Army Department February 6, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The study area is located within the Los Angeles Basin on a broad alluvial plain flanked by the Santa Monica Mountains, to the west, and by the San Gabriel Mountains to the northeast. The Los Angeles River flows from the headwaters of Bell Creek and Calabasas Creek in the San Fernando Valley community of Canoga Park southeast through the San Fernando Valley some 35 miles to downtown Los Angeles. From there it continues in a southerly direction until it empties into the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach. The specific study area comprises the 32 miles of the River within the City of Los Angeles that extends from Owensmouth Avenue, in the upper reaches of northwest San Fernando Valley, to the border of the City of Vernon, at the southern end of Downtown Los Angeles. The study proposes to consider a range of activities to restore riparian and aquatic habitat, and related habitat functions, in and adjacent to the Los Angeles River. Compatible activities to conserve cultural resources, and to provide recreational and interpretive amenities, will also be considered. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify a range of opportunities to improve the general environment of the Los Angeles River through ecosystem restoration and related measures. The study area includes several locations where potential exists for restoring a more natural riverine environment along the Los Angeles River, while maintaining and improving levels of flood protection. Creation of treatment wetlands in and around the river, to treat effluent river flows and to restore missing linkages of fragmented habitat, would also be pursued. Restored areas would provide natural riparian habitat to support indigenous wildlife and avifauna along a corridor transecting most of the San Fernando Valley, and extending into downtown Los Angeles. Other purposes include provision of public access to the river, identification of incidental recreation space, and delineation of trails. Site-specific Environmental Impact Statement-Environment Impact Reports (EIS/EIR) would be prepared in the future to evaluate and document individual projects that may result from this study.