Coming To Forest’s Rescue (And Other Headlines)

It’s going to take a lot more than Smokey the Bear to help save our natural spaces. More intense droughts, flooding and wildfires are impacting our local mountains — and our ability to access them.

Volunteers Restore Our Forest's Trails

And the Forest Service, which manages about 650 miles of trails in the Angeles National Forest, has big challenges: a serious climate crisis, lack of government funding and a staffing shortage. Yeah, it’s a lot.

But here’s some good news: volunteers are coming to the rescue.

My colleague Erin Stone writes in-depth about the Lowelifes Respectable Citizens’ Club, one of the groups that is working with the Forest Service to restore and maintain the trails across the Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.

As people hike, bike and camp in the forest, it gets a lot of wear and tear. Not to mention the effects of big storms and fires. These volunteer groups, which are trained by the Forest Service, work to keep people — and the forest itself — safe. There is a shared stewardship of the land, Erin reports.

Read Erin's story for more. She reports on why the Forest Service has struggled to keep paid staff, and why volunteers have turned this huge problem into a meaningful solution of their own.

Erick Hillard, the chief financial officer of Lowelifes, tells Erin that he sees the benefits.

“I think that encouraging people to come out and volunteer — at least it's a way of getting people out into nature and starting a relationship with it,” Hillard says. “And the more that people have a relationship with it, maybe they'll notice things more at the ballot and when they're reading the news because they've been out here and they saw a burned tree.”

Stay safe and cool, L.A. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

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More news

(After you stop hitting snooze)

• Tonight, Santa Ana winds are expected to kick into gear for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Here are the regions forecasters predict will be most affected. 
• Volunteers like Bob Spears, a retired L.A. Unified School District English teacher, are working on rebuilding the historic Mount Wilson trail in Sierra Madre after last year’s record-breaking flooding. My colleague Erin Stone speaks with Spears about the work that's required.
• The population of endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep are declining due to the record-breaking snowy winter. My colleague Jill Replogle speaks with researchers about why half of the sheep died during California’s intense snow year. 
• Solar panels have been pointed to as a solution for the climate crisis but have you ever wondered what happens when they wear out? Grist’s Izzy Ross writes about the environmental impact of solar power and the challenges that arise with finding sustainable solutions. 
• Want to watch Muralist Judy Baca work on expanding her signature piece, The Great Wall of Los Angeles? Check out her live exhibition at the L.A. County Museum of Art now until June.  
• Two of L.A.’s oldest comic book stores, Geoffrey’s Comics in Torrance and Hi De-Ho Comics in Santa Monica, are closing down on Dec. 31. Anne To writes about the lasting impact of these shops, which have had some of the industry’s big names walk through their doors.

Wait! One more thing...

Pedestrians, Bikers and Rollerbladers Take Over The 110

The Arroyo Seco Parkway closed to drivers and opened to bikers and walkers transportation Sunday morning.

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Ariel Zirulnick

)

Instead of car traffic, the 110 Freeway was packed with people who were moving and grooving on foot and bikes Sunday morning. The whole motorway was closed down for the second annual ArroyoFest at the Arroyo Seco Parkway this weekend. The first one took place 20 years ago.

Pedestrians, cyclists and skaters danced to live music performances as they traveled the route connecting communities like Chinatown, Highland Park and Pasadena.

Bonus trivia: The Arroyo Seco Parkway is the oldest freeway in the Western U.S. Learn more about what happened there on Sunday by reading my colleague Kevin Tidmarsh’s article.