Funds Will Help Restore Lake
Congress has approved $3.16 million for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to help restore the environment and develop more recreational facilities at Hansen Dam, officials said Friday
The money, which was secured by Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Van Nuys), is part of the omnibus appropriations bill passed Thursday.
Some of the money will be used to revive old Holiday Lake, a popular swimming, water skiing and fishing spot in the 1950s and ‘60s that closed in the early 1980s when silt from the nearby Tujunga Wash filled its basin.
The area is now used as a storage place for dumpsters, said Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the conservancy.
The group plans to work with Berman’s office, the city of Los Angeles and the Army Corps of Engineers to bring back the area’s natural beauty and build new hiking trails, a campground and an educational center for children, Edmiston said.
The area, which connects to the Angeles National Forest through the Big Tujunga Wash, supports alluvial fan scrub, coastal sage and riparian vegetation. It also contains habitat for the least Bell’s vireo, an endangered bird.
The bill is awaiting President Bush’s signature, said Fred A. Flores, a spokesman for Berman.
In the next few months, the conservancy plans to hold public hearings to gather input on the best use of the money, said spokeswoman Dash Stolarz.
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