The San Gabriel River is a thriving turtle habitat
Jacob Margolis
covers science, with a focus on environmental stories and disasters, as well as investigations and accountability.
Published September 13, 2023 5:00 AM
An Eastern Pacific green sea turtle pokes its head out of the murky water of the San Gabriel River in Long Beach.
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Justin Greenman
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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Topline:
Once nearly extinct, Southern California's population of green sea turtles is exploding, and many of them are making their home in the San Gabriel River. It’s one of the most remarkable animal recovery stories in decades.
A harrowing journey: It’s not easy being a green sea turtle. Born on beaches more than a thousand miles to the south, many get eaten before they can even shuffle into the ocean. From there, they have to survive years floating at sea, before making their way inland. Only about one in 100 make it to adulthood.
A new phenomenon: As waters warm and their populations grow, green sea turtles are showing up in numbers never before seen.
Where can I see one? There's a bike path right along the 605 freeway in Long Beach that you can go to. Make sure you visit during high tide.
Read on… to learn how you can volunteer to help scientists gather data on turtle habits.
Gliding through just a few feet of murky water, a green sea turtle dodges beer cans, plastic bags and shopping carts in the concrete-lined San Gabriel River.
A scene that feels very turtle out of water.
A green sea turtle pops its head out of the water while swimming up the channelized San Gabriel River in Long Beach.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Here's this animal that we most often see in photos of people snorkeling during a tropical vacation. It's munching on algae in fetid suburban runoff, with cars zipping by on the 605 Freeway a few hundred yards away.
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3:39
At Last, Some Good Wildlife News: Green Sea Turtles Are Thriving In The San Gabriel River
Seeing any nature thrive here is a remarkable sight in and of itself. But the turtle's presence is even more awe-inspiring when you think about the epic journey it likely went through to get here.
Beating the odds
Odds are, the turtle barely made it off some beach 1,000-plus miles away, then managed to navigate the ocean for years, avoiding predation, fishermen who might accidentally catch it and speeding boats that might strike it — all to end up next to mattresses in a river just south of L.A.
Green sea turtles have made their way up the San Gabriel River, swimming under the 405 Freeway in Long Beach.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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A green sea turtle swims in the San Gabriel River near the 405 freeway.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Once on the path to extinction, these East Pacific green sea turtles are making such a strong comeback that they’re now taking up residence in the San Gabriel River in large numbers, far beyond their typical spots in places like Baja, California and the southern San Diego Bay.
“I think it's only recently that we've really realized that green sea turtles are coming this far up the river,” said Tina Fahy, West Coast Sea Turtle Recovery Coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
She, along with Justin Greenman, who leads efforts to save stranded animals, took me to a spot in the river where the vegetation ends and the vast expanse of the San Gabriel’s bare concrete begins. We had to make sure that we got there during high tide, because the turtles use the rising water to make it farther up the river channel.
Tina Fahy, NOAA's West Coast Sea Turtle Recovery Coordinator, looks out at the San Gabriel River in Long Beach, which has one of the largest gatherings of green sea turtles in Southern California.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Tina Fahy, NOAA's West Coast Sea Turtle Recovery Coordinator, wears a turtle earring.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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“We didn't really know until we started having some stranded high and dry turtles ... and people thought that they were in trouble,” Fahy said. “They can survive without being in water constantly.”
While these turtles have long been documented hanging out in the warm effluent of power plants downstream, swimming through the Los Cerritos wetlands and at nearby Seal Beach, their presence farther upstream is one of the signs they're on the move as their populations boom and waters continue to warm.
“Whereas 20 years ago, we had very few numbers of turtles in our local waters, now we're seeing turtles in nooks and crannies, in areas that we've never seen them before,” said Jeffrey Seminoff, who leads the Marine Turtle Ecology and Assessment Program at NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center.
"It's really only been in about the last decade that we've seen such a large number of animals," he said. "I believe the San Gabriel River is the most dense green turtle population that we have here in Southern California."
A harrowing journey to and from L.A.
Green sea turtles can be found all around the world, but there are distinct populations. Ours are known as Eastern Pacific green sea turtles.
Nesting season begins in October, but the turtles don’t lay their eggs here in L.A. They leave the confines of the San Gabriel, head out into the open ocean and slowly swim more than 1,000 miles south to warm beaches like Playa Colola in Michoacán, Mexico.
The turtles mate offshore and the females head in to the beach to bury their eggs in the sand.
Emaciated and exhausted, they then turn around and limp back up to their homes all across Baja and Southern California. The journey is so harrowing that it can take a few years for a female to recover before she’s ready to lay eggs again.
