Fish And Game Commission To Analyze Atypical Use Of Ballona Wetlands

VENICE, CA — A recent court ruling affirmed the Fish and Game Commission's duty to analyze the compatibility of paved areas and baseball fields within the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve.

According to Walter Lamb, the president of the Ballona Wetlands Land Trust, climate activists have been trying to get officials to survey the compatibility of the areas with the purpose of an ecological reserve since 2017.

"It's significant because we've been trying to get them to make a determination since June of 2017," Lamb said. "It was quite frustrating to go through six-plus years of them ignoring the request. It felt like gaslighting a little bit because they were making it seem like they couldn't understand the request."

The paved parking lots at the reserve were originally meant to be temporary dirt lots used for the Olympics in 1984, Lamb said. Over time the parking lots were used for a variety of different purposes, including overflow and employee parking, and were paved in 1988.

Around that same time, a private entity was allowed to build baseball fields on part of the reserve, which are used for Little League games today.

In 2005, the area was designated as an ecological reserve, and special regulations were adopted for the wetlands' protection. One regulation enacted by the Commission stated existing recreational uses may be allowed unless the department determines restoration is more appropriate.

"This is like your most basic element of environmental conservation. There's a paved area that is not even being used right now. It's just sitting there with a native wetland species trying to grow up through the cracks of this parking lot," Lamb said.

According to Lamb, the baseball fields and parking lots can be classified as atypical uses of the land at the Ballona Wetlands. The presence of the baseball fields is unique to the Ballona Wetlands and Lamb said it would benefit the reserve for them to be removed.

However, Lamb said the goal of the survey isn't to take out the baseball fields entirely but to substantially modify the land to promote healthier wildlife in the area.

"One of the fields is pretty overgrown and doesn't get much use, so it could be that there's a compromise where two of the fields remain in operation and they schedule around that," Lamb said.

The recent court ruling doesn't call for any further action other than for the commission to determine whether the parking lots and Little League fields are compatible with the purpose of the reserve. Until the commission makes a decision, no changes will be made to the land.