Long Beach Natural Areas

Turtle Update

2008-10-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

The LA Times has a great article and video about the recovery of the green sea turtle recovered from the San Gabriel River.

Seems like the poor thing suffered a lot of abuse before it was rescued!

University by the Sea

2008-09-15T13:04:00.001-07:00

It's nearly time for the second annual University by the Sea!

Saturday, October 5, 10 AM to about 6 or 7.

This is a day-long event hosted by Cal State Long Beach in the downtown/east village area. Local luminaries teach classes on various subjects relating to Long Beach, including several classes of interest to environmentally minded folk.

Here are the highlights:

Session 1: 10 - 11 AM.

Breakwater 101
Breakers Building - Wedding Chapel · $5
Surfrider Foundation & 4th District Councilman Patrick O' Donnell, City of Long Beach
Come learn about the Long Beach breakwater - from past to present! Surfrider Foundation will share the breakwater's history - when and why it was built - and discuss how a breakwater configuration could help solve our local water-quality problems. 4th District Councilman Patrick O' Donnell will describe the Army Corps of Engineers Reconnaissance Study process.

Session 2: 11:30-12:30

Plants and People
Utopia Restaurant · $5
Jorge Ochoa, Horticulture Instructor, Long Beach City College
Lecture discussing the benefits of plants to human kind. How plants have shaped people's lives throughout history. To value and understand the life of plants, structure, and functions.

What it Means to be "Green"
Gotama Building Engineers · $5
Nikolas Bruno & Kacie McLamb, Engineers, Gotama Building Engineers Inc.
An academic class on sustainability and a guided tour of a sustainable building.

Session 3: 1-2 PM

Pollution in our Seas - What Happens to the Fish?
Lafayette Building - Tuna Room · $5
Kevin M. Kelley, Professor/Lab Director, CSULB Department of Biological Studies
Powerpoint-based lecture with props for a close-up interactive discussion on how pollution and contaminants impact wildlife in the marine and coastal environment.

Sustaining Your Backyard Garden
East Village Community Garden · $5
Staff, Long Beach Organic
A three-part lecture and Q&A on sustainable living in your backyard: (1) The Apple Guild, (2) Composting, (3) Making the Yard a Wildlife Habitat

What it Means to be "Green"
Gotama Building Engineers · $5
Nikolas Bruno & Kacie McLamb, Engineers, Gotama Building Engineers Inc.
An academic class on sustainability and a guided tour of a sustainable building.

Session 4: 2:30 - 3:30

Green Shopping Guide
Breakers Building - Wedding Chapel · $5
Russ Parsons, Author, "How to Pick a Peach"
Learn the basics of "eat local: eat seasonal" and how shopping at local farmer's markets can lead to better quality, better taste and better value.

Los Angeles River: History, Present & Future
Lafayette Building - Dome Room · $5
Alicia Katano, Education Coordinator, Friends of the L.A. River (FoLAR)
Impacts of urban run-off on river habitat and revitilization projects explored by the front-line fighters for a better L.A. River.

What it Means to be "Green"
Gotama Building Engineers · $5
Nikolas Bruno & Kacie McLamb, Engineers, Gotama Building Engineers Inc.
An academic class on sustainability and a guided tour of a sustainable building.

Session 5: 4-5

Beyond Xeriscape
Utopia Restaurant · $5
Kathleen Thomas, Designer/Horticulturist, CSULB Extension Services
A practical guide to having plants in your life - no matter what color thumb you have. Learn how to create a sustainable, low water use, organic garden, that is simple to care for and looks great!

Session 6: 5:30 - 6:30

Califlora: The Importance of Promoting Native Landscaps in Urban Areas
Utopia Restaurant · $5
Eric Zahn, Plant Ecologist, CSULB
Will demonstrate what native plants are for use in urban gardens and the services they provide. Will do demo on how to care for native plants.

Los Cerritos Channel

2008-09-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

As you may know, green sea turtles were recently sighted swimming up the San Gabriel River. They were seen in the area of the Cerritos Channel, an arm of the San Gabriel River estuary. So of course I had to check it out! Sadly, no turtles were seen during my brief visit, but I thought I'd write it up on this blog, because this unlikely area was full of quite a few surprises.

View Larger Map

There is a small park along Cerritos Channel called Channel View Park.

The park is a highly manicured strip of lawn with a bike/pedestrian path, separated from the channel by an ugly chainlink fence. Opportunities to commune with nature here are limited, although if the scenery is appealing in that post-apocolyptic way that comes so easily in southern California:

The huge stacks of a powerplant dominate the landscape. The plant takes in water from the river to cool the engines, and returns heated effluent to the San Gabriel river. Both the intake and effluent have deleterious impacts on the marine environment, and these impacts are closely monitored by a number of agencies. The most severe impacts are the death of marine organisms on intake screens, and the alteration of the thermal regime of the river.

As I mentioned, the park itself doesn't offer much access to nature, though you can see quite a bit from the bridges over the channel on Loynes Drive and Studebaker.

Birdlife was somewhat abundant here, with several of the usual suspects:

Cormorants, either perched on the trash booms or here, flying in V-formation.

Great egret.

Not shown: belted kingfisher and great blue heron. The vacant lots around the channel show evidence of wild dogs--either strays, or perhaps coyotes!

The contrast between the graceful birds and the imposing industral backgrop can be quite jarring:

The bridge on Studebaker offers a glimps into muddier habitat than is typical of other parts of the channel, which are full of rocky riprap:

You can see long and elegant smelt swimming at the surface, or even jumping out.

The most exciting sighting of the day were two large-ish octopuses (or octopi--both are correct!) fighting in the shallow water! Sadly, I got no photos to show. But I will be sure to try again sometime soon!

Colorado Lagoon Restoration

2008-09-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

According to an article in today's Grunion Gazette:

The City's Planning Commission is set to certify the Enivornmental Impact Report (EIR) for restoration of Colorado Lagoon!

You can read the entire EIR, which describes the plan and all the expected impacts here:

link

The primary goal of the restoration is to address the poor water quality that afflicts the lagoon and often prevents swimming and other uses. For example, the EIR describes plans to improve storm drains so that pollutant-laden runoff only enters the lagoon in the largest rains.

However, restoration of natural areas is also included in the plans!

Several areas of wetlands will be formed along the margins of the lagoon, and a "bird island" will be created. Eel grass beds in the open water will be restored.

For more details, also check out the Friends of Colorado Lagoon.

Sea turtles in Long Beach!

2008-09-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Press-Telegram has an article about green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Long Beach!

Apparently, about a dozen of the endangered critters are swimming up the San Gabriel river, attracted by the warmth from the powerplant that uses the river to cool its generators.

Read the article here.

Presumably, the turtles are hanging out in the soft-bottomed estuarine portion of the river (south of PCH), and not going into the concrete-lined freshwater portions (pictured below):

I have never seen turtles in the San Gabriel River, but now that I know they are there, I'll be sure to look!

Marine Protected Areas

2008-09-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

This post is an update to let you know about a meeting hosted by the Long Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

The meeting is Wednesday, 7 pm at the Barnes and Nobles Bookstore at the Marina Pacifica Mall (6326 E Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, CA):

View Larger Map

The meeting concernes Marine Protected Areas--a statewide initiative to establish zones in the ocean and along the coast to protect marine life. The actual regulations in these areas may include prohibitions on commercial or recreational fishing, and may impact a number of other activities.

It is unclear to me (and seems doubtful) that any such areas will include Long Beach, although plenty of nearby areas may be affected, including areas near the Channel Islands.

Again?!?!?!?

2008-08-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Our beaches are closed yet again because of a sewage spill. Almost the entire shoreline is affected.

The curretn spill comes from leaking pipes in Watts. These pipes dumped 20,000 gallons of raw sewage into Compton Creek, which is a major tributary of the Los Angeles River. The LA River, of course, is the largest source of water and sediment on our beaches, and poor water quality there has a huge impact on the Long Beach coast.

Would tearing down the breakwater help in this situation? Perhaps, though indirectly. Increased water circulation at the beach might help flush out the sewage once it lands in our front door.

However, we might get a bigger bang-for-the-buck by improving upstream sewage infrastructure so spills like these happen less often.

Read the story in today's LA Times.

In the meantime, here's a photo of our beach in happier, more festive times:

Return to Golden Shores

2008-06-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

I made a quick trip back to Golden Shores to see if I could get any better "action shots" of birds in the wild.

And what a day it was!

Lots of foraging snowy egrets:

A great blue heron:

Quite a few caspian terns:

It's great to watch these guys hover and dive for fish!

(The industrial areas of the harbor make quite a backdrop for Golden Shores!)

A juvenile black-crowned night heron was hanging out in a nearby tree:

They do look kind of awkward perched like that, but they are quite at home there! Most of these wading birds start there lives in tree-bound rookeries. They nest in huge aggregations of multiple species. In fact, most of the herons and egrets you see were born in just a small number of areas. Protecting these few trees--even in highly urbanized areas--is critical to preserving the species for vast parts of the globe.

The highlight of the day was (for me!) an osprey that was soaring up the LA River!

These sea-eagles (as they are sometimes called) feed extensively on fish, and so few of the other birds took notice of this guy, as he was no threat to them.

In this photo, you can see how little the snowy egret cares about the osprey flying within a few feet of him!

Brief notes from Rainbow Lagoon

2008-05-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Remember how I derided Rainbow Lagoon for being overhyped as a natural area?

Well, this little park has surprised me again. I was walking from downtown Pine to the Long Beach Gay Pride celebration, when I noticed a huge school of bass swimming in the shallows!

Consultation with my ichthyological buddies have indicated that this was a school of mixed species, including sand bass (Paralabrax nebulifer, top) kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus, bottom):

There may have been other species as well!

