Trash bags hang from bushes along the Los Angeles River as kayakers from the L.A. Conservation Corps do an inspection tour on July 14, 2012. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
A week before paying customers line up for the 2nd annual Paddle the River event, organizers make notes of spots in the river that could make navigation difficult. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Antonio Bustamante, 40, of the L.A. Conservation Corps, leads the kayakers. The Sepulveda Basin is home to the hardest working wetlands in the city. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
A shopping cart in the Los Angeles River. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Antonio Bustamante, 40, of the L.A. Conservation Corps, negotiates a rocky section of the river on an inspection tour on July 14, 2012. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
An egret on the morning hunt for fish in the Los Angeles River. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Josh Herrarte, 28, left, and Antonio Bustamante, 40, of the L.A. Conservation Corps, prepare to set off on their river tour. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times))
