level of protection for the flora, fauna and historical landscape features of the Ballona Valley.
