Friends of Ballona Wetlands (FBW) is a California non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1978 by a small group of friends, scientists and neighbors who recognized the environmental value of Los Angeles County's last remaining tidal ecosystem. The organization is dedicated to preserving and protecting the

Ballona Wetlands Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve (pronunciation: "Bah-yo-nuh" or "Buy-yo-nah" ) is a protected area that once served as the natural estuary for neighboring Ballona Creek. The site is located in Los Angeles County, California, just south of ...

through stewardship and educating the public. The FBW partners with the

California Coastal Conservancy The California State Coastal Conservancy (CSCC, SCC) is a non-regulatory state agency in California established in 1976 to enhance coastal resources and public access to the coast. The CSCC is a department of the California Natural Resources Agenc ...

and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The FBW also partners with faculty and staff from a Catholic college,

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

(LMU), and with Heal The Bay. The FBW was founded in 1978, and legally continued their access in 2003, when the CDFW acquired the private Ballona Wetlands. Public access improved when the Ballona Wetlands became public land.

History

Led by founding President Ruth Lansford, in 1978, Friends of Ballona Wetlands filed a lawsuit against landowner Summa Corporation, heirs to the Howard Hughes estate which owned the 1,067 acres of wetland habitat. Of the historically designated 2,000 acres of wetland habitat, more than 900 acres were destroyed in the 1960s with the construction of

Marina del Rey Marina del Rey (Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination of the greater Los Angeles area. The ...

. The Friends' lawsuit halted plans for a massive real estate development. Their decades long battle ultimately saved the Ballona Wetlands from destruction when in 2005 it was declared a California State Ecological Reserve.

Activities

The Friends' activities include providing input at government hearings, commenting on a wetlands restoration project, participating in science and research symposium, supporting the former Native American Indigenous cemetery at Ballona Discovery Park in the Playa Vista mixed-used development below the bluff of LMU, taking legal action protecting the wetlands, and formerly worked in the past with

Marina DeBris Marina DeBris is the name used by an Australian-based artist whose work focuses on reusing trash to raise awareness of ocean and beach pollution. DeBris uses trash washed up from the beach to create trashion, 'fish tanks', decorative art and o ...

, now in Australia, who developed an art-inspired educational event about pollution. The FBW formerly partnered with

Otis College of Art and Design Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aerospace headquarte ...

, as part of an Integrated Learning project in which students and faculty from many different departments worked with local organizations on various community projects.

References

External links

Friends of Ballona Wetlands
{{Authority control Environmental organizations based in California Non-profit organizations based in California Organizations based in Los Angeles *