Redondo Beach celebrates the groundbreaking for Wilderness Park lower pond

Redondo Beach, along with the South Bay Parkland Conservancy, held a groundbreaking ceremony and sign unveiling for the lower pond at Hopkins Wilderness Park on Monday, August 25.

Long-awaited improvements on the lower pond were celebrated at the event.

Pond construction should be completed around Thanksgiving and will "provide a good habitat for species to return," said Redondo Beach Mayor Jim Light during the event.

We used to have frogs and salamanders down here," Light said, "and once it got concreted, they don't like that type of environment, (so) they disappeared.

Ducks used to be common at the pond, he said, but "ducklings got eaten by critters," like coyotes and raccoons.

The new pond construction, however, will provide some protection for native wildlife, Light said.

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Mayor Jim Light speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the long-anticipated improvements to the lower pond and stream system at Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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New interpretive displays are unveiled at the Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Mayor Jim Light, center, along with current and former city council members break ground on the long-anticipated improvements to the Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Lauren Williamson quietly listens to an audiobook at Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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The view from Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Turtles look for food in a pond at the Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Hopkins Wilderness Park breaks ground on long-anticipated improvements to the park's lower pond and stream system in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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New interpretive displays are unveiled at the Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Mayor Jim Light, center, along with current and former city council members break ground on the long-anticipated improvements to the Hopkins Wilderness Park's lower pond and stream system in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Mayor Jim Light speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the long-anticipated improvements to the lower pond and stream system at Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Four interpretive signs — focusing on native plants, the history of the site and its importance to monarch butterflies — were also unveiled at the event, as the SBPC is spearheading and overseeing the restoration of native habitats in several areas of the park.

In October, Wilderness Park received much-needed funding when SBPC received a $40,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and decided to use that money on the park's upgrades.

The grant is being used to restore six acres of native coastal sage scrub, which will provide a habitat for western monarch butterflies to help them survive the winter months before mating and migrating during the spring.

Coastal sage scrub habitat, which has been decimated for multiple reasons, from climate change to development, provides a home for threatened species, such as the gnatcatcher, cactus wren and the El Segundo blue butterfly.

The SBPC has helped "re-wild" the park, restoring native plants to several acres since 2017.

At 11 acres, Wilderness Park is the largest in Redondo Beach.

Before it was established in 1977, the area was a Nike missile site LA-57 from 1956 to 1963. The sites - which included nearby locations in San Pedro and Rancho Palos Verdes - were established during the Cold War.

The federal government turned the land over to Redondo Beach in 1971 for public recreation, Light said.

In 2021, then-Public Works Director Ted Semaan said that besides a drought issue, which instigated the water being shut off at the lower pond, it had become a dumping ground for unwanted pets and garbage, including tires.

After the SBPC started replenishing native plants there, Light said, "one of the questions we get most often is, what happened to the lower pond, and are you going to redo it?"

I took that on as a passion project," Light said. "I convinced my best friend Bill Brand to take it on as his project, and he eventually made it his number one project.

Former Mayor Brand died in February 2024 from lung cancer.

Light was a founding board member of the SBPC, which Brand launched in 2004, and has also served as president.

"We've designed this to have between 30 and 40% native wetland plants in the water," Brand said, "to help reproduce what would be a normal ecosystem here that will not only help with filtering the water, (but also) keep the nitrogen levels down" to combat algae.

The upper pond is currently home to turtles and koi fish, as well as other wildlife, including an occasional heron.

The city has no plans at this time to add native animals to the lower pond, Light said.

"Nature will find a way," he said.

© 2025 Daily Breeze, Torrance, Calif. Visit www.dailybreeze.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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The Trump administration wants to increase logging on federal land. Not everyone agrees.

Jeff Brink is proud of working on the same land his father did, in the national forests surrounding Oakridge, Oregon. But in the decades since his father ran the family logging business, less and less timber has been harvested, and more and more megafires have threatened his hometown.

"There needs to be some active management, because no management has given us this result," he told CBS News.

