County to do Biological Study of Hahamongna Birds

Before the county begins it plan to haul out 25,000 cubic yards of dirt from the Hahamongna basin, it will conduct two bird nesting surveys to determine what wildlife is in the area, according to Department of Public Works spokesman Kerjon Lee.

Depending on the outcome of the plan, the county may apply for permits to store most of that debris at Johnson Field in the Hahamongna Watershed Park, a plan that would on Altadena streets that would .

The results of the first survey will be presented to the Pasadena City Council after it is completed, Lee said.

The plans to do the survey came out of a that the city officials had requested to find out the details of the county's plan for the park.

Lee wrote in an email to Altadena Patch that the first survey will be done in mid to late July, and a second right before the removal work begins.  The work was originally scheduled to be started in July, though based on the schedule it appears that may no longer be the case.

Without on-site storage in the Hahamongna Watershed Park, Altadena streets could see dozens of debris-hauling trucks on city streets for weeks this summer.

The clean-up would be the first phase of a much larger project that would eventually require removing up to 2 million cubic yards of debris over a period of three to four years.  The clean-out is urgent because of a hugely increased level of debris flow resulting from the flooding of burn areas from the 2009 Station Fire.

Pasadena officials initially showed a willingness to consider storing the dirt at Johnson Field, a former softball field and current open space area in Hahamongna.  They later , with city officials saying they do not have enough time to properly evaluate the plan.

Altadena Town Council members, who prefer to keep the traffic off Altadena streets, to ask Pasadena to reconsider.