Willow Springs Park runs through the Cherry Hill fault zone and has a history of artesian flowing springs. This paired with 90 years of oil production, a new urban farm, and Coastal Sage Scrub (CSS) community makes the park a uniquely diverse environment. The purpose of conducting research at Willow Springs Park is to monitor the growth of CSS, which consists of low-growing shrubs, many of which are summer deciduous, with some succulents and long-lived grasses, sages, buckwheats, etc. CSS generally exists on the California Coast and needs fog and warm temperatures to survive. The main threats to CSS are human development and invasive species. One of the main reasons that CSS is important is because it is the habitat for several endemic and
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It has contributed a lot to the city over the course of 130 year of ownership. In 1882, an underground spring was discovered and allowed for Downtown Long Beach to flourish. A reservoir was also built in 1906 due to the abundance of water. However, the reservoir was eventually removed from operation 20 years later. Afterwards, oil was discovered in Signal Hill, the property became littered with oil rigs and became a revenue source for the city. The 90-year history of oil production on this site is detrimental to the pre-existing habitat and have caused major damage. Therefore, there is a need for major restoration of a once beautiful and wonderful site.
The Willow Springs Wetland Project has a footprint of 12 acres of the 48 acre city owned property. A portion of Longview Point, the first publicly accessible area of Willow Springs Park, is dedicated to planting and restoring CSS habitat. The park also supports several different land uses in addition to CSS recovery such as active oil extraction operations, concrete recycling, agriculture, stormwater detention, and recreation. Restoration at Willow Springs Park has been challenging due to non-native invasive species present, as well as degradation from oil production and heavy metal
It has contributed a lot to the city over the course of 130 year of ownership. In 1882, an underground spring was discovered and allowed for Downtown Long Beach to flourish. A reservoir was also built in 1906 due to the abundance of water. However, the reservoir was eventually removed from operation 20 years later. Afterwards, oil was discovered in Signal Hill, the property became littered with oil rigs and became a revenue source for the city. The 90-year history of oil production on this site is detrimental to the pre-existing habitat and have caused major damage. Therefore, there is a need for major restoration of a once beautiful and wonderful site.
The Willow Springs Wetland Project has a footprint of 12 acres of the 48 acre city owned property. A portion of Longview Point, the first publicly accessible area of Willow Springs Park, is dedicated to planting and restoring CSS habitat. The park also supports several different land uses in addition to CSS recovery such as active oil extraction operations, concrete recycling, agriculture, stormwater detention, and recreation. Restoration at Willow Springs Park has been challenging due to non-native invasive species present, as well as degradation from oil production and heavy metal