In deeper (and, sadly, unphotographable) water, I saw a huge flatfish--almost certainly a California halibut (Paralichthys californicus). Definitely keep an eye out for these monsters next time you're by the lagoon!

Where did these fish come from? Did they swim in naturally with the tides? Or (I suspect) were they stocked by the Aquarium as a way of brining the ocean closer to the public?

If anyone knows, send me an email!

Dominguez Gap Wetlands

2008-05-13T19:50:00.001-07:00

Long time, no post fellow Long Beachistanis!

Sorry about the cold shoulder... I've been--distracted. By things. Plus, there weren't too many wildernesses left to explore in Long Beach!

All that changed this past weekend, though. We have a brand new wetland!

The Dominguez Gap Wetlands were officially opened to the public this May.

These wetlands are located along the LA River south of Del Amo Boulevard, adjoining DeForest Park. But unlike DeForest, this isn't techinically a "park" and it isn't managed by the Long Beach Parks Department. Instead, it's managed by the LA County Department of Public Works.

Adjacent to the park, you can see the confluence of Compton Creek and the LA River:

These wetlands aren't at all natural--they were constructed and serve a variety of purposes. Specifically, the wetlands are designed to treat stormwater (removing nutrients and metals before it enters the LA River and the Pacific Ocean. It will also help recharge the groundwater in the area. In addition, the wetland provides habitat for wildlife. And wetland-dependent wildlife is desparate for real estate in southern LA County! (You can learn more about constructed treatment wetlands in this PDF from the EPA).

As you can see, the wetlands are built so that water enters individual cells. In each cell, nutrients and pollutants are removed, before passing on to the next cell. As the water moves through the wetland, more and more pollutants are removed.

Tules and other wetland plants separate the cells.

The slopes of Dominguez Gap are flowering with a riot of colors right now.

The yellow spikes of flowers are false-lupines (Thermopsis macrophylla). In addition, poppies, sages, chia, and limnanthus were flowering profusely.

This hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is more typical of oak-woodland habitat.

The landscapers were clearly going for more of a "grassland" than coastal sage-scrub, which may have been more appropriate. But I'm sure they had their reasons. No doubt the appearance of the wetlands will change drastically as the plants duke it out with each other (and the inevitable invasion of mustards and other weeds). Sapling cottonwoods and sycamores may eventually tower over the whole park.

The plants may have been utterly delicious to these caterpillars:

Not sure which species they were, but there were hundreds of them on the trails!
Perhaps some would turn into mourning cloaks, like this one I saw:

Needless to say, the birds weren't letting the abundance go to waste, as this mockingbird shows us:

The birdlife was fantastic. I saw huge flocks of blackbirds, including red-winged, tricolored, and yellow-headed blackbirds.

Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) are common birds in marshes, and will probably do well at Dominguez Gap. Their songs are beautiful and evocative.

Tricolored blackbirds (Agelaius tricolor) are much rarer (in fact, they are species of special concern in California). They have similar wings (with white replacing the yellow on the epaulets), but the black is also much glossier.

Yellow-headed blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) were new to me! They traveled in the largest flocks (which included the other species of blackbirds, as well as a few starlings). Very cool-looking creatures!

Some other neat birds at this park:

American goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)

Lesser goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria). It's distinguished from the American goldfinch by its larger black cap.

Double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

A mother mallard and ducklings!

Oh, and cowboys!

Los Cerritos Wetlands--what's new?

2007-09-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

Wedding venues and wedding vendors

I haven't yet written up a post for the Los Cerritos wetlands, in east Long Beach, because access to this site is restricted, and I haven't yet had the opportunity.

But I have been keeping abreast of the news concerning this parcel, perhaps the only original wetland remaining in Long Beach (certainly the only one of any significant size).

Located on the Cerritos Channel (a tributary of the San Gabriel River), the Los Cerritos Wetlands are the subject of great controversy. The current ownership is a patchwork of city and state agencies, although the balance is privately held by the Bixby Company. The wetlands themselves are off-limits to development.

The fate of the upland areas, however, are in jeopardy. These areas are, of course, former wetlands. And there are plans to restore the marsh to recreate a portion of the extensive marshes that once existed in southeast Long Beach and northern Orange County. This project would rival in scale the restoration of the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach, and represent perhaps the only opportunity for such a large-scale wetland restoration.

The Home Depot has other plans, of course. They would like to build a large store in the center of these wetlands.

Supporters of the project point out that there currently no large hardware stores in the City of Long Beach, convienently ignoring the two Home Depots and the Lowe's Hardware in Signal Hill (that munchkin to our city donut). No Long Beach resident has to drive more than three miles to one of these stores. (Don't believe me? Check out this map on google.)

Our City Council supports this project, of course. Even though Long Beach residents have many nearby big-box stores to patronize, the sales taxes (an important source of revenue since Prop 13 dried up revenue from property taxes) go to Signal Hill, not us. Even our normally progressive and environmentally foreward thinking councilmembers (I'm specifically referring to 2nd District rep Suja Lowenthall here) voted to support the draft Environmental Impact Report. This joke of a document claimes to find "less than signfiicant" impacts to noise, traffic, aesthetics, historic resources, and natural resources. (Access the documents here.)

Fortunately, the California Coastal Commission isn't buying it. Staff at the Commission ruled that by accepting the EIR, the City allowed this area, zoned for industrial uses (it's currently a tank farm for oil extraction), allowed commercial development and violated open space requirements determined by the Local Coastal Program. If the Commission accepts the staff's findings (which they often do, unless outside pressure is applied), they will have to draft a new EIR mitigating loss to biological and other resources.

Read about it in the Press Telegram here.

Rainbow Lagoon

2007-08-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

I debated whether or not to include Rainbow Lagoon as a natural area. No doubt, the interpretive signs around the lagoon tells you that it is a haven for wildlife. There is half a truth to what they say. But that means that there is also a big fat half-lie too.

There is very little natural habitat here. The upland areas are mostly covered with lawns and non-native palm trees. It's a very urban park here, and there isn't to support wildlife here.

In the last century, most of this area was open ocean. The semi-circular Rainbow Pier was created in the 1920s, along with the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium. Soon after, the City began filling in the open water behind the pier. With the decline of Long Beach's downtown in the 1970s and 1980s, the City undertook aggressive revitalization plans, which included massive filling of the area behind the pier, to create the modern-day landscape.

Thus, Rainbow Lagoon is the vestige of the sheltered cove that was once protected by Rainbow Pier.

Oceanic salt water fills Rainbow Lagoon via underground pipes and culverts. This keeps a marine, but wave-free environmnent. In some ways, this is similar to natural lagoons (such as Malibu Lagoon) where waves are cut off by natural sand bars, which come and go with the seasons. In a natural state, this still water would be conducive the establishment of salt marsh plants, like Spartina foliosa. However, there are none to be found here.

In contrast to a natural lagoon, Rainbow Lagoon is paved with concrete and in general has a very hard "edge" which prevents the establishment of plants. As you can see in the picture above, there is no gradual shift from deep to shallow water; these gradients normally create a variety of depths, which are essential to a diverse fish community with species of different sizes. The far edge in the photograph is rocky, which adds a little diversity. But the hard substrate again does not allow plants to establish. No doubt the plant-free environment is an intentional component of the park management, as such plants could create nuissances in such an urban environment.

The blunted tidal inputs creates other problems for the lagoon: lack of oxygen. Wave energy and fresh inputs of ocean water would normally keep the oxygen levels high. Making matters worse, the concrete lining makes the water heat up in the sun, further depleting oxygen. To prevent oxygen levels from getting too low (which would result in massive fish-kills), water is agitated and circulated by fountains. These fountains also improve the aesthetics of the park.

The dense urban surroundings contribute a lot of pollution to the park, but vigilant maintenance keeps out most litter. Still, a lot of the junk that winds up in the lagoon contributes nutrients, like nitrate. These nutrients promote algae growth, which can be unsightly, odorous, and further deplete oxygen (remember: algae and other plants only produce oxygen when they are photosynthesizing--at night they consume oxygen, just like most living things).

The park is much more welcoming for human inhabitants than wildlife. There is a beautiful winding path that take you over colorful bridges, and paddle boats to take you over the water. It is a lovely park, just not wondeful for wildlife, notwithstanding this semi-informative interpretive sign:

And, in the end, the park is far better than a sterile lawn in terms of wildlife. I came across a green heron (Butorides viriscens) catching a small fish in the lagoon! These guys aren't exactly rare, but nor are they that commonly seen.

Get ready for Coastal Cleanup Day 2007

2007-08-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

Trash on our beautiful beach

Sunday, September 15, 2007 is California's Coastal Cleanup Day.

Why not devote half an hour to making Long Beach a more beautiful place? All you have to do is show up, and pick up trash you find along the beach.

Something is going on at nearly every stretch of the beach in Long Beach. In addition, there are inland sites along the Los Angeles River, and at the ponds in El Dorado Park. Remember: Trash anywhere on the strees in Long Beach will eventually wind up on the coast! So you can clean up the coast anywhere in the City. I'll post details about exact locations once they are known.

Coastal Cleanup Day is organized by the California Coastal Comission.

I participated in this event in 2006 at Alamitos Beach. So what did I think of it?

-Yes, it's kind of futile to think that one day of cleaning will have much of an impact. In fact, the beach didn't look any cleaner immediately after we finished.
-Some people don't quite get it. Some jerk dumped piles of moldy bread on the beach, and none of the volunteers thought it was littering until I pointed out to them that food on the beach attracts lots of rats.
-It's a great experience in self-education. There is FAR more litter on our beach than you might ever expect. And yes, it is all harmful to wildlife.
-It's a great public eductaion. If a man or woman sees hundreds of people cleaning up the beach, they may realize that the beach is something to value. Usually, people are ashamed to think someone else is cleaning up after them, and they will be more responsible with their own trash.
-They ask you to tally up all the pieces of trash you pick up. I think it's a waste of time and stupid. But for some people, it makes the task fun. I "guestimated" my numbers at the end. How many cigarette butts did you pick up? Eight billion?

