Los Angeles River. Part 2

when los angeles had a wild river its headwaters with the birthplace of steelhead trout large ocean dwelling fish the steelhead would return to spawn swimming some fifteen miles upstream these big fish are gone now as of the hardy little ones that lived in the river year round to survive the los angeles river at this point i'm melanie winter of the river project what is tilapia jumping in the river ethical than a recreation area in the san fernando sally it's one of the few places the river isn't completely confined in a concrete channel has a softer bottom watch john to watch being the major tributary that still didn't have a lot of fans at her speckled dace we pore over a list its feces that used to live along the river itself western that's no longer in their lives ten miles away in the eastern valley winter winds are blown off malaise hall of smog in the city waits under a blanket of baby blue sky ornithology kimball garrett of the la county natural history museum watches and

i'll spray glide over hansen dam actually that's a case of bird that made you better here now these bases they use to shallow are less predictable seasonal waters gary surveys an artificial lake behind the dam which regulates water flowing off the st gabriel mountains into the la river a black crowned night heron sleeps in the willow weeding out the day that he gets pomeranz and western breeds whose through gentle ripples of blasting water start later of what makes a perfect partner maria parrott says in the upper basin including this area the river flowed over and into rocky porous soils it was surrounded by desert like habitat difference just a couple hours as the river flowed deeper into the la basin and out to see it would

wander over broad prairie filling up low lying areas lot of sort of backwater areas to grow up to forty people of color experience forester jungle cottonwood willows lines and tangles that would go on and on and on extensive marshlands their species that read there that have completely disappeared one year ago today with a few exceptions most of the los angeles river is a nearly barren freeway for water and yet nature versus larry plan including an eight mile stretch near griffith park where there's no concrete on the bottom thats nest among willow trees laden with tracks also says ornithology is kimball garrett in long beach thousands of migratory shore birds feast on invertebrates in carpets about that dynamic situation that we have before channel station where the river really haven't run out of much of the liberal a bass and we just have to be

really creative and diligence nearly all a river the creation of the river is that another habitat improvements happened birds at that are now rare on the river could become more common and maybe yellow built cuckoo speed return for many people the biggest dream is the return of steelhead trout melanie winter of the river project dangles her feet into the river at supported a recreation area or the river looks like this year which meanders and rebels and ports and fisheries biologists say it's a long shot for one thing to prevent flooding the river channel as designed to send water racing out to the ocean as fast as possible and steelhead trying to migrate upstream would probably die of exhaustion but melanie winter it envisions a major restoration of the river if enough people agree and find

it to be a priority for them it's absolutely possible to keep the slate blue bird with a big hairdo of spiky feathers wiens past us air all the time the feeling people have a lot of people have a native prairie if they haven't come down here and been surprised by and realized that from the los angeles river of society all at nine point three kpcc