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Click
HERE for a Regional Trail Map of
the Basin (13.26MB pdf file) – Click
HERE for a local trail map of
the Wildlife Reserve |
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Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021, 6:30pm
-9pm by ZOOM
Sunday, October 3, 2021,
8am
Saturday, October 23, 2021,
8am-11am
Free Guided Tours
of
Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve
A year after the devastating fire of September 2020 in the Sepulveda
Basin Wildlife Reserve, San Fernando Valley Audubon invites you to
guided tours of the reserve on Second Saturdays.
The walks will include the many birds, other wildlife,
habitat, and fire recovery.
The emphasis of each tour will vary with participants’
interests.
Second Saturdays, 9:00 A.M.
October 2021 – March 2022.
Tours of this special place will begin at 9:00 A.M. and last an hour
and a half or two hours, depending on the group’s wishes.
These Walks are for
·
People who want to visit the Wildlife Reserve
·
Families with school-age children
·
Beginning birdwatchers, including first timers
Equipment
and Clothing:
Wear sturdy shoes, layered clothing, and a cap or hat with a brim.
Bring binoculars if you have them.
More Information:
Muriel
Kotin at 213.500-4143 or
visit San Fernando Valley Audubon's website
www.sfvaudubon.org.
Heavy rain cancels. |
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Sepulveda Basin Encampment Cleanups January 2020 https://abc7.com/society/sepulveda-basin-encampment-cleanup-enters-final-phase-/5825852/ https://patch.com/california/encino/cleanup-sepulveda-basin-homeless-camps-targets-remaining-group
Video about fire in the Basin on
July 30, 2019
Short ABC7 video about volunteers
in the Wildlife Reserve
Wildlife Sightings and
Conservation
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About the Sepulveda Flood Control Basin |
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All property within the Sepulveda Flood Control Basin is owned by the Los Angeles District Corps of Engineers, but more than 80% of the land is leased out for recreational and agricultural uses. Sepulveda Dam, completed in 1941, is a dry-land reservoir, with the purpose of controlling runoff from nearby San Gabriel, Santa Monica, and Santa Susana Mountains.
Besides the Encino and Balboa golf courses, the Balboa Sports Complex, and the model airplane field, most of the Basin was devoted to agriculture (corn and then sod farms). In the mid-1960’s, Burbank Blvd. was extended across the Basin. In the 1970’s the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation built the Donald Tillman Water Reclamation Plant within the Basin (over the objections of the Corp of Engineers). |
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In March of 1981, a revised Master Plan for the area was adopted. At the time, of the 2,150 acres in the Sepulveda Basin, approximately 1,060 acres were committed to recreational uses. The updated Master Plan designated an additional 540 acres for future recreational uses. Included in the plan are provisions for the commitment of approximately 220 acres of land to informal park space, 120 acres for development of a recreational lake, 108 acres for a wildlife management area, and 60 acres for an “arts park” that has been subsequently redesignated for a “sports complex” (the area west of Balboa Blvd. just north of the Los Angeles River. |
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The Master Plan also tried to minimize adverse environmental effects and recommended “designing reaches of newly-formed lakes and ponds |
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In 1979 the Corp of Engineers developed the first area of the Wildlife Reserve (formerly called the South Reserve), an approximate 48 acre parcel located south of Burbank Blvd and bordered by the Los Angeles River and the Sepulveda Dam on the east and south. A “pothole” pond (fed with piped-in fresh water) was created, and vegetation representing coastal sage scrub and riparian woodlands were planted.
This area was drastically altered in December 2012 and as of January
2013 there were ongoing negotiations between environmental groups and
the Army Corps of Engineers (see section above below upcoming events). |
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The approximate 60-acre North Reserve (north of Burbank Blvd., east of Haskell Creek, west of the Dam) was developed in 1988, featuring an 11-acre lake with an island and wildlife viewing stations. Various revegetation projects have been undertaken since then. |
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the reserve entrance and restrooms. |
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In 1991 the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant Flood Protection Project was finalized, and subsequently a berm was built around the Water Reclamation Plant to protect it from flooding, compensating excavation was performed in various places, and the outflow from the Water Reclamation Plant was rerouted under the dam so the outflow was outside (to the south) of the Dam. The 7-acre berm was planted with California native plants and is the largest native landscaping project developed by the City of Los Angeles. |
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In 1994, the City and Federal governments agreed to sharing the costs on $11 million in improvements in the Sepulveda Basin. The wildlife are was expanded 110 acres to the west of Haskell Creek (on either side of Woodley Avenue). Additional facilities in the wildlife area included trails, restrooms and staging area, signs, benches, viewing blinds and parking. This project was completed in 1999. |
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Member Organizations and Affiliated Agencies |
 SFV Audubon |
 California Native Plant Society |
 L.A. Audubon |
 Sierra Club, San Fernando Valley Group |
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 FoLAR |
 LA City Rec and Parks |
 Resource Conservation District |
 The Japanese Garden |
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Friends of Lake Balboa |
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Web page and design by Justin Baker. |
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Last Updated 9/25/2021 |
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