By the way, they usually have awesome signs for the event. Last year's featured these cool wildlife cards:

The Cig-Egrett

The Spork Crab

Long Beach Water Department giving away grants for water-wise landscaping

2007-08-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

The Long Beach Water Department is giving away grants up to $5000 to encourage home owners to replace water-hogging lawns with water-wise landscaping.

The announcement can be downloaded here.

The deadline is September 28, 2007.

The desired projects will require little water and maintenance, have minimal runoff, and provide wildlife habitat.

Although they do not require that projects use native plants (for shame! they do not even mention native plants!), a native garden would meet every single one of their goals (especially wildlife habitat).

News: Fire at El Dorado Nature Center

2007-08-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

The Press Telegram reports that firefighters put out a small fire near the Nature Center on the evening of August 19. [article]

Hot embers from an unknown source ignited the compost bin, although arson hasn't been ruled out.

However, damage to property appears to have been minimal, and none of the animals in the building were harmed.

Although brush fires were a historically common event in southern California, and most plants and animals are very well adapted to it, the small size of El Dorado park means that wildlife are very vulernable to fires here. A large enough blaze could wipe out an entire population

Update

2007-08-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

I haven't done much on this blog in a long time. I have already covered most of the parks in Long Beach that contain significant natural areas (although there are quite a few, especially on the LA River, I have yet to visit!). I will continue to cover them, but in the future, this blog will expand to cover a variety of environmental issues affecting Long Beach and surrounding communities, especially those affecting Parks and natural habitats.

I hope you enjoy!

Cha'wot Nature Preserve (Signal Hill)

2007-07-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

Note: Location is approximate and not yet determined

Due to its small size, population density, and prolific oil industry, Signal Hill hardly retains any undeveloped open space. A few areas containing oil wells may one day become parks once the wells run dry, but few of these areas hold any promise for wildlife.

One exception is a 30-acre parcel on the north slope of Signal Hill. This property is currently owned by Signal Hill Petroleum and is strictly off-limits to the public due to safety concerns. The City, in conjuction with the Trust for Public Lands begun talks with the petroleum company to purchase the land. Everything is still in the early planning stages, and the final size/shape/appearance of the park has yet to be determined. The San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles River and Mountains Conservancy has conducted some of the studies that are necessary to turn this once-productive oil field into a park.

The name "Cha'wot" comes from the word used by the indigenous Tongva people to mean "signal-fire," referring to the signals used by the village in Long Beach (Puvungna, now the campus of Cal State Long Beach) to communicate with neighbors on Catalina Island and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

You can take a look at the future site of the park from Combellack Drive. From the street, the slopes appear to be dominated by nonnative trees and grasses. The Long Beach chapter of the Sierra Club has spotted more than 70 species of birds among the eucalypts trees, but it is unclear if a thorough assessment of the biological resources has been done. You can read about their work on this project in past issues of their newsletter.

The entryway doesn't say "Welcome", but it doesn't say "Unwelcome" either.... Still, best not to tresspass.

What do they have in mind? Maybe a woodland? Some sage-scrub? I imagine the tall eucalyptus are staying, but I wonder how much of the exotic vegetation they plan on removing....

Some of the prettier (but non-native) flowers from the site:

Moss verbena (Verbena tenuisecta), from South America.

Gazania (Gazania linearis), from South Africa

West San Gabriel River Parkway (Lakewood)

2007-07-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

The San Gabriel River Parkway and Monteverde Park in Lakewood are, perhaps, better examples of landscaping with native vegetation than native habitat restoration. The Parkway has a very manicured appearance, with long stretches of grass intersperesed with native plant gardens. Perhaps this appearance is a result of the newness of the park. The older portions at the southern end of the Parkway have larger patches of sage-scrub, more similar in appearance to the Long Beach Greenbelt.

None of this means that the Parkway isn't a beautiful place to visit, or that it lacks the wildlife benefits of more wild parks. The bird-life here is terrific, as flocks of finches and mourning doves gorge themselves on seeds, phoebes catch insects mid-air, and scrub jays squawk aggressively to establish their territories. I believe that the the River Parkway is an excellent example of how environmental concerns can be accomodated in even non-wildland parks, and I hope that this approach gets more widespread.

There are two parts to the parkway: Phase I (the larger, southern portion, between Carson Street and Del Amo Boulevard) and Phase II (the smaller northern portion, just above Del Amo). In between is Monteverde Park, which is partially landscaped by native plants and attepmts to recreate a few natural communities.

The trail winds sinuously through the parkway from one garden-like planting to the next. There is little shade in the park, as most of the trees are still very short. Perhaps in a few years, this park will be a bit more shady.

Trees of the Parkway:

Western sycamore (Platanus racemosa) is a typical riparian tree, growing along-side streams and in moist canyons. It has distinctive mottled bark, and the fruits hang in little strings.

Valley oaks (Quercus lobata) grow well in moist areas. Old trees can reach impressive stature. The tree drops its broad, thin leaves in the winter. Poor regeneration has been documented throughout the state, and this oak is now increasingly threatened.

The coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) is far more common in our region than the valley oak. It keeps its hard brittle leaves throughout the year.

The beds are lushly planted with wildflowers typical of coastal sage-scrub, such as California sage, buckwheat, and Mexican elderberry. Maby of these plants have showy flowers and are very attractive to butterflies. The berries and seeds are also important food for wildlife.

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) visiting the flowers of a Mexican elderberry (Sambucus mexicana)

A huge carpenter bee (Xylocarpa sp.) visits the flowers of Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii)

A scrub-jay (Aphelocoma californica) in a western redbud tree (Cercis occidentalis)

There are plenty of wildflowers to enjoy here:

Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii)

Creeping majonia (Berberis aquifolium repens)

Bush sunflower (Encelia californica)

[Need ID]

[Need ID]

[Need ID]

[Need ID]

Among the plantings are nonnative butterfly bushes (Buddleja davidii). This plant was an unfortunate choice to include in the park, as Buddleja is a major invasive pest and a threat to native plants.

Outside the gardens, the grass grows a bit wild, and many wildflowers proliferate here.

The unmowed grass reflects a wildlife-friendly and water-wise approach to park management.

The landscape is countoured to direct the flow to the river. The vegetation in the swale provides some treatment for the stormwater. In these wetter areas, the wildflowers are most abundant.

Flax-flowered linanthus (Linanthus liniflorus) is one of the more common and shower flowers in this area.

An aster (probably Erigeron sp.)

Yarrow, or milfoil (Achillea millefolium) has strongly aromatic leaves.

Heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum)

In very wet areas of the grass, stands of cattails grow.

Southern cattail (Typha domingensis) is distinguished from other species by the wide space between the upper male flowers and the lower female flowers.

At the southern end of the parkway, the more mature plantings take on a more genuinely wild appearance, like a natural sage-scrub habitat. These areas are profuse with flowering sages, buckwheat, and sagebrush.

The orange poppies (Eschscholzii californica)and the purple Cleveland sage flowers (Salvia clevelandii) make an excellent contrast!

The silvery gray California sagebrush (Artemesia californica) is one of the most important plants of the coastal sage-scrub. Many species of birds rely on its leaves for cover and its seeds for food. The yellow flowers behind belong to the bush sunflower (Encelia californica).

California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) provides white-to-pink flowers all year.

A large expanse of sage provides a striking note for its foliage as much as for its flowers.

In addition to coastal sage-scrub, the southern end of the parkway has a few chaparral areas as well. Many, like the California lilac, have conspiculous flowers.

California lilac (Ceanothus sp.)

Manzanita (Arctostaphylos sp.). The bright red leaves are galls caused by the manzanita leaf-gall aphid (Tamalia coweni).

Although the park rambles along the San Gabriel River, there is no real effort to connect the park with the river. Such a task is nearly impossible given the extensive channelization here. Although these concrete channels effectively eliminate the risk of floods they also eliminate nearly all value to wildlife. Wetland and riparian plants cannot establish on the concrete bed, and few fish or insects can withstand the super-high water velocity and lack of protective cover. Sadly, such habitat destruction has afflicted most of the lower San Gabriel River, and almost all of the Los Angeles River. Most of Southern California's rivers have suffered a similar fate. Careful planning and prevention of sprawl is necessary to protect the few unchannelized rivers left in the region.

But just as a crack in the sidewalk may be enough habitat for a wildflower, some wildlife manage to find some foraging in the San Gabriel channel. The river is best appreciated from the bikepath along the east side of the river.

Near the Parkway, slight shifitng of the soil has allowed shallow flooding over a short stretch of river. In these low-velocity shallows, a few bugs can hang out, attracting birds who eat them.

Some of the birds you may see here:

Black-necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus)

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) (plus some more stilts)

Small, but noisy killdeer (on the left, Charadrius vociferus), with yet more stilts.

A cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Restoration opportunities

2007-06-24T00:15:00.000-07:00

These are some ideas for restoration of natural habitats in the parks included in this guide. These are not recommendations--these are rather ideas that should be evaluated by the powers-that-be (Long Beach Parks Dept, City Council, etc.). Or you. If you like these ideas (or hate them), contact the powers-that-be and let them know!

Colorado Lagoon
Regrading of slopes, creation of new salt marsh habitat

Slopes may be regraded to restore tidal flow to many areas that are now maintained as lawn.
Cost: High, although fill disposal would be minimal.
Chance of success: High--restoring tidal flow would ensure establishment of salt marsh plants.
Benefits: High.
Risks: Loss of areas of active recreation. New wetland areas may accumulate trash.

