Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area

The Los Angeles River drains the vast watershed of the San Fernando Valley and surrounding mountains, emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach. During heavy rainfall, this usually tame watercourse can become a powerful force, as seen in 1938 when floods damaged nearby farms and homes. To manage this, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers channelized the river and built the Sepulveda Dam to control floodwaters. Today, the flood control basin, leased by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks, hosts various uses including athletic fields, agriculture, golf courses, a fishing lake, parklands, a sewage treatment facility, and a growing wildlife reserve.

In the 60s and 70s, forward-thinking citizens and planners envisioned a wildlife reserve in the basin’s flood-prone areas to create a natural habitat for birds and small animals. The first phase in 1979 established a 48-acre riparian area south of Burbank Blvd. The 60-acre habitat north of Burbank Blvd. was developed in 1988, including a wildlife lake filled with reclaimed water from the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in 1992.

The most extensive addition came in 1998, funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, adding an educational staging area, amphitheatre, improved pathways, new pedestrian bridges, and additional native plantings. This expansion formally included 60 more acres west of Haskell Creek to Woodley Ave.

Today, the 225-acre Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve is one of the finest urban refuges in the country, serving as a restored natural habitat and a living laboratory for all to enjoy.