Part Four: Senior Research

Environmental Impact of Sprawl on Natural Habitats

Along with the effects of consumerism in Los Angeles, the most severe impact from sprawl is the deterioration of ecosystems. Thousands of plant and animal species, with nearly 300 plants and animals listed as endangered, inhabit the Los Angeles area. In the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valley, and in the Santa Monica Mountains and beyond are 3.5 million acres of coast, foothill, mountain, and high desert terrain, all sheltering 3,000 plant and animal species that occur no where else on Earth. (Center for Biological Diversity) These species are threatened by continuous urban and perimeter sprawl and it has been noted that there is not enough being done to protect southern California’s preserves and National Forests. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service do little to protect federally listed species and critical habitat from many harmful Forest Service activities, including roads, off-road vehicles, power lines, oil and gas, logging, and grazing.” (Center for Biological Diversity) As many environmental agencies as there are in California alone, it is hard to believe that “between 1997-2007, studies [have] suggested [that] both plant and animal species are dying at a rate not seen for millions of years.” (Miller 74) As studies show that animal and plant extinction is on the rise, it may be possible to connect the loss of natural habitats to sprawl.

Sprawl in southern California has caused the subdivision of land with the crisscross of roads and construction of buildings, forcing ecosystems to grow frail and divert animals to what little wild open space is left. The Santa Monica Freeway, also known as “The 10,” stretches from Santa Monica to the east coast in Florida. The portion of the 10 Freeway that bisects much of Los Angeles and eastward through the Inland Empire has imperiled many animals and natural habitats. “[A]nimals are being cut off and isolated...[T]hese animals need large, contiguous blocks of wild or semi-wild landscape, find themselves hemmed in by roads, golf courses and new neighborhoods.” (Miller 96) Even more telling is the fact that “[m]ore than one-third of the known species in the United States are considered in danger of extinction…[and] [s]prawl in California is [the] leading cause of species imperilment.” (Miller 168) With a number of plants and animals possibly lost due to sprawl, the ecological processes that occur in nature are being thrown into disorder, jeopardizing wildlife communities. Within the southern California landscape, the impediments that are created by humans and contribute so greatly to sprawl, redirect animals to unfamiliar ecosystems, and contribute to lower animal fertility rates, and possible extinction. The typical view of the American landscape is that its openness and vastness is such that it does not require any limitation on development. This view does not take into consideration the need for agricultural and recreational land and the need for open space to allow these animals, plants, microorganisms and other life forms to maintain natural systems and biological diversity.