Restore native vegetation on bluffs

Remove nonnative iceplants and replace with a native bluff community.
Cost: Low
Chance of success: Moderate. Exotic plants may re-establish. Maintenance would be required.
Benefits: Moderate to high. No native habitat currently exists at Colorado Lagoon.
Risks: Maintenance is required to avoid re-establishment of non-native vegetation.

Golden Shores Preserve
Restore coastal sage-scrub vegetation to upland areas
Cost: Low
Chance of success: High. Current horticultural plants unlikely to re-establish.
Benefits: Moderate: No native upland habitat currently exists in the area.
Risks: Establishment of non-native species.

Increase public access to wetland areas

Remove fence, create new aesthetic fencing and/or boardwalk to improve access to the wetlands. Long Beach Parks identified this as a need in the Riverlink plan for the Los Angeles River.
Cost: Moderate
Chance of success: High.
Benefits: High. Increasing access to the marsh will improve awareness and appreciation of wetland habitats, decrease illegal dumping.
Risks: Increasing access may lead to trampling, littering (although major illegal dumping will be decreased).

Long Beach Greenebelt
Expand restoration area

Remove nonnative vegetation and replace with native coastal sage-scrub habitat between 4th and Ximeno streets. This area currently contains turf in very poor condition.
Cost: Moderate to low.
Chance of success: High.
Benefits: High. May reconnect sage-scrub with wetland habitats at Colorado Lagoon.
Risks: Loss of active recreation areas. Establishment of nonnative species must be prevented through continued maintenance.

Increase environmental education
Create interpretive signs, trail guides.
Cost: Low
Chance of success: High.
Benefits: High.
Risks: None.

Jack Dunster Reserve
Minimal opportunities for restoration. This park is pretty well built-out and maintained.

Marine Stadium Marine Reserve
Restore coastal sage-scrub vegetation to upland areas

Cost: Low
Chance of success: High
Benefits: Moderate to low. Currently no upland habitat exists at the site.
Risks: Low to none. Proper landscaping may be required to overcome objections to appearance of nonnative vegetation.

Regrading of slopes, creation of new salt marsh habitat
Slopes may be regraded to restore tidal flow to many areas that are now maintained as lawn.
Cost: High.
Chance of success: High--restoring tidal flow would ensure establishment of salt marsh plants.
Benefits: Moderate to high. Not too much area for expansion of intertidal areas.
Risks: Loss of areas of active recreation. New wetland areas may accumulate trash.

Bluff Park
Increase restoration area

Remove nonnative iceplant and replace with native vegetation east of current restored area. Restore isolated patches west of current restored area. Stabilize slopes.
Cost: Moderate.
Chance of success: Moderate to high.
Benefits: Moderate
Risks: Expand feral cat population. Maintenance required to prevent re-establishment of nonnative vegetation.

Control feral cat population

Use trapping, outreach to reduce feral cat population.
Cost: Low.
Chance of success: Low.
Benefits: High. Feral cats are a major threat to native wildlife.
Risks: Most effective control measures (e.g., trapping and killing) unacceptable to many people. Maintenance required to avoid re-establishment of feral cat populations.

The Beach
Improve tidal flushing by removing breakwater.
Cost: Very high
Chance of success: Moderate to high.
Benefits: Increased flushing will remove trash and reduce levels of harmful bacteria at the beach. Some wildlife may increase as well.
Risks: Unclear how much improvement can be expected. Some breakwater must be maintained for safety of the port.

Shoreline Park

Expand restored area into areas currently maintained as lawn or landscaped vegetation (e.g,. eastward and around the edge of the peninsula).
Cost: Low.
Chance of success: Moderate to high.
Benefits. Moderate. Very little native habitat currently exists at the site.
Risks: Loss of recreation areas. Increased vagrancy due to "unkempt" appearance of landscape. Possible increase in feral cat populations. Natural dynamic dune ecosystem unlikely to be created at this site.

Sims Pond
Increase public access
Safe access may be increased by opening gates and creating a trail, boardwalk, or viewing platform. Create interpetive materials.
Cost: Moderate to low.
Chance of success: High.
Benefits: Moderate. Access will probably always be restricted due to proximity of homeowners.
Risks: Increased disturbance of neighbors and wildlife. Increased dumping in the pond.

Shoreline Park

2007-06-23T16:47:00.001-07:00

Red area outlines dune restoration area.

Shoreline Park may seem like an incongruous place for nature--it is, after all, built on artificial landfill. The open water and mudflats that used to be found here have been destroyed to create Rainbow Harbor. However, the park that now sits on top of this fill has a small restoration area that includes a habitat found in no other place in Long Beach--the sand dune. In addition, the park is a great place to observe rocky shoreline and open water habitats. And, of course, the park is home to The Aquarium of the Pacific, one of Southern California's premier destinations for anyone curious about the natural world.

The skyscrapers of downtown Long Beach are easily visible from the restoration area.

Sand dunes were probably common along the beaches and island around Long Beach, but the creation of the Port and development along the beach has essentially erradicated them. The "dune" in Long Beach in no way resembles the real thing--you actually get a more reasonable facsimile at the eastern end of the Beach near the Peninsula, where the sands blow freely in the breezes. However, many plants of a mature dune community have been planted here to recreate the ecosystem.

Principle among these plants is the familiar shrub, coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis).

Coyote bush is the most common shrub in the dunes of Shoreline Park.

This shrub has a gall, possibly caused by the Baccharis gall fly (Cecidomyiidae: Rhopalomyia californica). Although the gall kills the growing tip of the branch, the plant is generally not severely affected by this parasite.

California sagebrush is the other common shrub. Its leaves release a distinctive odor when crushed.

California sagebrush (Artemesia californica). Although the odorous oils in the plant are thought to make the plants distasteful to herbivores, it seems that these aphids are undeterred.

The shrubs have an understory of wildflowers, including the beach evening primrose (Camissonia cheiranthifolia), seacliff buckwheat (Erogonum parvifolium), and bush sunflower (Encelia californica).

Wildflowers grow under and between the shrubs.

Unlike the more common buckwheat found further from shore, seacliff buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium) has heart-shaped leaves.

Beach evening primrose (Camissonia cheiranthifolia) can grow as a low, spreading plant or upright as a small shrub.)

A few of the more eye-catching nonnative weeds I saw in the park:

Yellow sweetclover (Melilotus indica)

White sweetclover (Melilotus alba)

Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis)

The stone riprap that protects the park from erosion creates a second habitat to observe at Shoreline Park: the rocky shoreline.

Sea birds are abundant and conspicuous here--many gulls, egrets, and cormorants patrol the shores looking for fish and invertebrates in the shallows or in the mud.

Snowy egrets (Egretta thula) are easily identified by their black bills and bright yellow feet.

It is easy to observe the abundant mussels (Mytillus californianus) and acorn barnacles (Balanus spp.) that attach to these rocks, as well as sea lettuce (Ulva spp.). Schools of fish (mostly perch) swarm in the shallows. Interpretive signs erected by the Aquarium optimistically tell you to keep an eye out for California sea-hares (Aplysia californica), but the water was far too turbid, oily and slicked with grime to discern these creatures.

The Aquarium has put up a lot of interpretive signs around the park. One of the most interesting was a 3-D painting of the Los Angeles Basin.

Seen from one side, you see the pre-development basin. But from the other angle, you see the modern-day landscape.

Acess to the park is easy by the Shoreline Bike Path, the LB Transit Passport, and Pine Avenue Link.

Sims' Pond Biological Reserve

2007-06-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

This park is operated by the City of Long Beach, but it is entirely inaccessible. A chain-link fence blocks off all access from the streets, and the other boundaries of the park are abutted by private property. [See Bailey's explanation below.]

The Los Ceritos Wetland Stewards hosts occasional clean-ups of this park, so you can contact them (info@lcwstewards.org) about accessing the pond on those dates.

Still, walking along the exterior of the park on Loynes or PCH provides an opportunity for bird watching and appreciating the pond itself.

The pond is almost entirely ringed with wetlands. Bulrushes (Scirpus acutus and Scirpus californicus) and cattails (Typha dominguensis and Typha latifolia) stand tall right at the water's edge. Tiny duckweed (Lemna sp.) float in the open water, covering the pond with an opaque green mat.

On higher ground, several species of willow grow. Their fluffy seeds catch sunset light beautifully.

These tall trees provide excellent roosting for birds, such as this black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax):

The pond provides food for the herons. I spied one heron struggling to eat a fish it had caught:

The LB Transit 171 and Passport-D bus take you this park.

Learn more

2007-06-17T23:39:00.000-07:00

Websites
Calflora A website that contains photos of nearly every species and subspecies of plant found in California.

California Herps A guide to the reptiles and amphibians of California.

Books

These books are great references to learn about the natural history of southern California:

Oscar F. Clarke, Danielle Svehla, Greg Ballmer, and Arlee Montalvo. 2007. Flora of the Santa Ana River and Environs, with References to World Botany. Berkeley, CA. Heydey Books.[pruchase from CNPS]

Peter R. Dallman. 1998. Plant life in the World's Mediterranean Climates. University of California Press. Berkeley, CA. [purchase from CNPS]

Phyllis M. Faber. Common Wetland Plants of Coastal California. 1996. Pickleweed Press. Berkeley, CA. [purchase from CNPS]

Phyllis M. Faber and Robert Holland. 1996. Common Riparian Plants of California. Pickleweed Press. Berkeley, CA. [purchase from CNPS]

Joe Linton. 2005. Down by the Los Angeles River. Wilderness Press. Berkeley, CA.

Philip W. Rundell and Robert Gustafson. 2005. Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California: Coast to Foothills. California Natural History Guides. University of California Press.

Things you can do to help

2007-06-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

Visit these parks. If you ignore them, they will go away.

Report littering. Call the Long Beach Parks Department at (562) 570-3100. Yes, they DO want to hear from you!

