SHERMAN OAKS : Councilman Urges Cleanup of Canyons

Looking over a scenic Sherman Oaks canyon, cluttered with old sofas and discarded mattresses, Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo called Thursday for more volunteers to support the Adopt-a-Canyon program.

“We have to do a better job of taking care of canyons so they’re not magnets for dumping,” Woo said at a news conference at Dixie Canyon.

The Adopt-a-Canyon program is patterned after the Adopt-a-Highway program, encouraging removal of litter from canyons and other natural habitats throughout California. It is run by the California Environmental Project, a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 to clean up environmentally sensitive areas.

Project officials are seeking volunteers to adopt 49 canyons by providing money or labor for initial cleanups and monthly maintenance.

Six--including Coldwater Canyon in Studio City, Franklin Canyon in Beverly Hills and Tuna Canyon in Malibu--already have been adopted. Among the donors are entertainer Bette Midler, Steven Wise Middle School of Mulholland Drive, and Woo, said Scott Mathes, executive director of the project.

Woo said he donated $3,000 for Franklin Canyon.

“I think it’s important to take a look at open spaces left in L.A. as if they were our garden,” Mathes said. “And we don’t go dumping couches in our garden.”

Project officials said to date they have cleaned up more than 375 tons of trash--from piles of tires to a seven-foot plastic Ronald McDonald statue.