(November 24, 2001) -- Despite threatening rain and blustery winds, nearly two dozen LB residents and environmentalists turned out for the Friends of Colorado Lagoon (FOCL) Nature Walk this morning.

Among those attending were ECO-link chair Diana Mann and the chair of LB's Chapter of the Sierra Club, Bruce Monroe.

Speakers included Harriet Bennish, FOCL's environmental education outreach coordinator, who began the event by criticizing the current design of an L.A. County storm drain project involving Colorado Lagoon. The Termino Ave. storm drain was supported earlier this year by the LB City Council, including 3d district Councilman Frank Colonna in whose district Colorado Lagoon is located.

Ms. Bennish said, "They have plans of building a huge pipe called the Termino storm drain pipe. And what they plan to do, if there's a big storm, they want to take a whole bunch of water from Point A to Point B, Point B being the Colorado Lagoon. They would like to turn this into a flood basin. And that's why the Friends of Colorado Lagoon really got started, because we realized this is a very fragile ecosystem."

L.A. County officials and LB City Hall say the Termino Ave. storm drain will help prevent flooding where the water originates.

FOCL has filed a lawsuit challenging the design of the Termino Avenue drain project; the suit is currently pending. FOCL says the storm drain as designed is an antiquated approach to the flood problem; it favors a more environmentally friendly approach based on new technology.

Guided by a naturalist, those on today's Nature Walk took a close look at non-human life in and around the lagoon.