Restoring Nature's Services - Watershed Rehabilitation

North East Trees works to protect and restore streams and rivers throughout Los Angeles County.  These waterways, and the watersheds that surround them, are some of the most threatened in the country.  Many have been paved over or lined with concrete to protect against floods.  Others are continually filled with trash and other pollutants that flow from streets and parking lots.  Still more are covered up or degraded from new development. As a result, many of our native plant and animal species have disappeared from much of their historic range; over 90% of the natural vegetation along Los Angeles rivers and streams has disappeared. North East Trees is working hard to protect and restore our watersheds.  We do this in many ways, from developing comprehensive plans for watershed restoration to building projects to keep pollutants out of waterways or restoring the natural function of remaining creeks and streams.

Watershed Planning

Any comprehensive watershed restoration effort starts with a plan.  Watershed restoration is complex and involves balancing restoration opportunities with existing conditions and financial resources.  North East Trees diverse project team brings many skills to bear on creating these plans, including expertise in habitat restoration, water quality analysis, park and open space design, and water quality monitoring.  Our most recent project is the Arroyo Seco Watershed Management and Restoration Plan, which proposes a restoration approach for the 47-square mile Arroyo Seco watershed in north-central Los Angeles County.  To review this plan, click here.

Water Quality Improvement

Poor water quality is one of the most significant environmental challenges in Southern California.  Not only does it affect the animals that live in streams and rivers, but it also affects us when we swim in the oceans into which the rivers and storm drains empty.  A recent UCLA / Stanford study estimated that over 1.5 million people each year are sickened by bacteria and other pollutants in our waterways. North East Trees designs and builds projects to remove these pollutants from our water before they even enter storm drains.  Typically, these are treatment systems based on natural processes that employ sand, soil and native plants to remove pollutants.  Often, they are incorporated into existing public lands such as parks and roadways.  An example is the Oros Green Street Project, where North East Trees, in partnership with the City of Los Angeles, installed a natural water quality treatment system as part of a neighborhood beautification project.  For information on this project, click here.

Stream Restoration

Once, our streams and waterways were verdant oases, filled with sycamore and willow trees, native birds and many types of fish.  Today, if not covered in concrete, they are often neglected channels filled with trash and invasive plants that push out all of our native ones. North East Trees works hard to restore these forgotten treasures to their former glory.  We plant native trees and plants, remove trash, debris and harmful exotic plants, rebuild stream channels so that they function during winter storms, and provide public access while maintaining protection of fragile areas.  For information about NET’s stream restoration efforts, click here.