George Wolfe set out to save the Los Angeles River and in the process patched a hole in the Clean Water Act.
By Erin Barnes
To most Californians the Los Angeles River is more sewer than waterway. To the rest of the world it’s the cement-banked drainage ditch through which John Connor and the Terminator fled the semi-driving T-1000. But to Van Nuys boater George Wolfe, the river is both a playground and a battleground.
Before moving to L.A., Wolfe spent nine years kayaking in the Pacific Northwest and Vermont. Unaccustomed to life as an Angeleno, he was led to the sludgy Los Angeles River by Heather Wylie, a former biologist with the Army Corps of Engineers, which determines the navigability of the nation’s waters. Wylie had learned that all but two of the river’s 50 miles had been labeled unnavigable — leaving it unprotected by the Clean Water Act.
Drafted when toxic dumping into rivers was out of control, the 1972 Clean Water Act aimed to detox the nation’s waterways in just 11 years. But in 2006, with contamination still plaguing more than a third of assessed U.S. waters, a Supreme Court ruling in the case of John Rapanos — a developer who had illegally filled protected wetlands to build a shopping mall — narrowed the scope of waters protected by the CWA. Rapanos argued that the wetlands didn’t need protection as they weren’t connected to waters that fell under the jurisdiction of the EPA. The Supreme Court decided that if a river is not “relatively permanent,” its wetlands are not protected — leaving many western rivers that rage in winter, but trickle come summer, outside CWA jurisdiction.
After hearing of the Los Angeles River’s new status, Wylie called Wolfe, whom she’d seen in a YouTube video (he played a commuter stuck in traffic who abandons his car, jumps in his kayak, and paddles to work in a suit and tie). She told him he had to get boaters on the river to prove it navigable. It took Wolfe two months to plan the three-day, 50-mile expedition, which he undertook with a cameraman and a dozen other boaters (Wylie included), despite failing to get the requisite permits.
Though much of the river matches public perception — an 18-inch-deep dribble past trash, graffiti, and homeless encampments — there are sections that resemble wilderness. A concrete-free stretch in the Sepulveda Basin, for example, is 12 feet deep and a haven for herons and carp. And the Glendale Narrows boasts a reed-fringed seven miles of Class I rapids.
Halfway down the river, helicopters and the LAPD surrounded the kayakers. With media watching, the Army Corps tried to placate the paddlers, offering them a token film permit. “It said we could film in the water but that we couldn’t put the boats in,” says Wolfe. “We did it anyway.”
Because of the trip, the EPA took river jurisdiction from the corps. “This case provides wisdom on how to treat dozens of rivers,” says EPA regional wetlands chief David Smith. A good thing, as protection is in limbo for millions of acres of wetlands and streams.
Wolfe is now a full-time activist for the river and plans to start an adventure education program to expand access to it for park-starved neighborhoods. “I’d also like to get the Governator in a boat on the river as part of a sanctioned trip,” he says.
More At-Risk River
If you want to save a river near you, start with one of these 10 — the country’s most endangered,
according to nonprofit conservation organization American Rivers
1. California - Sacramento-San Joaquin River System
2. Georgia - Flint River
3. Washington, Oregon, Idaho - Lower Snake River
4. Maryland - Mattawoman Creek
5. Montana - North Fork of the Flathead River
6. South Carolina - Saluda River
7. Pennsylvania - Laurel Hill Creek
8. Alaska - Beaver Creek
9. Mississippi - Pascagoula River
10. Minnesota, Wisconsin - Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway
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This article originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.
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June 22nd, 2009 at 11:44 am
I had the fortune of meeting George while we produced the online documentary on the Los Angeles River for KCET/PBS in Los Angeles. The revitalization of the river has been charged with political intrigue, but George was clear minded about it all.
If you want to see more that 5 hours of history and hear the voices of George and others visit us here:
http://www.kcet.org/lariver
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June 24th, 2009 at 9:48 am
News coverage about traumatized rivers has a history in this country of leading to substantial repercussions (Time magazine’s piece 40 years ago, on the burning of the Cuyahoga River, led to the creation of the Clean Water Act and was a watershed moment for the nascent environmental movement). The watering down of that legislation during the Bush years created recent controversies over rivers such as the LA River (CA) and the Santa Cruz River (AZ). Let’s hope that the media, with continuing coverage, can play yet another key role again!
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July 9th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
I traveled down the river with George for 3 days taking photos.
You can see the photos in the links below.
There are many photos of George and even a photo of Heather Wylie.
Day 1 http://laist.com/2008/07/26/kayaking_the_la_river_part_1.php
Day 2 http://laist.com/2008/07/27/kayaking_the_la_river_part_2_east_v.php
Day 3 http://laist.com/2008/07/28/kayaking_the_la_river_day_3_marsh_p.php
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January 6th, 2010 at 7:51 am
As an Australian who has been to LA many times i cannot be amazed at how the LA River is allowed to become such an eyesore. It was refreshing to read this post and see that in some places the Los Angeles river is a haven. When i have travelled across the river and see the cement and the trickle of the river i feel so saddened. Why havent trees and other natural features been incorporated to make the river a place for people to visit. We are drawn to Water and this seems a desirable thing - the waters of the LA River. Or is it that full knowledge indicates that the river we call LA River is dead and dying for most part. LA is in need of an overhaul for sure,its edge is tarnished yet i love going there and going back to this vibrant city. Please do something about the river and you will make the city just that more virbrant naturally. I love LA. move over Randy Newman!
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