When the Trump administration announced executive actions aimed at increasing timber production on federal lands , Oregonians had mixed responses. Loggers and timber towns celebrated the attention from the White House, while environmentalists sounded the alarm over fears of deregulation and environmental harm. Local stakeholders wonder what forest management will look like in practice.

This is my backyard, my home, and I don't want to see it burn. I also don't want to see it logged heavily," Brink said. "There are two extremes here.

The White House made a series of announcements over the past several months regarding timber harvesting and managing national forests. An executive action in March ordered federal agencies, including the departments of the Interior and Agriculture, to focus on increasing logging on federal lands with the purpose of increasing timber production, while simultaneously reducing forest fire risk.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in April that the country is facing a " national forest emergency ", and President Trump's executive order targets a 25% increase in timber production on federal forests. The agency also announced it would rescind rules such as the " roadless rule ," which prevented logging on 58 million acres of federal land.

The timber industry and environmentalists still have questions regarding the actual implementation of policy and changes in practices by federal agencies.

Oregon Wild is one of many environmental groups that believe the new executive actions threaten landmark environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which date back to the 1970s. The nonprofit said it fears that language in executive orders prioritizing federal lands for timber production could lead to clear-cutting forests, habitat destruction and loss of old-growth forests. Old-growth or mature forests do not have an official definition, but they are understood to be undisturbed forests with large, older trees that scientists believe serve key roles in ecological functions like purifying water. They also store more carbon than younger forests and are said to be vital as a carbon sink.

This idea that there's some kind of national emergency is laughable," Quinn Read, executive director of Oregon Wild, told CBS News. "It's really more of a pretext to loot our public lands to benefit very, very few people at the expense of all Americans.

Timber groups counter that practices have changed in the decades since the 1990s, when timber output from federal forests was much higher.

After new federal forest plans were adopted in the 1990s, timber output on northwest federal lands declined by 80%, according to the American Forest Resource Council, which represents companies in the timber industry. They argue that wood products made with American timber are more environmentally and socially ethical, arguing that environmental regulations and labor laws are stronger in the United States than in countries from which the U.S. imports timber. Many of those laws were beneficial for the industry, timber groups say.

"We have the strongest environmental and labor laws on planet Earth. That's where I want our wood to come from," Travis Joseph, president of the American Forest Resource Council, told CBS News. "Yes, we're making some tweaks or changes to policy to make that more efficient, but we're not undermining, nor is the administration undermining, the fundamental structure of how public lands are managed."

Some in the timber industry also argue that increased logging serves as fire risk mitigation. The logic makes sense to Brink. His company shifted from traditional logging to land management that focuses on cutting smaller logs, thinning forests, and removing debris from previous fires in the name of fire risk mitigation. When timber outputs on national forests began to decrease, shifting to the new business model was how the Brink family business survived.

"Every year you see equipment go up for auction, there are names of loggers who are legends here," he told CBS News.

But prominent voices in forestry have their concerns, even if there is broad consensus among foresters that forest thinning, when done properly, can reduce the risk of fires.

Former U.S. Forest Service foresters, such as Steve Ellis, chair of the National Association of Forest Service Retirees, are concerned that staffing cuts at federal agencies since the second Trump administration took office will make it difficult for them to complete timber harvesting contracts, a lengthy process that often takes years and frequently faces litigation.

"You're going to have to have people to do it and set it up to do it right. And there's laws to be followed, if that's the intent, to follow NEPA and follow ESA and follow the Clean Water Act," Ellis told CBS News.

Timber project managers like Sarah Altemus Pope, executive director of the Southern Willamette Forest Collective, similarly worry about federal staff having the capacity to properly design timber projects that adhere to environmental requirements. She said she's found that dialogue between loggers, federal employees, community members and environmentalists gives projects the best chance to succeed, and in recent years, she had seen that dynamic improve. With the current administration, she worries it may begin to fray.

"I absolutely think it's important that the administration be talking with all parties that have that, all stakeholders and all parties that have an interest in how our forests are managed," she told CBS News.

The Pope thinks it's especially important because finding ways to better manage the forest will require budgets, Congress, and community support. "The executive orders alone are not going to move the needle," she said.

