Halt to Construction Sought at Possible Gnatcatcher Site

The gnatcatcher--that winged killjoy to Southern California developers and endangered hero to area preservationists--may have stuck its beak into another controversy, this time at a secluded cemetery construction site near Whittier.

Plans to erect a Buddhist columbarium on unincorporated Los Angeles County land have attracted the attention of investigators for the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, who claim the coastal sagebrush around the five-acre project may be home to federally protected gnatcatchers. They have asked the cemetery to halt construction while they determine if gnatcatchers live there.

But officials at Rose Hills Memorial Park stand by a recent environmental survey that turned up no evidence of the gnatcatcher in the area. Until they see proof to the contrary, they said the project will continue according to schedule, meaning a pagoda-style structure will be constructed amid the Whittier Hills.

“If there’s a problem, [Fish and Wildlife officials] are going to have to tell us,” said Bruce Lazenby, Rose Hills’ chief engineer for the project. “I don’t think the solution is going to be, ‘Let’s stop this project.’ ”

U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife officials could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Bob Break, an attorney for Rose Hills, said there is no reason to put the project on hold because the sagebrush in question lies on the periphery of the construction site.