ABOUT FoLAR

(FoLAR) Friends of the Los Angeles River is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization founded in 1986, whose mission is to protect and restore the natural and historic heritage of the Los Angeles River and its riparian habitat through inclusive planning, education and wise stewardship. Once home to steelhead and grizzlies, the Los Angeles River meandered through wetlands, marshes, willow, alder and sycamore, providing desperately needed water for the region. Now running over 50 miles long - from the suburbs of the San Fernando Valley to the ocean in Long Beach - the Los Angeles River flows through 14 cities and countless neighborhoods. When the Army Corps of Engineers initiated a flood control project in the late 1930’s, they began the process of paving 80% of the River, creating the world’s largest storm drain. Over the ensuing decades, the River that had been the sole water supply for the City of Los Angeles before the Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed in 1913 almost disappeared from public consciousness. With the cement came a perceptual shift: the River no longer existed. Instead, it was a “flood control channel,” a no-man’s land, surrounded by fences and signs.
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FoLAR was founded on the belief that effective advocacy, education, collaboration and imagination can accomplish great things. We know first hand that urban restoration requires creativity, technical knowledge and tenacity - but also that our goals, while vast and visionary, are also undeniably attainable:
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1. Restoring the L.A. River’s natural habitat
2. Developing recreational and commuter bikeways, pedestrian paths and horse trails on the riverbanks; as well as places for canoeing and kayaking in the River
3. Applying flood-protection technologies that emphasize the restoration of a healthy ecosystem
4. Reforesting and re-vegetating the River’s watershed to control seasonal flooding and debris flow
5. Creating educational programs which bring students to celebrate and study the River and to explain the importance of the River, its tributaries an its watershed
6. Fostering efforts to monitor and improve water quality in the River and its tributaries, and to control toxic pollution from dumping and storm drains
7. Coordinating community-based clean-ups and graffiti removal along the River in cooperation with other groups and agencies
8. Creating an LA River Conservancy to coordinate public management of the River, to enact land-use ordinances and zoning laws and to manage development in the riparian corridor
9. Placing the LA River bridges on the National Historic Registry, thus protecting and enhancing their historic and aesthetic value
10. Encouraging appropriate uses of reclaimed water for irrigation and recharge of aquifers, thus promoting sustainable development.
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FoLAR has seen remarkable victories, reminding us of what is possible. They include: Fighting the Los Angeles County Drainage Area (LACDA), which proposed building walls 2-8 feet high along the last twelve miles of the River to increase flood protection (our efforts were key in modifying the original plans, and led to the creation of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council, a principal forum for discussion of the Rivers’ future); Successfully mobilizing efforts to create a community park at the Cornfield Yards — a 30-acre parcel of land between Chinatown and the Los Angeles River, which had been slated for warehouse development (the Chinatown Yard Alliance brought together diverse stakeholders including FoLAR, the Sierra Club, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Concerned Citizens of South Central L.A., Mothers of East Los Angeles and the Latino Urban Forum); and winning the battle to create a State Park at Taylor Yard — a 220+ acre former railroad yard with more than 2 miles of living riverfront.
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Who We Are

Board of Directors:
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• Lewis MacAdams is the Co-founder and President of FoLAR; for more than 20 years he served as the Board Chairman.  He is a poet, journalist, and filmmaker.
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• Alex Ward is the Board Chairman and is an architect and principal of lxw design in Los Angeles.
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• William Weidner is the Board Secretary and Treasurer and a writer and story analyst in the entertainment industry, currently employed by Warner Brothers.
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• Cary Brazeman is chief executive of The Corporate Storyteller, a national marketing agency based in Los Angeles, and founder of LA Neighbors United, a community organization.S
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• Stephanie Mancillas is an elementary school teacher living in Boyle Heights.
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• James Rojas is a project manager at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and co-owner of Gallery 727 in Downtown LA.
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• Brett Goldstone is a native New Zealander who has spent the last 30 years making public art in and around the Los Angeles River. His most enduring works are the gates on the Fletcher Dr access roads to the LA River.

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• Tammy Metzger is the Principal of JuriSense, a trial consulting firm in Long Beach.

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FOLAR STAFF:

Shelly Backlar • Executive Director
sbacklar@folar.org
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Lewis MacAdams • President
leweye@gmail.com
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Dylan Haley • Website Design & Managment:
www.TypeGoesHere.com
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Friends of the Los Angeles River on Facebook

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Special thanks to JunkEmailFilter.com for their miraculous spam-filtering service provided free to non-profits. Worth more than the weight of all the avoided junk email in gold - they’ve provided us with sweet relief from almost constant bombardment.