Coalition urges California to pause Ballona Wetlands bulldozing plan

A coalition of environmental groups is pressing California wildlife officials to stop a proposed $400 million restoration project at LA’s Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve and consider a gentler alternative. The dispute comes after a court rejected an earlier environmental review, and ahead of a public meeting on the revised plan on Nov. 12 in Los Angeles.

Why it matters: - The Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve is one of the last large wildlife habitats on the Los Angeles coast. - Critics say the proposed project would replace existing habitat with a decade of heavy construction and could displace rare and endangered species. - The coalition says the state should choose a lower-impact approach that protects wildlife already living on the site.

What happened: - Defend Ballona Wetlands, Sierra Club, In Defense of Animals and allied organizations asked the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to pause its newly released plan for the reserve. - The coalition opposes a proposal it says would bulldoze and excavate the wetlands and cost up to $400 million in public funds. - CDFW will hold an in-person public meeting on the Draft Revised EIR on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Westchester Municipal Building, 7166 W. Manchester Ave., Los Angeles. - Organizations in the coalition have asked elected officials to extend the public comment period.

The details: - The reserve covers about one square mile and was bought by the state in 2003 for $139 million to protect it. - The coalition says the project would move about 2 million cubic yards of soil over roughly 10 years. - The reserve is home to about 1,700 species, including rare, threatened and endangered wildlife. - Species identified by the coalition include Least Bell’s Vireos, Belding’s Savannah Sparrows, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, White-tailed Kites, Short-eared Owls, Red-winged Blackbirds, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Burrowing Owls, Audubon Cottontail Rabbits, Gray Foxes, American Kestrals and Great Horned Owls. - Marcia Hanscom, founder of Defend Ballona Wetlands, said, “Destruction is not restoration.” - Jane Velez-Mitchell said the wetlands are the last remaining habitat for some of the area’s wildlife and that most other land has already been developed. - Velez-Mitchell and other residents are planning a fundraiser on Sunday, Dec. 6, near the wetlands to raise money to oppose the project. - A Los Angeles Superior Court found the 2020 Final Environmental Impact Report inadequate on May 17, 2023, and decertified it. - The case is listed as 21STCP00240. - The earlier court filing names lawyer Bryan Pease of Ijadi & Pease and includes the email bryan@ijadipease.com. - CDFW says the new Draft Revised EIR is limited to two issues: the 68,000 cubic feet per second flood-control design parameter and a commitment to further review if site conditions warrant reducing restoration goals or revising performance criteria. - The coalition says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said since 2017 it will not permit a project designed for less than 68,000 cubic feet per second. - The coalition says CDFW designed the project for 46,000 cubic feet per second, which the court noted as an error. - Defend Ballona Wetlands has proposed a 20-point Gentle Restoration plan that the coalition says would meet restoration goals without heavy machinery and at a fraction of the cost. - Susanne Cumming of Sierra Club’s Ballona Coastal Group said the process should start with a full, updated baseline survey of flora and fauna and protection for rare, threatened and endangered species. - Robert van de Hoek, an environmental scientist with Ballona Wetlands Institute and former federal wildlife biologist, said moving ahead without completing the Land Management Plan puts the reserve’s biodiversity at risk. - The Land Management Plan for the reserve still has not been completed more than two decades after the reserve was designated in 2005. - The coalition says CDFW is moving forward before that plan is finished. - An earlier joint review in September 2017 described abandoning or relocating SoCalGas wells and pipelines and listed seven potential well-relocation sites on SoCalGas land next to the reserve. - The coalition says moving the wells would not eliminate the fossil gas supply or the underlying Playa del Rey Oil Field beneath the wetlands and Playa del Rey. - The project has opposition from actor James Cromwell, who headlined a community gathering against the bulldozing plan. - More information is available in the court filing.

Between the lines: - The fight is no longer just about restoration design. It is also about whether CDFW has a complete enough environmental and land-management record to justify major earthmoving at a sensitive reserve. - The coalition is trying to frame the project as an avoidable risk to habitat, while CDFW appears to be narrowing the legal issues in the revised review. - The public comment deadline could become a flashpoint if officials do not extend the review window.

What’s next: - CDFW’s Nov. 12 public meeting could shape the next phase of the environmental review process. - The coalition wants CDFW to pause the project, complete the Land Management Plan and evaluate the Gentle Restoration proposal on its merits. - Advocates are also pushing for more time for public comment and further review by elected officials. - The outcome of the revised EIR will determine whether the state advances the bulldozing plan or is forced to reconsider a lower-impact alternative.