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his city is far too vast for a single green hub like more densely developed New York’s Central Park. Instead, the proposed Los Angeles River Greenway will create a network of satellite parks across the county. The river and its tributaries will link open spaces
together like a strand of pearls, a treasure for residents and visitors alike. The more than 30 river parks already established are oases of beauty and calm. Some are named for their wild past: Steelhead Park and Egret Park honor species that once thrived there. At Marsh Street Park—among almost 80 acres of riverfront protected by The Trust for Public Land—children play on colorful sculptures of a rattlesnake and a frog. Lewis MacAdams heads Friends of the Los Angeles River. For three decades,
he’s worked toward a vision of the river restored to its former vitality, wetland habitat that can support not only human life but also the birds and wildlife of the river’s past—and, he hopes, its future. “When the steelhead trout runs re- turn to the Los Angeles River,” he says, “that’s when our work will be done.” A celebrated poet as well as an activist, MacAdams describes his work as a 40-
year art project. “It’s an expression I plucked out of the air,” he says. “But it’s a way to look at the big picture. The river becomes a symbol of how people live in the watershed. It’s nothing if not an ambitious project.”
I HAVE EXPLORED THE URBAN FRONTIER, VENTURING INTO THE SMALL PRESERVES AND MANMADE PARKS THAT PAY HOMAGE TO THE CONCEPT OF WILDERNESS.
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