Join a Coastal Cleanup. These occur at nearly all the parks described in this site. The beaches have cleanups at least once a month. At the very least, people who watch you pick up litter will think twice about their trash. The Parks Department runs a number of clean-up, tree-planting, and restoration activities throughout the year.

Garden wisely. Use native plants (or at least, native-friendly plants), which require very little fertilizer, pesticides or water. A list of plants for the Palos Verdes Peninsula has been developed by the California Native Plant Society--all these plants are suitable for Long Beach as well!
You can purchase native plants from these sources (at least, at certain times of year).

Be a responsible pet-owner. Snip snip snip. Scoop scoop scoop.

Join an environmental group. Here's a list of great organizations that are helping out in Long Beach.

Be a good citizen. Vote. Call/write/email your elected officials (senate representative governor state assembly state senate city council mayor) and the newspapers (LA Times Press-Telegram The Grunion/Downtown Gazettes The District), as well as local blogs LBReport Long Beach Politics.

Jack Dunster Marine Reserve

2007-06-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

This park is a gem. A little hard to get to, but well worth the trip.

There are many short trails to wander about the park--though nothing you could rightfully call a hike. Benches provide many pleasant places to sit and gaze at the busy boat traffic in Alamitos Bay.

This area is a restoration site that was created as mitigation for wetlands lost on Santa Catalina Island. It's a bit non-traditional of a restoration, becaues much of the restored habitat contains species endemic to Catalina Island. Purists (like me) might argue that restoring a nonnative habitat (nonnative to the mainland US) doesn't really count as a restoration. But I won't argue that the park is beautiful and has great environmental and educational value.

Unlike the Golden Shore Preserve, this restoration includes a good deal of upland habitat. The wetlands are small, but very easily viewed from shore or from the viewing docks.

Viewing docks let you get closer to the water and watch marine life. Birds also like to perch on these docks as well!

From the dock and near the shore, you can examine the mudflats at low tide. The mudflats are full of burrows created by fiddler crabs:

To see the crabs, you must stand still for a while--they scurry into their holes when you approach, and will only exit once they feel safe.

These crabs have an enlarged claw (usually the right) which they swing and wave to establish territories and attract mates.

Fiddler crabs wave their claws to signal to each other.

At slightly higher elevations, the mudflats turn into salt marshes. At the Dunster Preserve, the marshes were planted with California cordgrass (Spartina foliosa), salt grass (Distychlis spicata), pickelweed (Salicornia sp.), and alkali heath (Frankenia salina). The last two are susceptible to parasitism by an unusual plant known as dodder (in this case, salt-marsh dodder).

A small restored salt marsh area, heavily parasitized by dodder Cuscuta salina)

Pickelweed (Salicornia sp.)

Alkali heath (Frankenia salina), heavily parasitized by salt-marsh dodder (Cuscuta salina). Alkali heath is unusual for salt marsh plants in that it has showy flowers that attract insect pollinators.

This pretty little plant was also growing in the salt marsh area. It resembles crystalline ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum), but I'm not sure of the ID.

The upland area contains many of the same plants you might expect from the coastal sage-scrub areas that used to dominate Long Beach:

California encelia, or bush sunflower (Encelia californica)

Quail bush(Atriplex lentiformis)

Lemonade berry Rhus integrifolia

Estuary sea-blite (Suaeda esteroa)

Coast prickly-pear (Opuntia littoralis)

Bladderpod (Isomeris arborea), with nymphs of a harlequin bug (Murgantia histrionica).

Chalk dudleya (Dudleya sp.)

Golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertifolium)

Red sand-verbena (Abronia maritima). Note how the flower stalks are held erect, but the seed pods dangle straight down!

Wartleaf ceanothus (Ceanothus papillosus sp.)

But the preserve also showcases a number of unique plants endemic to Santa Catalina Island, located 25 miles to the southwest:

Santa Catalina--like the other California Channel Islands--is a botanical wonderland, filled with many unusual plant species found nowhere else on earth. (Animals too!) Many of these rare plants have been included in the Dunster Reserve as mitigation for habitat loss on the island. These unusual island plants are often similar to mainland forms, but gigantized in some way or another.

For example, compare the mainland coreopsis:

Corepsis (Coreopsis sp.)

with its island relative, the giant coreopsis:

Giant coreopsis Coreopsis gigantea. Even though it looks like topiary, this specimen displays the natural growthform of this species.

Similarly, compare the common California buckwheat of the mainland:

California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)

with its giant island relative:

Giant buckwheat (Eriogonum giganteum)

Other unusual island endemics are also represented in the park:

Island mallow (Lavatera assurgentifolia)

Island snapdragon (Galvezia speciosa)

Partial list of plants:
Coastal dudleya (Dudleya caespitosa)
Chalk dudleya (Dudleya pulverulenta)
Mulefat (Baccharis salicifolia)
Coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis)
Golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertifolium
California encelia (Encelia californica)
Bladderpod (Isomeris arborea)
Coastal prickly pear (Opuntia littoralis)
Red sand-verbena (Abronia maritima)
Estuary sea-blite (Suaeda esteroa)
Salt-marsh dodder (Cuscuta salina)

This park is perhaps the least accessible by public transit. All bus stops are about 1/2 mile away or more. You can try the 181, 182, 171, or Passport-D.

Marine Stadium Marine Reserve

2007-06-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

This is a very small and bizarre reserve. It consists of two small patches of salt marsh (perhaps under 200 square feet total), some sandy shore, and riprap.

The upland portions are very pretty, but entirely landscaped by nonnative horticultural plants.

The surrounding park (Marine Vista Park) is also very pretty and a great place for picnic or recreation, but the nature reserve itself is not worth much of a visit. The nearby Jack Dunster Marine Reserve is a much better destination for exploring a natural habitat.

I imagine the "marine reserve" designation is a zoning restriction meant to protect the wetland remnants from further destruction.

Bluff Park

2007-06-16T15:55:00.001-07:00

Red area highlights restored coastal bluff areas. Restored areas include parts of Bluff Park, City Beach, grounds of the Museum of Art, and Bixby Park. Un-restored bluff extends several miles east. West of this area, the bluffs are largely built-over.

Most beach visitors keep their gaze on the ocean, with their backs to the land behind them. But in Long Beach, nature-watchers may want to turn around and take a look at the coastal bluffs form the spine of the beach.

Panorama of the bluffs

Even if beach-goers ignore the bluffs, they should be thankful for the solitude they provide. These bluffs provide something of a visual barrier that separates the dense urban development from the shore. Other beaches with bluffs, such as Laguna Beach, Point Dume, and Palos Verdes, are widely appreciated for their seclusion and peacefulness, in contrast to bluff-free beaches like Huntington or Venice, where civilization seems to run right up to the waves.

Geologically speaking, these bluffs are all raised sea terraces. In some areas of Los Angeles County, more than 20 distinct terraces can be identified. These terraces are typically ocean sediments that have consolidated into sandstone, which is raised from the water due to tectonic action. In nearby areas, fossilized organisms (such as fish, mollusks, whales) have been collected in marine terraces, such as Point Fermin on the Palos Verdes peninsula [ref]. I found no records of fossils unearthed from these bluffs in Long Beach, but perhaps it's only a matter of time before some turn up!

Most of the 2.5-mile bluff (ranging from ~Alamitos to the Belmont Pier) is dominated by non-native vegetation, such as iceplant, or by bare and eroding cliffs. However, a short stretch (0.2 mile) of bluff east of the Long Beach Museum of Art supports a diverse assemblage of native plants, typical of Southern California coastal bluffs. I do not know the history of this stretch--most likely it is the product of restoration efforts by the City of Long Beach. Another short restored area is found further east, near Redondo Boulevard. Perhaps more of the bluffs can be restored!

The restored areas are best appreciated from the top, in Bluff Park. The parts of the bluff closer to the beach are mostly (but not entirely) overrun by nonnative plants.

The bluffs in the foreground are dominated by one or two species of iceplant. Diversity is much higher in the restored area in the rear. Also, the more heterogeneous plant structure is better for wildlife.

Botanically speaking, these bluffs have much in common with coastal sage scrub communities, with few differences. Specialists, such as seacliff buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium), coastal goldenbush (Isocoma menziesii) and coastal liveforever (Dudleya caespitosa) are restricted to these habitats. Unfortunately, I did not encounter any of these rare specailists in the Long Beach bluffs.

Coastal bluff communities face a number of pressures from the natural environment. Plants here typically grow on shallow, nutrient-poor soils that hold little water. Winds are high, furthering dessication and stunting growth. Also, salts in the soil can inhibit many species.

Some of the plants of the Long Beach bluffs:

California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)

Southern California morning glory (Calystegia macrostegia)

Coastal prickly pear (Opuntia littoralis)

California encelia, or bush sunflower(Encilia californica)

Bladderpod (Isomeris arborea)

Apart from huge numbers of feral cats (see below), it's hard to observe wildlife at the bluffs. Hardly any of the small mammals, lizards, or birds one might expect to find can survive the intense predation from the cats. However, the more exposed parts of the bluff (which are avoided by cats) support nests for cliff swalls [pics forthcoming!]. In addition, the insect fauna is rich here, as these critters are little bothered by the felines.

A colorful species of buttefly in the blue family (Lycaenidae). A large number of these insects were attracted to this unidentified plant, a member of the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae). In addition, many species of native and nonnative bees, as well as colorful hoverflies are attracted to the blooming plants on the coastal bluff.

Threats

The coastal bluffs in Long Beach face a number of stresses. Development, of course, has erradicated the bluffs west of the Museum. Non-native species (especially the iceplants) completely displace other species and eliminates much of the natural biodiversity.

Some photos of nonnative plants at the bluffs:

Several kinds of iceplant:

Carpobrotus edulis

Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

Tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca)

Wild radish (Raphanus sativus)

Common geranium (Geranium dissectum)

Yellow star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis)

However, there are a number of additional threats in this area not as prevalent in other parks: erosion and feral cats.

