Hahamongna Sediment Removal Plan Strongly Opposed by Pasadenans

The photo above shows what Hahamongna used to look like. – Courtesy photo / Arroyo Seco Foundation

By Terry Miller

At the Arroyo Seco Quarterly Meeting on Oct. 10, Tim Brick, managing director of Arroyo Seco Foundation, made a vivid presentation on the history of Hahamongna Watershed Park, this being the 25 year anniversary of its establishment.

Brick spoke about the early planning for the park and the commitment to protect its natural resources and treat it as a nature preserve. Laura Garrett, president of the Pasadena Audubon Society, made a report on the status of the election, emphasizing the negative health aspects of the Flood Control District’s sediment removal program. Garrett introduced Mitchell Tsai, the attorney for the lawsuit sponsored by the Pasadena Audubon Society and the Arroyo Seco Foundation, about the key issues involved in the lawsuit and what legal and regulatory steps are still available to critics of the massive sediment removal program.

At the Arroyo Seco Quarterly Meeting Tim Brick presented on the history of Hahamongna Watershed Park. – Courtesy photo/ Arroyo Seco Foundation

The new district ranger of the Angeles National Forest, Jamahl Butler, reported on new developments in the forest, including the finalization of the plan for the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, the reopening of the Gabrielino National Trail in the Arroyo Seco, and the reorganization of the forest service structure.

As of the start of November, LA County Flood Control is scheduled to “unleash about 425 diesel dump trucks into Hahamongna Watershed Park where bulldozers will uproot approximately 50 acres of natural habitat,” according to opponents.

After neglecting the area behind Devil’s Gate Dam for several decades, the county has come up with what opponents call “a draconian proposal which is actively opposed by the Pasadena area community.” The route that these huge diesel trucks will follow goes right past two schools, Flintridge Prep and La Canada High School.  All this is happening just after the UN has released its climate report that directly connects carbon in our atmosphere to climate change and health concerns around the globe.

The photo above shows Hahamongna’s current state. – Courtesy photo / Arroyo Seco Foundation

Hahamongna is that rare spot in the Arroyo Seco at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains where the mountainous watershed meets the urban plain. Periodically floods roar into this basin. Bounded on the north by the mountains and Jet Propulsion Laboratory and on the south by Devil’s Gate Dam, Hahamongna contains five unique habitat zones that only exist in alluvial canyons near the mountains. Most sites like this in Southern California have been destroyed.

The ultimate decision on the fate of Hahamongna will be made by the County Board of Supervisors, which must act to certify that the entire Environmental Impact Report is in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This is the time for those who care about Hahamongna to speak with a loud voice telling the supervisors to save Hahamongna and ensure that the sediment removal program is reshaped along more sustainable and environmentally-sensitive lines.

For more information on how to help thwart the county plan, go to savehahamongna.org and arroyoseco.org/index.htm

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