After about 55 days, their babies emerge and steadily get picked off by predators like birds, crabs and raccoons along the beaches. The survivors make their way into the open ocean where they’ll spend the next four years or so passively floating. With yet more predators prowling the seas, the best estimate is that only about 1% of them make it to adulthood.
Around age 6, the turtles swim inland and settle in coastal habitats like the San Gabriel River for the next 15 years. There, they can forage and grow until they're full-fledged adults ready to follow the Earth’s magnetic field back down south to mate and lay eggs, like their parents before them.
The best estimates say that they can live longer than 80 years and grow to over 400 pounds.
The ones observed in the San Gabriel River seem to be adolescents.
We almost lost the turtles
About 50 years ago, green sea turtle populations, including those in the Eastern Pacific, absolutely cratered.
Habitat loss, ship strikes and being accidentally caught by fishermen all jeopardized their survival, as did the fact that they were being hunted for their meat and eggs in Mexico.
They were put on the U.S. federal endangered species list in the 1970s. And by the 1990s, Mexico had taken steps to both protect nesting sites and foraging populations, and ban the sale and use of turtle products.
Since then, the turtles have been steadily recovering.
Back in the 1980s, roughly 250 turtles were spotted on Playa Colola in Michoacán over the six-month-long nesting season. In 2015, more than 1,000 were spotted in one night, Seminoff said.
In April 2016, their status was changed from endangered to threatened, and over the past five years their populations here have exploded.
Tina Fahy, NOAA's West Coast Sea Turtle Recovery Coordinator, looks out at the San Gabriel River in Long Beach, which has one of the largest gatherings of green sea turtles in Southern California.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Now, they're showing up in surprising numbers, farther up the San Gabriel River than was previously observed.
“Part of why I think we're seeing turtles in these different habitats where we've never seen them before, is simply a function of crowding,” said Seminoff. “There are sites like the San Gabriel River, for example, where we might be at what we call ‘capacity.’ There's just so many turtles that there's a limitation of food. And if that's happening more and more in different spots throughout Southern California, that's going to force turtles to find new spots that have abundant food supplies so that they can set up shop and live there for years at a time.”
Why do the turtles like the San Gabriel River?
When it comes to comfort, turtles are looking for warm water, food and safety, and the San Gabriel River seems to meet those requirements.
Green sea turtles have made their way up the San Gabriel River swimming under the 405 Freeway in Long Beach.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Ducks on the San Gabriel River co-exist with green sea turtles that gather in the area.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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All the bridge pilings may be a great place for them to rest, as they can protect the turtles from getting jostled around by the tides.
There are plenty of rock piles for algae to grow and mud for invertebrates to flourish in, both of which are critical sources of food.
Boat strikes and getting accidentally caught aren't a concern because the river is protected.
Justin Greenman, the California Assistant Stranding Coordinator at NOAA.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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On top of all that, its waters are being warmed by the effluent from power plants downstream. Moving upstream, giant concrete walls absorb the sun’s energy during the day and radiate it out at night, likely keeping resulting in temperatures a bit more habitable for reptiles that prefer tropical and subtropical locations.
Speaking of which, as waters warm due to climate change, habitats farther to the north will likely open up as well.
“I expect that we'll see turtles move farther and farther north along the coast of California," Seminoff said. "We're seeing green turtles in places like Monterey Bay with greater frequency these days. It's not normal by any sense of the word."
The concrete walls of the San Gabriel River absorb the sun's heat likely resulting in warmer temperatures.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Rock piles in the San Gabriel River allow algae to grow for the green sea turtles to eat.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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In July, the National Marine Fisheries Service and NOAA proposed designating turtle hotspots across Southern California, marine-critical habitats, which would afford the turtles additional protections. Essentially, the designation is meant to mitigate impacts on the turtles from activities like construction, and requires federal agencies consult with NOAA during the process.
It's truly a period of discovery, and there are a ton of questions that NOAA and others want to answer about turtle habits and movement, particularly in the San Gabriel River.
That’s where you come in.
Scientists need your help studying them
For the past decade or so, scientists have been actively gathering information about turtles in the lower part of the river, but are looking to expand their studies farther upstream given the population boom.
If you’d like to volunteer to help, The Aquarium of the Pacific has been running a turtle spotting program since 2012. Participants get together every first Saturday of the month and spend about 30 minutes out in the field counting turtles. The data they gather is made available to NOAA and the Los Cerritos Wetlands authority, in an effort to track turtle activity.
If you want to go out on your own and provide information about turtles directly to NOAA, you can head to the spot on the map above, and submit whatever you gather here.
