Hansen Dam

at first glance the la city park known as hanson dam is large but rather homely dominated by the dam big parking lots and portable toilets next to the soccer fields but those who venture a bit further will find a willow forest and two lakes that brim with birds tearing through a spotting scope what apologies kimball garrett watches a family of means flooding on the bitterly a slave was sort of an unintentional consequence of gravel which stretches been here for many years and contractors are left with a big pit which fill up with water in it going to affect wildlife garrett says big lakes don't occur naturally in the area but the water and the willow trees and other plants that have sprung up around it are important for wildlife and although this is a natural it very closely mimics that habitat that was very common all through the la basin that before bowing before the un rivers species one

of those rare species is the endangered least bells derail a small gray migratory bird that nests here in the summer last year fifteen pairs were spotted at hansen dam but it's not just ornithology stoop taken an interest in the area many people live nearby enjoyed playing soccer walking and bird watching here debra bauman lives in the lakeview terrace area of los angeles and whites were of course here this is the last wildlife habitat and significant open space of this kind in the city limits and its beautiful and it's a tranquil and it is beloved by the community last year bauman founded a community group that advocates for the preservation of hansen dam standing at the rim of the big lake bauman says she and her neighbors were spurred into action when they found out the us army core of engineers was dumping construction material into it you're looking at upwards of twenty five to thirty thousand cubic yards of

concrete rebar and unknown substances that were deposited here now includes a piece of rebar that's jutting out with a bang as a magic year for child falling on that and you know we're surrounded by land fills and the bradley landfill and sunshine canyon we feel that it's just adding insult to injury to take our part can turn it into a landfill the army corps of engineers owns hansen dam and this is the land to the la recreation and parks department colonel richard thompson says the army corps filled in part of the lake because the signs were steep making it vulnerable to erosion and hazardous to people for someone who would cut off the water would find themselves with a much deeper than what they had imagined people aren't allowed to swim in the lake but they do walk along its banks the corps says it kept the construction material with a layer of dirt but as the water in the lake has receded the rebar has been exposed and the core neglected to secure a

permit for the dumping from the los angeles regional water quality control board the water board recently ordered the corps to remove everything it dumped meantime baumann and her neighbors are also watching the city of la has plans to improve the park the current plan is to develop that many many more hundreds of acres as high impact recreation parking lots playing fields concession stands and the like the la recreation and parks department says facilities will be built in an environmentally friendly manner it says many of the projects were spelled out in measured hey which was approved by la voters over the next ten years and expects to spend thirty million dollars a new athletic fields hiking trails campground and other amenities that hansen dam in lakeview terrace bills was that feel at nine point three kpcc