Preservationist Calls Decision by Urban Forestry Committee ‘Big Mistake’

A local preservationist said although he was pleased with support for a local restoration project in the Lower Arroyo, he did not agree with a vote that will see some non-native trees remain in the area.

On Wednesday members of the city’s Urban Forestry Advisory Committee agreed to recommend the Lower Arroyo Habitat Restoration Program.

The project originally included the removal of 106 non-native plants and the removal of 11 dead trees to re-establish the physical and biological characteristics of the Arroyo Seco’s native habitats to a natural state void of invasive, nonnative plants.

But a group of local residents began pushing for the preservation of some of those trees which resulted in a compromise that resulted in the the UFAC agreeing to spare 22 pine tree,

“ASF [Arroyo Seco Foundation] is pleased that the UFAC agreed to recommend the Lower Arroyo Habitat Restoration Program,” said Tim Brick. “But we feel that leaving in a grove of exotic pine trees in a key area near the Van de Kamp Bridge is a big mistake. Those trees are not well-adapted to the local climate and have serious pest problems that can spread to native trees and plants. They don’t promote a healthy ecosystem or the birds and wildlife that are so important in the Lower Arroyo nature preserve.”

There was a tremendous amount of community support for a science-based, environmentally sensitive approach to managing and restoring the Arroyo, which the restoration program will accomplish, but exempting the removal of Canary Island Pine trees is contradictory to that.

According to the Department of Public Works staff report, the trees were proposed for removal in order to restore the native plant communities and associated wildlife habitat in the Arroyo Seco from the area surrounding the John K. Van De Kamp Bridge, and north to the Pasadena Casting Pond.
The plan will “restore, enhance, and reestablish the historical native plant communities of the Arroyo Seco,” the staff report said.

The project is necessary because the La Loma Bridge Rehabilitation Project did not include the restoration of habitat in the area surrounding the bridge after the work was completed.

The new project will see the new planting of 11 Southern California Black Walnut trees, 14 Coast Live Oak trees, 17 Western Sycamore trees, and approximately 2,000 understory shrubs and herbaceous plants.

The ASF has circulated a petition that has garnered more than 700 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

“Restoring native plants and trees improves the health of all ecosystems, and brings balance back to our unique area. Native trees need less water and maintenance since they are meant to be here. Long live native trees,!” said one person who signed the petition.

Public Works staff will finalize the project plans and specifications in the fall and prepare bids to submit to City Council or approval by December. The construction completion date is set for March 21, in order to comply with a Proposition A grant reimbursement deadline, according to the staff report.