Follows Camp

[walker]

I recently went up the east fork for the first time in years.

I wondered what had happened to the community at Follows Camp after the Williams fire and all...

Here's who took over the land:

http://www.sgvtribune.com/general-news/ ... h-of-azusa

And they don't seem to be trustworthy landowners of a property like this:

http://www.sgvtribune.com/general-news/ ... audit-says

Are they prospecting on an industrial scale? Do they want do develop a private camp, retreat, golf resort or something? Do they just have to move some dirt around so they can bill City of Industry a couple million for "maintenance"?

Is there a way to revoke the charter of fictitious cities like Vernon and City of Industry? I hope the investigations that result from this can help to find a better steward for such a big parcel in the canyon.

[Gene]

Local politicians making money using public funds, imagine that!

I do question the actual damage done to the riverbed. Any time there is significant rainfall in the San Gabriels the riverbeds are extensively rearranged.

The extensive area grading resulted in the removal of habitat, altered substrate, and potentially increased turbidity in the East Fork,” according to the violation notice.

Apparently those assessing the damage have never been in the East Fork during a peak storm flow of the river. It runs dark with mud and rock dust and you can hear the rocks grinding as large boulders are moved downstream.

It would be nice to see the property used for recreation.

[Hikin_Jim]

This Zerep company sounds like a bunch of real winners.

HJ

[Gene]

This Zerep company sounds like a bunch of real winners.

HJ

They should have named themselves: Slanimirc

[walker]

I do question the actual damage done to the riverbed. Any time there is significant rainfall in the San Gabriels the riverbeds are extensively rearranged.

Yes, I agree. Sometimes the upper riverbeds almost seem like big troughs of glacial silt runoff that constantly rearrange themselves with each storm. And it's not like it's in a pristine watershed without other impacts - people dumping trash up and down the highway, prospectors dredging up sections of the river up in the canyon, remains of various abandoned highway projects like the bridge and tunnels, bulldozer work and junked cars in the watershed up in Cattle Canyon and vicinity, and if any endangered tadpoles or guppies can run that gauntlet they'll probably get squashed by a big 4x4 when they get down to the silt benches at the reservoir. Plus I'm sure the previous population density of folks living at Follows Camp impacted the river in a big way. However, that camp felt like the last living link to the old wild mining camps of the East Fork, so I'm kind of saddened to see it abandoned. I agree that it would be nice if the spot can be used for recreation someday.

They should have named themselves: Slanimirc

Ha! I guess what alarmed me about this story was not so much the activity itself as how a city that's been run for decades as an opaque family dynasty is using open space designations to grab up parcels dozens of miles outside of their city limits. They then are charged millions for "maintenance" of these open spaces by a company run by extended family and don't bother to clear any permits or anything when they start chopping down oak trees and moving earth around. In the meantime, you have to wonder what they plan to do with these acquisitions. Maybe Follows Camp is the future location of that NFL stadium they want to build.

[RichardK]

The L.A. Times has chimed in on this story:

http://www.latimes.com/local/california ... story.html

The City of Industry never had any real plans for this area. It was just an excuse for the mayor's companies to bill the city for work at way above market rates.