Corps of Engineers May Buy Part of Wetlands
Environmentalists gathered in Marina del Rey on Friday to announce what they consider to be a step toward saving the Ballona wetlands and stopping the proposed Playa Vista development project.
The Ballona wetlands is a 1,000-acre ecosystem near Marina del Rey that is on the site of the controversial Playa Vista development and the spot where DreamWorks SKG has decided to locate its movie production operation. DreamWorks is a partner with developer Maguire Thomas Partners in the project.
Some environmentalists opposed to Playa Vista made public a letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to buy and restore 139 acres of the Ballona wetlands. The corps had asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to identify coastal areas that the corps could target for restoration, said Marcia Hanscom of the Wetlands Action Network.
Neither corps nor Fish and Wildlife officials could be reached for comment Friday. Doug Gardner, project manager for Maguire Thomas, said the developer owns the property and is not interested in selling.
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