Arroyo Lover on the River Road

Is this the La Loma Bridge in Pasadena? Of course not. The natural stream course under the bridge looks nothing like today's concrete channelized Arroyo Seco. But it could look like this in the future if we remain vigilant in restoring our historic Pasadena stream.

I haven't posted here recently because for the past few weeks, the Arroyo Lover has been on the road to her native Ohio and what a treasure trove of watershed restoration and revitalization activity it's been!

The photo above is actually of Mill Creek, a major tributary of the Mahoning (meaning Salt Licks) River, deemed by the USACE as one of America's five most polluted rivers due to a century of steel mill and manufacturing toxin dumping into its waterways.

Fortunately, Mill Creek is relatively pristine, thanks to the leadership of Volney Rogers, who created Mill Creek Park in 1891, the first park district in Ohio. Today, Mill Creek Metroparks manage 4800 acres of riverine parkland (more than double the Arroyo Seco parkland in Pasadena!) full of trails, athletic fields, golf courses, and historical landmarks, like the Lanterman Mill, seen here, one of the first grist mills on the creek which was completely restored in the 1980s. This historic restoration allows visitors to visit one of the finest riverside interpretative sites I've ever seen: you can walk four levels within the mill, including down to the water wheel itself. In addition, the viewing platform next to the falls is so close you can feel the spray! And what a great old wooden dam made of railroad ties, still functional after 100 years. Los Angeles County engineers could take a clue about how to use natural materials on area waterways from this project.

And what fun is a river if you can't play on it? So, one Sunday afternoon, I joined about 15 members of the Trumbull Council Trails Canoe Club (ranging in age from 3 years old to 75!) on a 5 mile 'float' down the Upper Mahoning River (the healthier part). Aside from an occasional railroad trestle or highway bridge overhead, we did not see much evidence of civilization but we did see a lot of nature's beauty: birds, flowers, and trees in full foliage. It was interesting to see how many tree branches were down in the river, creating a sort of 'mogul' run, and how little human trash was in the waterway. The Canoe Club members are the nicest people, too! They virtually let me crash their party, shared a canoe, and gave me a paddle and PFD (personal flotation device) to use. We had lots of water wars, too, with the youngsters in particular trying to spray us old folks with water from their Max Liquidators. But I got revenge when one of the boys accidentally dropped his water gun in the river, which I retrieved, then took aim and fired away!

Next it was off to the Cuyahoga ( meaning crooked) River, once famous for having caught on fire. But what a difference 40 years of restoration makes!

From listening to the Cleveland Orchestra perform at Blossom Music Center within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to exploring the Upper Cuyahoga river towns of Aurora and Hudson, it was a delight to see the river so healthy.

Finally, it was time for a stop in my old college town, Kent, Ohio, where the city undertook a $5 million dam removal/river restoration project completed about 5 years ago. And look at what a terrific achievement it is - a free flowing river once again supported by a beautiful waterfall, riverwalk, and direct access to the river. Home to the Davey Tree Company, Kent is the original 'Tree City,' making the woodsy river stroll cool and breezy. The day of my visit, a few young fishermen were fly fishing along its shore.

This area of the river is also popular with kayakers and Kent State University students run a canoe livery on weekends based out of Tannery Park. Most exciting of all is Kent's planned natural whitewater park along this section of the river. Kent City Manager Dave Ruller graciously shared with me the conceptual design plan for the whitewater park. Yes, the river only reaches a maximum of 1100 cfs - not Class 3 or Class 4 rapids, but definitely a fast enough flow for some serious water fun.  It's an exciting project that will create a terrific water trail through the middle of this college town. Wouldn't it be great to have something like that on the Los Angeles River, too?

This trip certainly offered a different perspective to my usual work in the Greater Los Angeles area, where water shortage and channelized waterways are the norm. Strategically located at the heart of the top of two major watersheds, the Cuyahoga (which flows north) and the Mahoning (which flows southeast), Northeast Ohio has plenty of water and is one of the few non-water stressed regions in our country. The environmental ethic is very strong here as well, because intuitively the people who live in this region know that trash interferes with the food chain. (Agriculture is still the number one 'industry' in Ohio). Even the former Mayor of Struthers, now Youngstown State University's Urban Studies Professor and Mahoning River Restoration collaborator, lamented his inability while on city council to get the area designated a watershed district!

This eastern navigable rivers visit was definitely a Huck Finn type of adventure with my Ohio river brothers and sisters. What an inspiration for those days when achieving true integrated urban river restoration seems an impossible dream!

The Loss Of Open Space No One's Really Talking About...

