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- EIN 95-4542207
- (310) 849-3471
- Po Box 5623 Playa Del Rey CA 90296-5623 USA
- www.ballona.org
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Environment, Water, Water Resources, Wetlands Conservation & Management
Mission: Raise public awareness of wetlands issues, use, and preservation. Encourage ecologically sensitive access to the ballona wetlands ecological reserve and a transparent restoration planning process. Pursue legal avenues when the law has not been followed or enforced.
Programs: In 2015 the land trust secured one favorable court ruling and set the stage for another, finalized in 2016. The first was an october 2015 ruling by los angeles superior court ordering the santa monica bay restoration commission ("smbrc") to disclose information about its staff that smbrc had repeatedly refused to disclose voluntarily. Smbrc had initially attempted to deny that it had any staff. Included in the information that the court ordered smbrc to disclose was a listing the official duties performed by each of the smbrc's staff members. This culminated in a 2016 court order to smbrc to disclose extensive documents related to ballona wetlands ecological reserve and the ballona wetlands restoration project. The court also partially granted a writ of mandate and that the land trust be entitled to recoup reasonable attorney fees, which was settled for $220,000. In addition to its legal efforts, the land trust also continued public education and outreach efforts. The land trust participated in the annual carthay elementary school science fair and environmental exposition as well as multiple farmers' markets. The land trust maintained an active social media presence and distributed multiple e-mail news announcements. The land trust also continued to attend numerous public meetings of governmental agencies involved with the ballona wetlands restoration project.