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Researchers make disturbing discovery after studying digestive tracts of hundreds of dead birds: 'Highlights the need for urgent, collective action'

The Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah has raised concerns about marine pollutants and their effect on coastal wildlife in the United Arab Emirates after analyzing digested food in deceased seabirds.

What's happening?

A recent study found that 13% of the UAE's seabirds consume plastic, crude oil, tar balls, and textile microfibers. The researchers examined the digestive tracts of 478 dead birds from the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, pinpointing plastic polymers, glass, fishing hooks, and oil residues. At the same time, they found that 78% of microplastics came from synthetic fabrics from laundry.

The findings were alarming, as this was a first-of-its-kind study in the Middle East. According to the Environment and Protected Areas Authority chairperson, Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, such outcomes "highlight the need for urgent, collective action" to protect ocean health.

Why is preventing ocean pollution important?

Plastic pollution comprises 80% of marine contamination and usually takes 500 to 1,000 years to degrade. Meanwhile, just 56 companies were responsible for over 50% of global plastic pollution from 2018 to 2022.

As if textiles were the cause 10% of carbon pollution During manufacturing, weren't dire enough, the fabrics' polymers and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — nonbiodegradable "forever chemicals" — are among the greatest threats to aquatic ecosystems and wildlife.

When animals consume toxic plastic waste, their digestive systems struggle to break it down or pass it, causing blockages, malnutrition, and plasticosis. One scientist refers to the stomach contents in seabirds as "plastic soup."

Watch now: Giant snails invading New York City?

Plastic isn't the only concern, though. Thousands of Oil spills occur annually. from accidents involving drilling rigs, barges, refineries, tankers, and boats. Crude oil from the Earth's surface and petroleum reservoirs also leave tar balls on beaches , which coastal bird species may ingest.

What is being done about it?

The UAE already has stringent marine protection laws, fining violators for discharging oil waste, plastic, and hazardous substances into waterways. However, the study's researchers hope the findings will inspire awareness and action from the public to stop the long-term effects.

Elsewhere, engineers built a new technology mimicking a deepwater sponge's filtering capabilities to remove oil from seawater. The vortex-anchored filter effectively removed 97% of oil residues during trials, and scientists are hopeful it could separate microplastics in the water column.

Other scientific initiatives have successfully removed over 98% of nanoplastics from water with a newly developed liquid-based solvent.

You can also do your part by committing to using less plastic, such as using reusable grocery bags Avoiding single-use coffee pods and ditching plastic cutlery. Small changes make a significant impact on the ocean and coastal wildlife.

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Researchers make disturbing discovery after studying digestive tracts of hundreds of dead birds: 'Highlights the need for urgent, collective action' first appeared on The Cool Down .

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Gov. Newsom signs housing legislation overhauling California's landmark environmental law

California lawmakers have approved two new bills that are expected to lead to a significant overhaul of the state's landmark environmental protection law and jump-start the stagnated housing market that has long stymied residents and would-be employers.

The major changes to the California Environmental Quality Act , known as CEQA, were attached to two bills in a larger $321 billion state budget bill that eventually passed with ease. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation on June 30, which received rare bipartisan support.

"This is the most consequential housing reform in modern history in the state of California. Long overdue? Absolutely," Newsom said at a news conference as he signed the legislation.

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Supporters said the reforms to CEQA's strenuous review process will help improve the state's ongoing housing shortage and chronic homelessness crisis. Some environmental advocates call the move back-door dealmaking.

Assembly Bill 130 , authored by California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, exempts most urban housing projects from environmental review. Another bill, Senate Bill 131, by California state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, waives the environmental restrictions for other buildings, including health clinics, child care, and food banks.

Newsom on legislation: 'Too urgent, too important'

California has long been considered a national pioneer for environmental action, as changes to its signature impact review law come at a time that may change the landscape within the nation's most populous state.

California is estimated to need 3.5 million more housing units than it has. The shortage is one reason people and businesses have fled, as housing in popular cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles is unaffordable to the vast majority who want to live and work there.