We seem to be bombarded almost daily with these frightening headlines: State Parks to Close...Irvine's Wild Rivers Water Park to relocate to make way for an apartment complex...LA River projects on hold due to lack of funding.

Yet the most disturbing 'closures' are the places where many of us hold our first memories of childhood exploration in nature: The Summer Camp.

Throughout the country, Girl and Boy Scout Councils, church organizations, private families and civic organizations are doing the once unthinkable: closing their camps and putting the properties up for sale to raise revenue to keep their operations alive. More and more we are seeing large swaths of open space becoming abandoned by long-time property owners and tenants (as is the case of several camps within our National Forest system).

This trend is troubling for a number of reasons:

1. the great likelihood that these parcels will be purchased by those who intend to develop the land
2. the fact that many of these camps have learning-oriented recreational improvements in place that will likely be destroyed
3. the loss of 'one tank trips' to get families into nature during a time of economic turmoil

While this movement is nationwide, the example of one camp: Camp Sugarbush, where I spent much of my childhood as a Girl Scout camper, is illustrative of this sad trend.

Camp Sugarbush embraces almost 200 scenic wooded acres in rural Northeast Ohio and its name connotes the large stand of sugar maple trees growing in the area. This camp is highly improved with a lodge/dining hall, infirmary, heated swimming pool, small canoe lake, archery range, game fields, and an observatory. Overnight camping amenities include cabins, a primitive cabin, covered wagons (yes, you can sleep in them just like the pioneers did!), and perma-tents with cotting and mattresses. The lodge and cabin include flush toilets and hot showers (yay!).  All other units have their own pavilion, latrine, and running water. The camp offers day camping, overnight camping and primitive camping options.

For me, Camp Sugarbush was more than just a place to hang out at during the summer. Here I learned ritual and survival skills that still serve me well today. Among my 'firsts' at Camp Sugarbush: first archery lesson, first primitive camping experience, first canoeing, first campfire singalong, and first leather tanning. I hated the sound of the bugle at 6:30am waking us up and calling us to the flagpole for the morning camp opening ritual but loved making s'mores over the campfire. I hated repelling the nasty mosquitoes buzzing around but loved our hikes in the woods, learning the names of plants and trees, while in search of 'edible' berries. I learned the difference between poison oak and poison ivy. I learned how to watch out for snakes (by the way, this is a skill that applies to human snakes, too). I learned how to catch frogs. I hated latrine duty but learned the connection between human waste and our watershed at a young age. I loved the ride and commaderie on the camp bus and can still smell the hickory smoked campfire air.

A couple months ago, the Girl Scout Council of NE Ohio voted to close Camp Sugarbush and four others, with the plan to sell them to raise funds to keep the organization financially sustainable, while reorganizing camping activities around two 'leadership centers.' But what will the final fate of this and many other camp grounds nationwide mean?

Born of the 'garden movement' at the turn of the 20th Century and nurtured as church groups and youth organizations such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Campfire, and 4-H were founded and grew, the nature summer camp gave children and families the opportunity to leave the sooty, dirty industrial city where they lived and camp under the stars in nature.  According to the American Camp Association, summer camps serve over 10 million Americans at 12,000 accredited campsites.

Only 10 million? No wonder these open spaces are quickly becoming endangered species. Despite the cries about nature deficient disorder in our children due to urban upbringing, fewer youth than ever are engaging in overnight camping away from home.

Several factors have led to this decline: the rapid urbanization of America where today more than half the population lives in cities, stressed out two-income and single parent families who are struggling just to financially survive, and computer-video game-virtual reality technology that entertains more and more of our children, just to name a few.

And here's the saddest part:  unless you grew up in a camping family or attended camp as a child, you have probably forgotten how to camp and live outdoors.  Anecdotally, I'm always surprised how, when I take visitors down to the Arroyo Seco in very civilized Pasadena, they quake in their shoes when I mention wild critters in the area, especially snakes.

While nature can be enjoyed just for nature's sake through hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding, natural camp grounds are critical playgrounds for learning skills of survival and skills of teamwork and leadership. Moreover, since most camp grounds are located on a freshwater river or stream, these natural playgrounds are a key source of watershed education, too

Whether it's state parks, public campgrounds or civic/church owned camp sites, we risk losing some of our most precious low impact recreational open space if we cannot develop new models of joint use, cross-organizational collaboration, and revenue enhancement. And where are the land conservancies? While conservancies focus on ranch, farm, and urban interface properties, I've yet to see an organized effort to acquire and conserve these precious camp lands.

This summer, take your loved ones camping before it's too late. Better yet, bring along a friend or two and introduce them to the joy and wonder of living, for at least a brief time, in nature.