'We Will Win' Actor James Cromwell Against Bulldozing Ballona Wetlands

VENICE, CA — Oscar-nominated actor and star of "Succession" spoke in support of lawsuits aiming to stop a project that plans to bulldoze the Ballona Wetlands on Sunday.

More than 200 residents of Venice, Culver City, Santa Monica, Marina del Rey and Playa del Rey attended an event held by Defend Ballona Wetlands where Cromwell spoke about his support and involvement with the organization.

Cromwell said Marcia Hanscom, Executive Director of the Ballona Institute, approached him 25 years ago asking him to visit the wetlands. When he did, Cromwell said it was moving and he knew he wanted to do whatever it took to support efforts to protect it.

"I'd love to be of any use that I can," Cromwell told the crowd. "I certainly will make a donation I certainly will raise my voice. I certainly will support you and we will win."

The Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project, which the activists oppose, was created by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and aims to restore damaged and degraded habitats to promote a thriving wetland.

The project would add 200 acres of coastal wetland and replace 9,800 feet of existing Ballona Creek levees to accommodate for sea-level rise as well as construct new levees to reestablish a functioning floodplain, according to CDFW.

"Absent the project, sea level rise and climate change will require existing floodgates to be permanently closed. As a result, tidal waters will be cut off from the remaining struggling wetland habitats by around 2050 and portions of the site will be stagnant, flooded ponds," CDFW said in the project summary.

Hanscom and activists criticize the plan, citing that mistakes in the flood control figures could result in danger to residents as storms intensify and sea levels rise. A lawsuit was filed in January of 2021 and it said that characterizing the projects as a means of "restoration, enhancement and establishment" is disingenuous.

Adverse impacts on the environment include endangering species like the Belding's savannah sparrow, the federally-endangered El Segundo blue butterfly and the Least Bell's Vireo according to the lawsuit. Several lawsuits also challenge the plan that will bulldoze the habitat that is home to 1,7oo species.

“We have a 20-point Gentle Restoration Plan, which achieves the legitimate goals of restoration, without decimating wildlife," Hanscom said. "Wholesale destruction is not restoration; we will prove that in court.”