The Pasadena Group of Sierra Club has numerous hikes and activities planned for summer, fall and winter. One such event was a strenuous 12.5-mile hike with 2700 ft. of elevation gain to Thunder, Telegraph and Timber peaks near Mt. Baldy which was planned for August 20, 2022. [Sierra Club, Pasadena Group, via Facebook]
Locally, the group has been actively monitoring the Big Dig – formally called the Devil’s Gate Reservoir Restoration Project, which describes Los Angeles County’s yearslong project removing 1.7 million cubic yards of rocks, soil and debris from a large area around the 100-year-old Devil’s Gate Dam.
“During the pandemic, we monitored the situation with the ‘Big Dig’ in the upper Arroyo Seco,” Bill Joyce, Chairman of the Sierra Club Pasadena Group, said. “We supported the Arroyo Seco Foundation’s efforts to mitigate the worst of Big Dig’s negative impacts as envisioned in the original proposal. And all through 2020 and 2021, we provided regular updates on its progress in our newsletter.”
The project, which began around May 2019, was designed to restore Devil’s Gate Dam’s flood control capacity while establishing a permanent maintenance area surrounded by 70 acres of native habitat and various recreational opportunities. It was completed in August 2021, a year ahead of schedule.
When the Pasadena Group returned to outdoor hikes last November, they continued to monitor the Big Dig’s objective of restoring the native flora and fauna around the Dam.
It’s just one of the many environmental advocacies the group is pursuing locally.
“Our members are ongoing advocates for the health and stewardship of our national forests, especially our San Gabriel (Angeles) National Forest and the San Gabriel National Monument,” Joyce said.
The group also supports efforts to increase access to the forest for underserved communities and to bring more resources to forest management. Members advocate for public transit, the installation of more rooftop solar systems, and improved air quality, especially around the ports.
“There’s lots going on in our state, and we’ve found that issues that tend to interest people the most are issues that have the greatest impact on their immediate environment,” Joyce said. “That means transport – again – and biking, and safe streets, and shade trees and water conservation – all of the things that people want in their neighborhoods.”
For the rest of the year, the Pasadena Group will continue offering opportunities for hikes and other outdoor activities, such as a regular Thursday evening conditioning hike that’s quite popular. These hikes are open to non-members as well, although the Sierra Club is continuously recruiting new members.
The group is planning a get-together in the near future as well, which may turn into a fundraiser between now and the end of the year.
“Also, we hope to have public presentations at the Eaton Canyon Nature Center; we’re planning on returning there on September 8th – that’s a Thursday – for the first time since the pandemic started,” Joyce said. “And we think we’re going to be back there for public programs during October and November. And we will be hiking!”
To find out more about what Sierra Club Pasadena Group is doing, visit www.sierraclub.org/angeles/pasadena.