Erosion is a natural process, in which the sandstone bluffs weather away from winds and rain. However, extensive trampling of the bluffs by people has exacerbated erosion to a terrible extent. Furthermore, the trampling elmiinates all vegetative cover (even the iceplants), so no plants are able to stabilize the soils on the bluffs. The resulting damage is costly and threatens safety of vehicles and pedestrians on Ocean Boulevard. Furthermore, the eroded sediment carries nutrients and toxins into the ocean, further harming water quality.

Two members of the bluff's large cat colony

A huge number of cats live in the bluffs of Long Beach. Although they seem to be more common in the shrubs of the restored area, they can be found throughout the entire length of the bluffs. The cats undoubtedly thrive off of the trash and detritus left by careless beachgoers. However, the population is further buoyed by well-intentioned individuals who provide them with food year round.

Food purposefully left out for the cat colony
The huge cat population creates a number of environmental problems. They produce large amounts of waste, which is a health hazard and another source of pollution in the ocean. Furthermore, stray cats have decimated populations of native birds and mammals. It is no wonder that the Long Beach bluffs are devoid of some of the fauna you might expect in this habitat (e.g., ground squirrels, birds, lizards).

A trap for the cats
Efforts to control the population have been controversial, as few people support outright erradication. Stray cats are generally unsuitable for adoption (unless they are caught as kittens). Sterilization is expensive, time-consuming, and often fail.

Partial list of flora
California encelia (Asteraceae: Encelia californica)
Mulefat (Asteraceae: Baccharis salicifolia)
Yellow star thistle (non-native) (Asteraceae: Centaurea solstitialis)
Bladderpod (Capparaceae: Isomeris aroborea)
California buckwheat (Polygonaceae: Eriogonum fasciculatum)
Coastal prickly pear (Cactaceae: Opuntia littoralis)
Australian saltbush (nonnative): (Chenopodaceae: Atriplex semibaccata)
California poppy (Papaveraceae): Eschscholzia californica)
Crystaline iceplant (non-native): (Azioaceae: Mesembryanthemum crystallinum)
Sea fig (non-native) (Azioaceae: Carpobrotus edulis and C. chilensis)
Slender-leaved ice plant (non-native) (Azioaceae: Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum)
Mustard (non-native) (Brassicaceae: Brassica rapa)
Wild radish (non-native) (Brassicaceae: Raphanus sativus)
Common geranium (non-native) (Geraniaceae: Geranium dissectum)
Tree tobacco (non-native) (Solanaceae: Nicotiana glauca)

Partial list of fauna
Cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
Pigeons (Columba livia)
Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Feral cats (Felis domesticus)

This park is accessible by the Beach bikepath, by the Passport (A and D), and by the 21, 22, and 23 bus routes.

Golden Shores Preserve

2007-06-16T13:42:00.001-07:00

The Golden Shores Marine Biological Preserve was created as mitigation for wetlands destroyed elsewhere in the port area.

The Golden Shores Marine Biological Preserve, nestled between downtown and the port area on the Los Angeles River

The mouth of the Los Angeles River used to contain a great deal of wetlands, but nearly all of them have been destroyed--mostly in the construction of the port. [oldmap]

The wetland is right next to Catalina Landing, and is easily visited by the LB Transit Passport bus, or by the LA River bikepath. However, once you are there, access is restricted by ugly chainlink fences.

You must content yourself with gazing at the marsh from the shore. Bring binoculars to get the most out of your time here.

The stands of Spartina form little islands that rapidly accumulate peat--just one of the many critical functions of wetlands.

The wetland largely consists of salt grass (Distychlis spicata), with a few areas of pickelweed (Salicornia). In wetter areas along the main channel, taller cordgrasses grow (Spartina, presumably the native California cordgrass, S. foliosa). Even though Spartina plants grow closer to the ocean, they are in fact less salt tolerant than the salt grass and pickelweed that grow at higher elevations. This may seem backwards, but the further from the water, the saltier the environment. Tidal channels get flooded daily, so the water is never saltier than the ocean. In contrast, the higher elevation areas get inundated only during higher tides, so the salt gets concentrated until the next flooding flushes it out.

The taller cordgrasses grow in the wetter areas, where regular flushing keeps salinities low. Saltgrass and pickleweed can tolerate the higher salinities where flushing occurs less often.

Pickleweed (Salicornia)

In addition to the marsh habitat, the restoration includes some mudflat and open-water areas.

Mudflats at Golden Shore Preserve

These habitats might seem barren, but they are critical spawning grounds for fish, and provide excellent forage for waterfowl.

Despite the intense industry around the park, wildlife watching is pretty good here. Many birds, including herons, grebes, cormorants, and pelicans find plenty of fish to catch in the protected waters.

Pelicans taking off at Golden Shore Preserve

The rocky shoreline that surround the marsh were probably not considered part of the restoration, but you can find wildlife on these rocks as well:

Barnacles, mussels, and other organisms need hard surfaces (such as these rocks) for attachment.

This great basin fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis longipes) is only too happy to make a home among the shoreline rocks.

Across the mouth of the preserve is an unusual yellow floating tube, called a boom:

This boom manages to keep most of the floating trash and debris from entering and smothering the wetland. Unfortunately, it does not work during floods, and can do nothing to prevent incosiderate people from tossing trash over the fence (a major problem at this secluded park).

The upland areas of the park are landscaped and manicured. Unfortunately, the restoration seems to have stopped at the high-water line, and all the upland plants are nonnative horicultural shrubs--a wasted opportunity for native habitat restoration.

California encelia (Encelia californica), one of the few native plants I saw in the upland parts of the park.

Signs near the preserve provide some information about wetland ecology and wildlife:

Environmental organizations in Long Beach

2007-06-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

Los Cerritos Wetlands Stewards: A local organization working to protect the Los Cerritos Wetlands, and other natural areas in Long Beach.

Los Cerritos Wetlands Trust Actively working to acquire, protect, and restore lands around the Los Cerritos Wetlands.

Surfrider Foundation. Has a Long Beach chapter.

California Native Plant Society: Long Beach is part of the South Coast chapter.

Friends of the Los Angeles River: They focus on restoring the entire watershed of the LA River, including the "downstream" end in Long Beach.

Sierra Club. Has an Angeles Chapter, which includes a Long Beach club.

The Audubon Society: The El Dorado chapter includes Long Beach and surrounding communities.

The Trust for Public Land helps protect open space for both recreation and preservation. They helped protect a portion of the Los Cerrtios wetlands (you can read that story here).

The Aquarium of the Pacific is not really an environmental organization in the traditional sense. But it is a world-class institution and a great place to learn about the marine environment in Long Beach. Your support helps their local and global research efforts for marine conservation.

The Beach

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The Beach!

The singular most important feature of Long Beach--it's what gives the City its name!

Our beach is indeed long (5 miles?). And sadly, it receives little love from many residents of Long Beach who view it as trashed, dirty, or just not fun.

I wish I could say that all our beach-haters were blowing smoke. But they are justified in complaining about our beach. Recent water quality tests indicated that water quality was very poor here. However, our beach fared better in previous years, so hopefully this is a temporary downturn.

Other factors conspire to make our beach among the least loved, most polluted in southern California. Fed by both the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers, all the trash and litter from millions of Los Angeles and Orange County residents washes into our harbor. The breakwater that keeps our port safe for large cargo ships prevents the normal oceanic flushing that would remove most of this trash, which consequently ends up on our shores. Adding insult to injury, this breakwater eliminates the wave action that is necessary for that quintessential California beach activity: surfing. The environmental group Surfrider (which has a Long Beach chapter) is actively campaigning to have part of this breakwater removed. All these factors, combined with the unsettling sites of offshore oil rigs and huge cargo boats plying our harbor makes our beach an offputting destination for many people.

Off-shore oil rigs are decorated to make these artificial islands look like fantasy-cities

It's a shame. Despite all these factors, The Beach remains one of the best destinations for recreation, as well as for natural history. And a side bonus is that you get a lot more solitude and privacy in Long Beach than you would at, say, Huntington Beach. Less people-watching means better bird-watching, in general.

The most conspicuous wildlife to observe at the beach are the seabirds. Gulls (family Laridae) are usually the most obvious birds, as they are loud and fearless animals, allowing people to get very close. There are many species in southern California, and each species has many different appearances (depending on age, sex, and season), making identification extremely difficult! In general, it helps to notice things like the color of the beak, feet, eyes, and eye-rings. This flock shows the diversity of shapes, colors, and sizes of our gulls:

Flock of seagulls

Heerman's gull (Larus heermanni), juvenile

Heerman's gull (Larus heermanni), adult

Terns are another common sighting at the beach. These are smaller and more gracefull than our gulls. In Long Beach, you can find several species, including elegant and Caspian terns. In the summer of 2006, a tern colony on an abandoned barge--the northernmost tern colony in the world--was destroyed by using a high-pressure water hose. Hundreds of dying fledglings washed ashore. The International Bird Rescue Research Center attempted to save some of these protected birds, but only a small fraction survived. Criminal prosecution against the barge operatore and crew may be underway.

On quieter portions of the beach, such as the peninsula, you may see other shorebirds that are less tolerant of noise and disturbance.

A small group of willets (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)

Pelicans are another common site from the beach. These large and awkward-looking birds show surprising speed and agility when they nose-dive into the water to catch fish. More often, they are seen slowly gliding in small groups, looking like miniature pterodactyls. Two species are found here--the white (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and the brown (P. occidentalis). Both are protected by federal law. Recently, several of these birds were found mutilated (their pouches slit open) in Orange County in 2006. The perpetrators were never found, but the prevailing assumption is that they were fishermen concerned about competition.

