GARDENA : Fans of Willows Lobby to Save Nearby Parcel

When it comes to the Willows Wetlands, local environmentalists refuse to remain as quiet as the wind whispering through the 200-year-old trees.

Fans of the Willows, a five-acre habitat of willow trees and migratory birds near Artesia Boulevard and Vermont Avenue in Gardena, are campaigning to save an adjacent parcel of land from development.

Shirley Turner and other environmentalists see the eight-acre parcel just south of the wetlands as a buffer zone and an ideal spot for an information center. “You see soaring hawks, ducks and other migratory birds in the Willows,” said Turner, a Torrance resident. “If you build right next to it, you’ll strangle this pristine willow area.”

The city of Gardena, which recently purchased the property from Caltrans, agrees part of the parcel could be used as a buffer between the wetlands and the busy streets and shopping centers nearby. The city plans to zone the land fronting Artesia for commercial development, but it will require environmental impact reports for commercial development on the rest of the Caltrans lot, said City Manager Kenneth Landau.

City leaders are devising a plan for the area. The city was granted $1 million from a county park bond issue to enhance the wetlands and open the area to visitors.

But Turner and others are circulating petitions asking that the entire Caltrans lot be annexed to the wetlands. Turner said she has collected about 250 signatures. “We’re trying our best to not let these willows be strangled.”