Observe the turtles responsibly. Stay on the bike trail, and bring binoculars to observe from a distance
Make sure to include a picture of the turtle if possible, as each has a unique set of markings on its head, which can help scientists better track turtle movement over time.
Oh, and if you see a turtle stranded, call NOAA's California stranding network hotline at (562) 506-4315.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, where a massive post-fire rebuilding effort is underway.
Published April 1, 2026 4:44 PM
Fencing lines a sidewalk next to a home under construction.
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Erin Stone
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LAist
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Topline:
As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Council member is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.
Who’s behind it: Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.
The details: The plan calls for returning the 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.
Read on … to learn whether economists think the proposed tax relief could make a difference.
As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Councilmember is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.
The 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund would be given back to consumers under the proposal. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.
The motion, introduced Friday by Park and seconded by Councilmember John Lee, says: “The City should do everything within its power to alleviate the financial burden for these residents and businesses in order to facilitate their return and stabilize the Pacific Palisades community.”
Would it make much of a difference?
Economists told LAist the proposal could help many homeowners mitigate the high cost of rebuilding, but likely wouldn’t tip the scales for under-insured, under-resourced property owners.
“It wouldn't hurt if it's very well designed and easy to use,” said Alexander Meeks, a director at the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute. “But I'm not sure if it's really going to tackle the scale of the financial challenge that survivors are facing.”
Meeks noted that the tax waiver wouldn’t lower up-front costs such as environmental testing, architectural design and permitting. And it may not help homeowners sourcing raw materials from outside the city.
Zhiyun Li, a UCLA Anderson School of Management economist, said the waiver could help some homeowners justify the additional cost of rebuilding more fire-safe structures.
“Homeowners must typically pay out of pocket to upgrade to IBHS+ standards, which are more stringent,” Li said. “The tax waiver could encourage upgrading to IBHS+ standards or investing more in mitigation, thereby reducing future risk and improving the likelihood of maintaining insurance coverage.”
What’s next for the proposal?
The proposed tax relief would not be available to properties that have been sold since the fires started in January 2025.
The motion has been sent to the City Council’s budget and fire recovery committees. If approved by the full council, it would require the city administrative officer, the Office of Finance and the city attorney to report back to the council within 60 days on options for crafting a tax relief plan.
The motion calls for the report to consider factors such as how to minimize the burden of administering the tax relief, what documentation homeowners would have to submit and what it would cost the city to oversee the program.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September. Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.
About the deal: The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate. Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.
What's next: Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects. Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS. If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.
Senate and House Republican leadership have resurrected a stalled plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security after a record 47-day funding lapse.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September.
Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.
"In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited," Thune and Johnson wrote.
The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate.
Johnson called the agreement a "joke" and President Donald Trump declined to publicly endorse the deal. Trump had previously resisted any package that did not include his push to overhaul federal elections known as the Save America Act.
"I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it," Trump told reporters last week.
Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.
"For days, Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement Wednesday. "Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered."
Trump seemed to bless the revived plan earlier Wednesday, writing on social media that he wants a party-line bill to fund immigration enforcement on his desk by June 1.
"We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won't be able to stop us," Trump wrote.
Despite the shutdown, ICE has been minimally impacted because Republican lawmakers approved $75 billion for ICE through another party-line budget reconciliation bill last year.
Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects.
Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS.
"Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote on X. "If that's the vote, I'm a NO."
If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.
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Logan Cattaneo, 6, poses for a photo with the Dodgers mascot during Dodgers Dreamteam PlayerFest at Dodgers Stadium in 2024.
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Michael Blackshire
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Getty Images
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Topline:
The Dodgers Foundation says it's expanding Dodgers Dreamteam, its program for underserved youth. The foundation says the program will be able to serve 17,000 kids this year, 2,000 more than last year.
Why it matters: Now in its 13th season, the program connects underserved youth with opportunities to play baseball and softball and provides participants with free uniforms and access to baseball equipment. It also offers training for coaches in positive youth development practices, as well as wraparound services for participant families like college workshops, career panels, literacy resources and scholarship opportunities.
How to sign up: For more information and to sign up, click here.
An aerial view of snow-capped trees after a winter snowstorm near Soda Springs on Feb. 20, 2026.
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Stephen Lam, San Francisco Chronicle
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via Getty Images
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Topline:
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season. It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
What happened? Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
Why it matters: Experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains. State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs. “I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.
It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.
On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.
“I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”
Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.
“I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
“Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”
‘It’s pretty bizarre up here’
In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.
“It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”
Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.
“That means we can get more work done,” he said.
It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.
Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.
“In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”
‘A haystack fire’
Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.
Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”
“Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.
Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.
But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.
How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.
“This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”