In addition, grebes, cormorants, and sea-ducks (like surf scoters and mergansers) are commonly seen swimming off shore.

If you go to Belmont Memorial Pier at night, you are bound to encounter another fascinating creature:

A juvenile black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax).

Of course you may see them during the day as well:

A juvenile black-crowned night heron

These birds are presumably attracted to the bait left behind by fishermen on the pier. At night, you can hear them make their bizarre calls.
These birds

In addition to birds, you may be lucky enough to see California sea lions (Zalophus californianus, common short-beaked (Delphinus delphis) and long-beakd (D. capensis) dolphins, or bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) swimming offshore, although all of these are rare occasions, especially within the breakwater of Long Beach. Sometimes, large fish like barracuda will jump above the surface of the water near shore. So keep your eyes peeled!

On even rarer occasions, you may even see a whale. A dead whale washed ashore just a few miles downshore on March 23, 2007 [ref].

A stroll down the beach will invariably yield some fascinating sea-wrack and other interesting gifts from the sea (as well as a distressing quantity of garbage). Some things you are likely to encounter are seaweeds.

Brown algae (Phaeophyta)

Red algae (Rhodophyta)

Green algae (Chlorophyta)

Kelp is one of the most conspicuous and massive seaweeds that wash ashore:

Kelp is a brown algae, and is one of the fastest growing organisms on the planet (growing over 1 foot a day during the summer). Large kelp bounds are found off-shore near the Palos Verdes peninsula and around Catalina Island, forming submarine forests that support nurseries of game fish, as well as marine mammals.

Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), a common species of the California kelp forests.

Need ID (Need ID)

Gas-filled bladders help kelp remain upright in the water and grow towards the sun:

Kelp live in very turbulent oceans, which would tear most plants to shreds. Kelp, though, is made of extremely tough, yet flexible material which is almost impossible to tear.

Furthermore, they are cemented to hard surfaces by their holdfasts:

More often than not, the plant can withstand far more abuse than the rock to which it is attached. In the photo below, the disoldged plant tore off parts of the bedrock with it when it was uprooted.

A kelp holdfast. This one shows coloinzation by other organisms, such as the coralline algae (the red, feathery structures) and by a colonial bryozoan, the white, encrusting growth at the bottom of the holdfast.

If you poke around the blades of the seaweeds, you are likely to encounter all sorts of wildlife, like small crabs, shrimp, worms, and who knows what else!

Many transit lines take you to the beach, as do all the major bikepaths. For bus service, take the Passport (A and D), #21, 22, 23, or 131.

DeForest Park

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DeForest Park's 26 acres are mostly developed,although the southern end of the park has a nature trail that goes through riparian forest, woodlands, and wetlands. Although the developed part of the park is well maintained, this natural area suffers from litter, vandalism, and homeless encampments. As with any of the parks in this guide I would recommend strongly exploring this park with a friend, rather than on your own.

That said, there are some unusual habitats to see at DeForest Park which are scarce in the rest of the city. The main trail of the park winds through a riparian forest that contains cottonwoods, coast live oaks, willows, and nonnative pepper trees. Small spurs from the main trail take you closer to wetlands that run along the levee of the LA River.

Riparian zones are stream-side habitats. Typically, riparian zones are dense forests made up of trees that can tolerate the special challenges of living next to a stream. These challenges incude saturated, oxygen-poor soils; abrasion from suspended rocks during floods; and a rapidly changing, dynamic landscape (with frequent erosion and burial in sediment). Many riparian trees, such as California bay trees, adapt to this tumultuous landscape by resprouting easily when they get knocked over.

Freemont cottonwood trees (Populus freemontii) have distinctive heart-shaped leaves and thick, light-gray bark. These trees reach impressive stature (up to ~70 feet tall) and in our region are often the largest native trees around.

At DeForest Park, the riparian forest is composed largely of Freemont cottonwoods (Populus fremontii), willows (Salix spp.) as well as many nonnative trees, such as pepper trees (Schinus spp). The growth is dense, and much loved by the abundant birds, squirrels, and lizards of the park.

Beneath the cottonwoods are thickly grown wetlands, full of bulrushes, sedges, and cattials. Many wetland birds nest in these tall plants and eat their seeds.

Rushes, unlike grasses, have round, hollow stems. The flower structure is also different, but it can be hard to tell without a magnifying lense.

Sedges are another grass-like plant common in wetlands. In California, most are low-growing species. They can be distinguished from grasses by their triangular, or edged leaves.

Elegant willow weeds (Polygonum lapathifolium)grow in saturated soils. Other flowering plants may be common at certain times of year.

At the south end of the park (near the Long Beach Boulevard bridge), the riparian forest gives way to an open, weedy grassland, although the wetlands continue down here as well. There are plenty of wildflowers in this area, as well as birds, so be sure to pay a visit if you make it down to the park. Although the plants are mostly nonnative, there are a few interesting native plants, and plenty of beauties.

[Need ID]

Tolguacha, or false jimson weed (Datura wrightii), has huge, trumpet-like flowers and soft, velvety silver-green leaves. Indigenous people used it for medicinal purposes, and to make a psychoactive drug.

The fruit of tolguacha (Datura wrightii) has an unusual spikey skin. The dried flower usually remains attached.

California croton (Croton californica) is an attractive silvery-gray shrub.

The small flowers of croton are inconspicuous, but very attractive to bees and other insects.

The castor bean (Ricinus communis) is a weedy shrub from Africa. The flower stalk has male flowers at the bottom, and female flowers (mature fruits in this photo) and the top.

Morning glory, or bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) grows up the stalks of a bulrush. Unlike the native morning glory (genus Calystegia), this flower has small bracts a few inches below the flower.

Common thistle (Cirsium vulgare), a very widspread nonnative weed.

There is abundant wildlife to observe in this park. Keep your eyes and ears pealed!

A mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) gathers nesting material.

Western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) are pretty common in this park, and coastal whiptails (Aspidoscelis tigris stejnegeri) as well. On the trail, I encountered a very large snake skin in perfect condition:

The previous owner was probably a California kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae). This specimen was huge--over 6 feet long! However, few of this species ever get even half that size. The adults have bold black and white patterning. Although a harassed snake may bite a person, it is non-venemous and is not considered dangerous. It is a constrictor, strangling its prey before eating it. Kingsnakes eat rodents, lizards, and even other snakes! In fact, rattlesnakes are a preferred prey item, and kingsnakes are thought to be immune to their venom.

Coastal Los Angeles and Orange County is home to a unique type of kingsnake, called the "Long Beach morph" or the "grease king." These types (morphs) have complicated patterns, with blotches of cream on a dark background (as opposed to the stripes or rings more typical of this subspecies). Herpetologists have found evidence for a genetic basis for the unusual pattern, suggesting that Long Beach is home to a distinct population of this species. Given the extensive development of this morph's home range, it is not surprisng that it is now extremely rare in the wild. Future research may determine if this morph is genetically distinct to warrant protection as an endangered species.

Colorado Lagoon

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Colorado Lagoon is an inland arm of Alamitos Bay, reaching up to 7th Street. Most of the park is maintained as recretaional lawn, although there is also an artificial beach ("Mother's Beach"). Water quality at this beach is extremely low, so swimming is not always advisable. The City has identified some major sources of bacteria in the lagoon, although remedies have yet to result in improvements.

Notwithstanding the poor water quality, the park is a lovely place for an afternoon stroll or picnic. Despite the fact that the park is extensively developed, there are considerable natural resources to appreciate here. You can observe one of southern California's most threatened habitats here: the coastal salt marsh.

Although vegetation maintenance prevents the marsh from reaching its full splendor in most areas, small patches of wetland dot the perimter of the lagoon, especially along the "peninsula" that divides the lagoon into two arms.

Salt grass (Distychlis spicata)

Small "meadow" of salt grass.

In the above picture, low-growing salt grass (Distychlis spicata) forms a spongy mat near the shore.

Pickelweed (Salicornia) is another common salt marsh plant. These plants tolerate the salty conditions by sequestering salt crystals in their succulent tissues. Although this plant is edible, DO NOT collect and eat plants from this park!

Pickelweed (Salicornia spp.). There are several species in California, and all are hard to distinguish.

A similar-looking (but unrelated) plant is salt-wort.

Saltwort (Batis maritima). The picture on the right shows saltwort growing low around the taller pickelweed.

A few plants add some color to the salt marsh.

Alkali heath (Frankenia salina)

Marsh jaumea (Jaumea carnosa)

There are some interesting bluffs along the eastern shore of the lagoon, and they remind me of a miniature version of Newport Bay.

Unfortunately, these bluffs are dominated by nonnatives--mostly iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis), which has no value to wildlife. Hopefully, the bluffs can be restored to create a diverse community of colorful native coastal bluff plants.

Although the wetlands are very limited in size, and in general are in poor condition, there are great opportunities for restoration, which may be highly succesful (given the low relief of the landscape).

A floating dock/bridge across the lagoon lets you get close to the water and examine the marine life up close.

Peering underwater, you can see lots of organisms. For example:

Crabs

Snails (or their shells washed ashore)

Fish (These are teeny-weeny fish fry. If you need help spotting them, click here)

When the sun is out, you may notice that the mud on shore and in the shallows turns golden-brown:

This color comes from diatoms--single celled algae. These algal cells hide in the silt when it's shady, but come up to the surface when they can photosynthesize in the sun. They move by propelling themselves on mucus they secrete. Pretty cool, huh?

This is also a great spot for birdwatching. Egrets and herons forage in the shallow water for fish. Terns, gulls, ducks, and pelicans are common as well.

Snowy egret (Egretta thula) foraging near the wetland.

The same egret, soaring over the lagoon.

LB Transit bus routes 81, 92, 93, 94, 181, and 182 will take you to Colorado Lagoon.

