SunlandTujungaNaturalCommunity

Significant attributes.

2011-10-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

Dateline Sunland Tujunga California;
We all enjoy some modicum of serenity thanks to our communities Wild and Scenic Green Verdugo Mountains. Along with the Angeles National Forest, (and there the Wilderness covering the Beautiful San Gabriel Mtns.) Nature surrounds us, and taken with the Scenic Big Tujunga Wash create the boundaries and the ambiance that define our town, Sunland Tujunga California, here in, yet a world away from City of Los Angeles.
The Green Verdugo Hills, for all of us, it will be a shame to see the buildout of sprawl creep up and over them, a psychological blow. For Nature itself, our wild neighbors, it will be fatal. I say Natives should stay. Wild creatures are our favorite neighbors! Development could take them into account. This would be cheap to free. I don't believe we need to remove and replace the wild native critters! Why purchase landscape sod plants or oak trees from thousand oaks, (and why buy pet canines and felines and avians and well u get it for that matter), surrogate plants and animal companions, grass yards & ficus? Let's get with Nature, get our seed nearby and appreciate the ways that Nature knows. Without using local seed and plants, we miss out on the awesome genetics with which our locally evolved native plant populations are endowed, we are gardening at a loss. The only right way is keeping and spreading local wild native plants (together with all the companions inherent / alive here wild, known as "habitat associations" and I whom call native "plant" communities), in development and the urban/wildland interface Local Native gardening and landscaping should be practiced and promoted, for sure in our town and hopefully beyond.
In "Scenic" areas we need to recognize the existence of the Natural "Wild" communities that live there, and that they have significant value to people living here in Sunland Tujunga, our community plan should reflect that.
Wild Native communities, as genetic repositories (and seed supply), for use in Sunland Tujunga as landscaping and for gardening, Local Native plants in these Hills are an Agriculturally significant resource.
To the benefit of our air and water quality, resident "Wild Natural Communities" contribute significantly.
To our physical and mental wellness for Scenic beauty and recreationaly, our local nature is profound.
Nature is whom this community needs, not what.
Local Naturalist and Native Plant Photographer, Ricky Grubb.

Rooftop residential owned solar electric systems

2011-06-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

We need rooftop solar systems standards, rebates, reasonable feed in tariffs and expedited permits to fuel an explosion of good clean intown Megawatts, (rooftop solar in free market is customer owned) critically, new ROOFTOP solar generates green IN BASIN megawatts, with none of the associated fossil fuel burning emissions. Rooftop Solar is clean power that comes online just when we need it most, producing max output on hot sunny days when we import lots of power over the overheated high voltage DC interties sending hydro power here from up north, and importing coal power here from the east. Rooftop solar electric makes more sense than building far off wind farms or solar thermal plants on fragile desert tortoise habitat (free BLM land for "green" solar thermal in fragile desert habitat tarp funds no doubt), that still requires transmission capacity, (Interties are ugly as he1, they destroy pristine scenic wilderness wantonly), and they are already overloaded on hot summer days. We can own our own solar power on our rooftops and reap the returns on our investments with strong long term leadership and initiative on this, and we have to commit retiring old power plants replacement with rooftop solar low interest loans and rebates. We can go rooftop solar, and reduce the human (over)population by about 2 % over the next 10 - 15 years and solve all our stinky, sprawling gas guzzling overblown cities problems. Support Natural surroundings, the lives they live are no less G_D given than ours, we should not continuously destroy so much that is so good for so little.

CD2 Policy: Krekorian Seeks to Encourage Rooftop Solar in LAUSD Schools

2011-06-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

CD2 Policy: Krekorian Seeks to Encourage Rooftop Solar in LAUSD Schools

Station Fire volunteers

2011-01-18T18:56:00.000-08:00

We all benefit from the beautiful Angeles National Forest, and the natural habitat covering our local mountains, which surround our Sunland Tujunga community. Many of us want to do something to help nature recover after the devastating Station Firestorm of 2009 ,right in our backyard. To really help and learn about our local wild natives, I can highly recommend to my Sunland/Tujunga neighbors they volunteer with the ANF, restoring select local forest habitat areas that burned in the Station Firestorm. Non-profits, community groups, Neighbors and kids will best volunteer their time LOCALLY, and here, now is a perfect opportunity with the USFS Angeles National Forest. They may be contacted on the web here; http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/ . Volunteering, and working with the forest service in our nearby Station fire habitat restoration areas is a very effective, rewarding and educational use of your charitable time. The forest service uses site specific methods, (ANF experts and plant nurseries are using the very best local plant genetic diversity and evolutionary biological methodology). Volunteer hours spent with them is the best way you can learn the science with the hands on, local field experience, enjoy native plants in the wild, and actually do some good for our local nature. Learn "hands on" from the experts, how to best select, propagate and cultivate our beautiful, local native plants for your yard! You will help; Gather seed from VERY local plant genomes. Propagate local seeds for local re-vegetation use. Plant and care for the appropriate seedlings in select burned areas. The Forest Service invites volunteers, partners and others to help the forest with its natural resource conservation needs. If individuals or groups are interested in joining the efforts please visit the ANF website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/ . Ricky Grubb, Naturalist and Photographer

After Firestorm

2009-09-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

These peoples homes were saved. Wild neighbors who lived lost everything. Please have a heart for lost wildlife, they are thirsty and homeless and have no food for gods sake. We owe them that much. Bobcat seen this morning in Sunland on Apperson st. at Hidden Oak. 10 Sept 09.

2008-12-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

Big Tujunga Wash in Sunland area, City of Los Angeles. Critical Habitat for the recovery of the endangered Arroyo Toad. Important wildlife corridor. Rare upolluted local water source. Rim of the Valley Trail route.

2008-12-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

Puma track photo taken in Big Tujunga Wash community of Sunland City of Los Angeles Ca. near residences encroaching into Tujunga wash wildlife migration corridor. Big Tujunga Wash is home to many resident endangered and threatened species as well such as the Arroyo Toad, the Slender Horned Spineflower, Arroyo Chub etcetera. The Big Tujunga River in our community was proposed, and designated as critical Habitat for the recovery of the Arroyo Toad, only to be stripped of the designation by a political hack appointee of the Bush//Cheney administration. This is currently undergoing review by the US FWS in response to a lawsuit filed by the center for biological diversity, who deserve our sincere thanks for standing up for nature on many fronts.

Thanks CBD! Ricky Grubb, environmentalrep@stnc.org .

2008-01-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

What good can come of the total removal of nature from such a beautiful site?

Here is a rare and threatened Oscillated Humboldt Lilly from the very site pictured above, now never to bloom again thanks to development clearing the site as seen in the previous photo.

Natural community template

2007-01-11T23:46:00.000-08:00

The residents of this quiet grove of ancient live oak will all be dead one year from today.

What possible purpose can it serve to so utterly destroy these living breathing natural places, all for the convinience of housing development the old fasioned way.

Remember, Nature? We killed it.

Why? Ignorance and lazyness. Ignorance of homebuyers preferences, in that we prefer the area's natural attributes, the ease of caring for native plants as compared to lawns and oleanders, and the wide open views afforded by not having fences dividing us and segregating us from the nature we dearly love.

2007-01-11T13:44:00.000-08:00