Photo caption:
(from left to right): Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Congressman Adam Schiff (29th District).
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LOS ANGELES - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, in a partnership between the City of Los Angeles and the Obama Administration, to continue to protect, restore, and revitalize the Los Angeles River Watershed, met on Thursday, January 12, 2011, to discuss the North Atwater Park Restoration and Expansion Project. After a flyover of the Los Angeles River, the Mayor and the Secretary of the Interior, along with City Engineer Gary Lee Moore, convened at the North Atwater Park site for a press conference to discuss project highlights in front of several dozen community leaders, environmentalists, and media outlets.
Also present were Congressman Adam Schiff (29th District), Congresswoman Lucille Royball-Allard (34th District), Council members Tom LaBonge (CD 4) and Ed Reyes (CD 1).
Los Angeles has been selected as one of seven pilot cities from across the nation for the Urban Waters Federal Partnership. The Partnership works with local governments to help underserved communities reconnect to their waterways and the green space surrounding them.
The Los Angeles River was chosen for the federal partnership because of its unique capacity to promote economic, environmental and social benefits by reconnecting large urban communities, particularly those that are overburdened or economically distressed, with an iconic natural resource.
The Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (LARRMP) identifies over 240 potential projects to restore riverside habitats, increase public access to the river, and promote recreational opportunities around the river. The City of Los Angeles has already begun to connect people to the Los Angeles River through projects like the Elysian Valley Pedestrian and Bike Path and the Rio de Los Angeles State Park.
North Atwater Park, the site of the event, is adjacent to the Glendale Narrows portion of the LA River and is currently being restored through the Master Plan with native vegetation and improved stormwater filtration. The park is set to reopen this spring.
The Urban Waters Federal Partnership is an innovative collaboration of eleven federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Commerce/Economic Development Administration, the Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
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