El Dorado Regional Park

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Without a doubt, El Dorado represents the most siginificant inland natural area in Long Beach. Over 100 acres of natural habitats are maintained within the 400 acre park (the rest of the park being devoted to active and passive recreation).

El Dorado Park has a great Nature Center with all sorts of displays and activites for children. They also organize events for adults, such as night-walks and bird ID classes. Unfortunately, the Nature Center has been recently vandalized by some very inconsiderate people. (What kind of person would smash a urinal?)

El Dorado Park is large enough to have honest-to-goodness trails! Three, in fact.

The shortest trail is only 1/4 a mile, and is entirely paved, with railing. This trail winds through a dense forest near the Nature Center, and is completely accessible to wheelchairs.

In forests, trees grow densley, shading out most of the sunlight from the forest floor. (In contrast, there's more space between the trees in a woodland--see below.) Forests are uncommon in the lower elevations of Southern California, because few areas have enough soil moisture year-round.

The leaves of this white alder (Alnus rhombifolia) catch what little light makes it through the dense upper canopy of leaves.

The lower levels of a forest is generally full of saplings and vince that get just enough sunlight to keep themselves alive. These plants are waiting for the bigger shade-producing trees to fall over or die, flooding the floor with sunlight. Until then, they simply wait and try to stay alive.

Animal life is bustling here. The thick growths of branches are festooned with spiderwebs, which catch all sorts of insects.

A spider in its web waits for its next meal. The carcass of a damselfly shows that the spider has been eating well.

Western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis are common in nearly every part of the park, but you are most keenly aware of them in the forest, where they rustle loudly in the dried leaves.

The end of the paved trail (or entrance, depending on which way you do the loop) takes you through a small open grassland, where many native wildflowers were recently planted (as well as a few non-native ones, for some reason).

Sticky monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus) is one of the showiest native wildflowers. It ranges in color from yellow to red.

Several species of buckwheat grow in the park. This photo is sea cliff buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium). Nearby, you can find California buckwheat (E. fasciculatum, and giant buckwheat (E. giganteum).

Woolly bluecurls (Trichostema lanatum) has bizarre and striking flowers.

Bush sunflower (California encelia), getting munched by a caterpillar.

Western vervain (Verbena lasiostachys)

There are two longer trails (1 mile and 2 mile), which, though unpaved, are still extremely easy. The longer trail passes through some unshaded areas, so be sure to wear sun protection.

Thanks to its size, touring El Dorado will show you a large variety of habitats: oak woodlands, forest, coastal sage-scrub, grassland, chaparral. In addition, there are several different aquatic habitats: two large ponds, a stream connecting them, plus their fringing wetlands.

All paths take you near the two large ponds in the pond, as well as the stream connecting them.

Turtles are among the most conspicuous wildlife you will see in the ponds.

Turtle floats near the nature center:

Although the floats may be somewhat garish, they provide excellent basking for the ponds' turtles (mostly exotic red-eared sliders). This allows them to be viewed close to shore by children, but still safe and secure from predators.

Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), left, and Ouachita map turtle (Graptemys ouachitensis), right. Both are nonnative turtles widely sold in the pet trade.

Typically, you will see many red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans). However, I saw one Ouachita map turtle (Graptemys ouachitensis) among them. Both are probably escaped pets, although the sliders have undoubtedly established a stable population in the park.

Two black phoebes (Sayornis nigricans) hang out near the water's edge.

Lots of birdlife is attracted to the wetland. Fly-catchers, such as these black phoebes (Sayornis nigricans) perch near the water and catch flying insects "on-the-wing." Pretty impressive to watch!

In addition to the typical wetland cattails, rushes, and sedges, you can find some unusual plants growing near the pond:

Lizard tail, or Yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica)

Oak Woodland:

Coast live oaks (Quercus agrifolia) intersperse with willows, alders, and other trees and shrubs to form small, open woodlands. Unlike a forest, woodlands have well-spaced trees, and it is generally easy to see through the vegetation. Smaller herbaceous plants may grow densely in the understory.

Coastal sage-scrub

Southern lake, with fringing wetlands and plenty of coots, ducks, and other waterfowl:

Toyon, or holly (Heteromeles arbutifolia:

The El Dorado chapter of the Audubon Society maintains a check-list of birds for this park.

Although much of the park has native vegetation, there are quite a few nonnative ornamental plants too. I'm not sure if the nonnatives that have been planted are considered invasive and a threat to Long Beach's wildlands, but I would prefer if the park remained a sanctuary for the native plants of California.

Plans are in development to create treatment and habitat wetlands in the more developed portions of El Dorado between Carson Street and Spring Street. This project would expand wetland and riparian habitat in the park, and prevent pollution from entering the San Gabriel River.

To get to the Nature Center, take the 102 bus (M-F) or the 173, and walk east down Spring Street from Studebaker.

The Long Beach Greenbelt

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Up until 1961, the Pacific Electric Red Car took commuters from Orange County and Long Beach to downtown LA. With the demise of public transit in SoCal, the rights-of-way lay fallow for decades. In 1999, the City of Long Beach decided to convert most of the land to recreational park lands, the Long Beach Greenbelt. However, one short block on the right-of-way, bewteen 7th and 8th streets, was set aside for native habitat restoration.

This part of the greenbelt is very small (under 5 acres). Although it is owned by the Long Beach Parks Department (woefully out-of-date park info page), it is managed by the Los Cerritos Wetlands Stewards.

The target habitat in this park is coastal sage scrub, once the dominant habitat type in this part of the coastal plain. Coastal sage scrub is dominated by short vegetation that generally loses its leaves in the winter, unlike the evergreen chapparal. The loss of leaves allow coastal sage scrub to fluorish in areas too dry for chapparal, such as the low elevation coast.

The habitat restoration makes extensive use of one of the staple plants of the coastal sage-scrub: California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum).

This plant blooms throughout much of the year and forms very attractive shrubby mounds.

Sage is, of course, another common plant in coastal sage scrub:

Black sage (Salvia mellifera)

Other flowers that you can expect to see any time of year include the bizarre bladderpod (Isomeris arborea):

Other "pretty flowers" to look for:

Ceanothus (Ceanothus sp.)

Deerbush (Lotus scoparius)

Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri)

Island mallow (Lavatera assurgentiflora)

Heartleaf penstemon (Keckiella cordifolia)

California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

The restoration included a few trees to create patches of woodland habitat, just for good measure:

Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia)

California walnut (Juglans californica)

Blue elderberry (Sambuccus mexicana)

The diversity of tree and shrub habitats make this tiny park a good home for birds and small mammals.

I don't know if there is room to expand the restoration area. The remainder of the greenbelt is (in my view) unremarkable:

These areas seem to be heavily used by dog-walkers, a few of whom do not clean up after themselves. Some common invasive plants were found growing outside the greenbelt, closer to Colorado Lagoon:

Giant Reed (Arundo donax):

Ice plant (Carpobrotus edulis):

Wild radish (Raphanus sativus):

The park is suitable for walking, running, or cycling (sturdy bikes only).

LB Transit bus lines #81, 91, 92, 93, and 94 will take you to the Long Beach Greenbelt. Also the OCTA #60 goes down 7th Street.

Further information:
Wikipedia
EPA (which funded the creation of the park).

Welcome

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This webpage is a guide to the natural areas of Long Beach, CA. It will eventually include surrounding communities, such as Lakewood and Signal Hill, creating a little box bounded by the 710, 605, 91, and the Pacific Ocean. In the future, I may expand beyond these boundaries to San Pedro and Seal Beach, or maybe further up the San Gabriel River.

Although Long Beach is densely urban, and as far as possible from the mountain wilderness escapes most Angelenos enjoy, there are quite a few places to enjoy nature within our city limits. Like a modern day Mesopotamia, Long Beach is nestled between two of the great rivers found in southern California: the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers. These two rivers have sculpted and shaped our geography, which has given rise to diverse ecosystems. Habitats found in the City include salt marshes, coastal sage-scrub, oak woodlands, chaparral, freshwater marshes, ponds, streams, coastal bluffs, and (of course!) our wonderful--but much maligned--beach.

I will attempt to visit as many parks in Long Beach that contain significant natural areas, describe access, history, and things to look out for. In addition, I will describe the flora, fauna, geology, and ecosystems that make Long Beach what it is.

Note: This blog is a draft for a forth-coming online guide to the natural areas of Long Beach. It is not meant to be read linearly, so ignore the dates on the posts. "Old" posts will be updated frequently, I hope!

The map above shows the parks included in the guide (bright green markers). The photo and park name are linked to the page describing that park . (If you have problems, you can also navigate using the links in the side-bar, or the list at the bottom of the page.) Parks marked in lighter mint-green will eventually be included in the guide. Parks marked in red are limited access; most can be accessed by coordinating with environmental groups, like the Audubon Society's El Dorado Chapter.

If you know of a great spot I've missed, email me (raphaelmazor@yahoo.com) and let me know!

Natural areas in Long Beach

Parks (public access)

The Long Beach Greenbelt
DeForest Park
El Dorado Park
Colorado Lagoon
Long Beach City Beach
Bluff Park
Golden Shores Preserve
Marine Stadium Marine Reserve
Jack Dunster Marine Reserve
Shoreline Park
Rainbow Lagoon
DeForest Park
San Gabriel River Parkway (in Lakewood)
LA River Estuary (coming soon)
Domiguez Gap (coming soon)
Alamitos Bay/Naples Canals (coming soon)

Parks with limited access

Cha'wot Nature Preserve (Signal Hill)
Sims Pond Biological Reserve
Los Cerritos Wetlands (coming soon)

Natural history of Long Beach
Coming soon!

Flora and Fauna of Long Beach
Habitats of Long Beach
Geology of Long Beach

Learn more, do more
Things you can do to help
Environmental organizations in Long Beach
Restoration opportunities
References