The changes are intended to jump-start housing construction, which has frequently been hindered by the use of the state's landmark 1970 environmental law. Critics argue that the law is exploited by groups whose primary aim is to block development rather than protect the environment.

The bills became law after Newsom threatened to reject the state budget passed last week unless there was an CEQA의 전면 개정 , which requires strict reviews of any new development built and its impact on the environment. That process could take months to years, adding expense and uncertainty to projects.

For years, these environmental impact studies have often been known to delay and even halt new development due to CEQA, regarded as among the strictest laws of its kind in the United States. During a news conference After signing the laws, Newsom said the matter was "too urgent, too important, to allow the process to unfold as it has for the last generation, invariably falling prey to all kinds of pratfall."

Behind the bills

Under the two new laws, nine types of projects are exempt from environmental impact reviews. They include child care centers, health clinics, food banks, as well as farmworker housing, broadband, wildfire prevention, water infrastructure, public parks or trails, and advanced manufacturing.

"It's aligned with what I know about the history and the reform measures," Mark Baldassare , survey director for the Public Policy Institute of California , a nonpartisan research organization, told USA TODAY. "We'll see what takes place. Stay tuned."

Possible changes have been under intense debate for at least a decade, Baldassare said. Newsom and other state legislators are now aware that voters nationwide during last year's elections blamed politicians, especially Democrats, for not curbing rising cost-of-living prices, Baldassare added.

Baldassare said PPIC statewide polling of California voters in both 2023 and June 2025 revealed that the cost of living and affordable housing are their top two concerns, calling last year's election "a wake-up call."

"The idea of reforming CEQA has been around for a long time," Baldassare said. "Our polling indicated that despite the state's strong environmental attributes, they were supportive of reforming CEQA across party lines, and that doesn’t happen too often, especially given today's polarization."

California budget breakdown: How it affects your life, from Medi-Cal and education to wildfires

California's environmental law

The 54-year-old California statute, signed by then-Governor Ronald Reagan, was intended to protect wildlife and natural resources of forests, mountains, and coastal areas.

The law requires state and local governments to study and publicize the likely environmental impact of any decisions they make, including the permitting of new housing, as California home values and rents are among the most expensive in the nation , according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

The requirement is called an Environmental Impact Report, which can take up to a year to complete.

Con miras a simplificar y reducir los costos de construcción en California, las nuevas leyes también restringen los desafíos legales bajo la CEQA al limitar los documentos que los tribunales pueden considerar. Además, permite realizar evaluaciones ambientales limitadas para proyectos que no se consideren que tengan una serie de impactos.

California state Senator Scott Wiener, who wrote one of the two bills, told reporters on June 30 that the changes won't happen in the next year or three years, but in decades to come. He called the changes a bold step forward toward tackling the root causes of California's affordability crisis.

"The high costs devastating our communities stem directly from our extreme shortage of housing, childcare, affordable healthcare, and so many of the other things families need to thrive," Wiener, a Democrat, said in a statement. "These bills get red tape and major process hurdles out of the way, allowing us to finally start addressing these shortages and securing an affordable California and a brighter future."

Weiner added that when the economic conditions are right, the state will be prepared "to build a ton of housing," and the structure is in place to facilitate it.

'Connect people to shelter, housing': California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveils homelessness plan to clear street camps

'Bills were passed in the most undemocratic way possible'

Asha Sharma , a state policy manager with the Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability, described the changes as a "back-room, last-minute deal" that left the state budget hanging in the balance and gave the opposition little time for public scrutiny.

"The bills were passed in the most undemocratic way possible. It made the entire state budget contingent on it," Sharma told USA TODAY. "We really couldn't make our voices heard. There was very little public process with this."

She wasn't alone. Raquel Mason , a senior legislative manager with the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said her group opposes Weiner's bill. Sharma and Mason noted that there have been 23 Superfund sites in Santa Clara County, where tech-rich Silicon Valley is located. They say many of those sites are tied to semiconductor manufacturing .

By advancing this bill, the legislature sent a clear message: our health, our safety, and our right to participate in decisions that impact our lives are disposable," Mason said in a statement to USA TODAY. "This bill will usher in industrial development without any opportunity for our communities to advocate for needed mitigations to protect ourselves.

