Pasadena and activists clash over removal of non-native trees in Hahamongna

November 7, 11:45 PMAltadena Headlines ExaminerLaura Berthold Monteros

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The Station Fire that swept across the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena and Altadena has opened new concerns about what to do with non-native trees in Hahamongna Watershed Park. The park is owned by the City of Pasadena. At a recent forestry committee meeting in Pasadena, people weighed in on both sides of the issue.

While the U.S. Forest Service is advising Pasadena to remove non-natives, some community activists would prefer a wait-and-see approach until more is known about the effects of the wildfire. City officials fear that without native vegetation to slow their spread, non-natives may propagate in burned areas.

Lori Paul, who attended the meetng, said, "We've seen animal populations devastated by the fire. Even non-native trees are useful for (animals) ... a lot of animals depend on these trees."

Tim Brick, Managing Director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation, counters, "The logic is quite the opposite of what they are saying. It doesn't make a lot of sense at all."

The decision is complicated by concerns that the ecological damage from the Station Fire will substantially increase debris flow and flooding in the Arroyo Seco in the rainy season. The city will be powerless to stop the effects of the Station Fire on some animal populations.

A riparian restoration project, completed in 2008, restored the habitat of the Arroyo chub below Hahamongna and the fish were reintroduced. Biologists say that the expected increase in mud and debris flow give the fish little chance of survival.

"They are going to be wiped out," Robert Fisher, a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said.

There could be a compromise, however. Mary E. Barrie, in a letter to the Star-News, said that the consensus of those who spoke at the meeting was the gradual replacement of the non-native trees with natives over the course of several decades.

“What met with much disfavor was the notion of clear cutting the non-natives and replacing them with tiny trees that might not survive as happened in the lower Arroyo. The ‘go slow’ approach would restore Hahamongna to a more natural environment while causing minimal impact to the birds and other wildlife which rely on the existing trees,” she wrote.

More meetings will be held, and the master plan for Hahamongna is available online for review.