Los Angeles, CA

20,000,000 BCE - present

Los Angeles boosts of more than 4,000 distinct species of plants and animals, 52 of which are endangered, including the spotted owl, the bighorn sheep, El Segundo blue butterfly, and blue whale. Located within the globally recognized biodiversity hotspot of the California Floristic Province, this urban center is nestled between the Pacific Ocean and striking mountain ranges. Los Angeles is marked by a subtropical dry Mediterranean climate with mild to hot temperatures year-round.

The landscape of Los Angeles has changed overtime. In the 1770s, thriving coastal prairies full of wildlife began to be converted to agricultural and livestock grazing lands, permanently altering the landscape. With settlement also came invasive species which quickly began to take over native wildlife. The commercial and residential development that characterizes Los Angeles today began with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1876. This brought a rush of newcomers to the region, straining Los Angeles natural resources, an issue that is still felt today. Urban growth led to the destruction of wetland habitats, many of which were paved over for underground storm drains. Development into the twentieth century with the boom of the automobile and oil industries contributed to the rise of pollution in the area, bringing about the smog that Los Angeles is known for. Rising temperatures as a result of climate change poses a growing threat to the county with increases in drought frequency and biodiversity loss.

The territory of Los Angeles falls within the ancestral homelands of the Ventureño, Gabrieleño-Tongva, Chumash, Kizh, Serrano, Luiseño, and Tataviam (Fernandeño) peoples.

Territorial recognition: https://native-land.ca/.

Most Pressing Issues

Pollution

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, Los Angeles has been notorious for its looming smog, caused by particle and ozone pollution as a result from the burning of fossil fuels, wildfires, and climate change. Los Angeles also suffers from high levels of stormwater pollution, with 100 billion gallons of polluted runoff flowing into the area’s storm drains annually. Rainwater drains into run-off channels that mixes with chemicals, oil, fertilizer, bacteria, and trash before spilling out into the ocean, leading to fish die-offs and permanent harm to marine species.

Drought

Rising temperatures, low precipitation, and groundwater depletion all contribute to Los Angeles’s critical drought issue. While the city has a long history of drought, dating back over 1,000 years according to Paleoclimate records, the dry conditions have grown significantly since the twentieth century. Drought causes lower water levels, which threatens some of the area’s endangered fish populations with extinction. Migratory birds have also been impacted by Los Angeles drought, which rely on flooded rice fields during their annual fall migrations.

Invasive Species

Invasive species first appeared in the Los Angeles basin when Europeans arrived in the 1770s, bringing with them nonnative plant and animal life, such as horse, cattle, wild mustard, poison hemlock, and the house mouse. These species quickly took over indigenous species, forever changing the landscape of what would become Los Angeles. As the region’s lands became converted for agricultural production, it became easier for invasive plants such as mustard to thrive. Additionally, black mustard, when dried up in the summer months, creates fuel for quick-burning wildfires.

How You Can Help

TreePeople

TreePeople’s mission is to inspire, engage and support people to take personal responsibility for the urban environment, making it safe, healthy, fun and sustainable and to share our process as a model for the world.

Los Angeles Waterkeeper

For a quarter-century, Los Angeles Waterkeeper (LA Waterkeeper) has served as LA’s water watchdog, safeguarding our inland and coastal waters using the law, science and community action. We work to eliminate pollution, achieve ecosystem health for our waterways and secure a resilient, multi-benefit, low-carbon water supply to the region.

Los Angeles Audubon

The mission of Los Angeles Audubon Society is to promote the study and protection of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats throughout the diverse landscapes of the Los Angeles area, and to stimulate popular interest in and access to nature for all Los Angeles communities by engaging youth and adults in conservation and education activities, providing opportunities to learn about birds and their habitats, and advocating policy and legislation that protect and promote birds.

Environment Now

Environment Now’s mission is to advance the right to a healthy environment – and our shared responsibility to safeguard that right – through measurably effective environmental programs that protect and restore California’s waters and forests.

Sources:

Hayley Smith, “California drought pits farmers vs. cities. But neither is the biggest water victim,” Los Angeles Times, October 3, 2022.

Tony Barboza, "Los Angeles suffers worst smog in almost 30 years," Los Angeles Times, September 10, 2020.

Clara Harter, "The toxic truth of L.A.’s stormwater sewer system," Santa Monica Daily Press, August 14, 2021.

"The Southland's War on Smog: Fifty Years of Progress Toward Clean Air (through May 1997)," South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Leanna Garfield, “Incredible images of Los Angeles when it was covered in wetlands,” Business Insider, March 2, 2018.

Lauren Miura, “L.A. County’s biodiversity is on the map, thanks to UCLA researchers,” UCLA Newsroom, April 30, 2020.