Newsom forced California legislators' hands

While Weiner wrote a bill to exempt several types of projects from environmental review, Newsom forced the changes to overhaul the state's environmental law.

The governor told lawmakers that he wouldn't approve California's $321 billion budget without them. Last week, a provision in the approved budget act said the spending plan would be repealed if changes to the state's environmental review process were not finalized by June 30.

On June 30, Newsom said on social media that he enacted "the most game-changing housing reforms" in recent California history.

"We're urgently embracing an abundance agenda by tearing down the barriers that have delayed new affordable housing and infrastructure for decades," Newsom wrote.

The governor later mentioned to reporters during a June 30 news conference that his administration's goal is to build 2.5 million homes by 2030. Newsom said it's up to leaders across the state to use this new tool to help make the goal a reality.

"If we can’t address this issue, we’re going to lose trust, and that’s just the truth," Newsom said. "And so this is so much bigger in many ways than the issue itself. It is about the reputation of not just Sacramento and the legislative leadership and executive leadership, but the reputation of the state of California."

Contributing: Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gov. Newsom signs housing legislation overhauling California's landmark environmental law

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Officials arrest over 15 individuals after authorities uncover mining scandal — here's what happened

Ghanaian authorities arrested 15 people in a crackdown on Illegal mining refers to the unauthorized extraction of minerals or other geological materials from the earth, typically in violation of laws and regulations. This activity often occurs without proper permits, environmental safeguards, or adherence to labor standards, and can lead to significant ecological damage, social conflict, and economic losses. — also known as galamsey — intensifying ongoing public calls for action to stop the "alarming environmental destruction" it causes, Citi Newsroom Reports.

What's happening?

The Ashanti Regional Police Command uncovered a small-scale, illegal mining operation during a "targeted intelligence-led operation" near Manso Adubia, a town in Ghana.

The Ghanaian news outlet said authorities intercepted and apprehended 15 individuals who were "actively engaging" in illegal mining activities at the time of their arrest.

Police seized a significant amount of mining equipment, along with firearms and ammunition.

Authorities stated that all suspects remained in custody and that the individuals are aiding their investigation into illegal mining in the region.

Why is illegal mining such a big problem?

Although Ghana is a hotspot for illegal mining, particularly gold mining , unsanctioned mining operations pose problems elsewhere, too.

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As Citi Newsroom explained, "civil society organizations, environmentalists, and the general public" have urged authorities to address the issue by declaring a state of emergency, citing the "alarming environmental destruction" caused by illegal mining.

Fly-by-night mining operations lack oversight and exacerbate the harms caused by mining in general. In Ghana, which is experiencing a sustained spike in practice, galamsey has visibly poisoned rivers .

Deforestation , air pollution , and damaged farmland are some of the adverse outcomes that arise from illegal mining, along with catastrophic water pollution.

On June 30, finance site SPGlobal.com Reported on the increase in illegal gold mining resulting from rising gold prices. As gold prices continue to rise, it heightens "the incentive for illegal gold mining, which fuels social conflict, degrades the environment and harms legal miners," the outlet explained.

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British former politician Dominic Raab said gold prices were a "catalyst" for illegal mining, but not the entire cause. Raab pointed to a crackdown on other forms of lucrative contraband, describing the trend as a form of criminal diversification.

"…Criminal organizations have looked at diversifying into gold. It's easy to melt down. It's easy to smuggle. It's pretty tough to track," Raab observed.

What is being done about illegal mining?

In Ghana, citizens have protested the practice and used the hashtag #stopgalamseynow, the BBC reported in November.

Raab proposed another solution to discourage illegal gold mining, which necessarily exists in a "shadow economy" and preys on the desperate.

"Take [illegal miners] out of that target zone for the mercenaries and the terrorists and plug them into an available supply chain. I think if they have a long-term buyer of their gold which is safe, they will be much less vulnerable to the overtures of criminal predators," he posited.

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Officials arrest over 15 individuals after authorities uncover mining scandal — here's what happened first appeared on The Cool Down .

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