Spielberg Park?

Thanks for your continuing coverage of the struggle against the Playa Vista development at Ballona (“DreamWorks Nightmare,” July 13). We must be doing something right the attacks on us and the response from the coalition of almost 90 groups trying to save all of the Ballona Wetlands have been getting more and more intense!

Ruth Lansford of the Friends of Ballona, among others, has been particularly verbal of late. Her accusation that we have endangered her settlement that would restore a mere 250 acres and delayed the restoration is just plain old spin. Lansford made a settlement years ago that she must now defend, but that most experts today say will not fix the wetlands. As Judge Lew said in his ruling, the trashed industrial areas east of Lincoln, the “Uplands,” and the more visible wetlands areas west of Lincoln are inextricably bound. Experts now know more about how this is so than they did when Lansford made her deal with the developers. To survive, wetlands need uplands to feed fresh water runoff down to the saltwater areas near the sea. They need each other.

The developers spin a great tale about how they are going to accomplish this. But their plans are not viable. This is why Judge Lew ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to do the full, proper study they did not do before. We believe they will discover what we know already and are trying to accomplish: To save the wetlands, the whole area must be restored, east and west of Lincoln Boulevard. Make a park! Spielberg Park?

ROSEMARY MACHARDY

Sierra Club Ballona Wetlands Task Force

Playa del Rey