At Least L.A. Saved an Endangered Shrub
Whew
We’ve seen a lot of heartbreaking images coming from Los Angeles in the past week, but now there’s finally some good news:
The shrubs are okay!
California’s eco-bureaucrats halted a wildfire prevention project near the Pacific Palisades to protect an endangered shrub…
In 2019, the LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP) began replacing nearly 100-year-old power line poles cutting through Topanga State Park, when the project was halted within days by conservationists outraged that federally endangered Braunton’s milkvetch plants had been trampled during the process…
That work saved about 200 Braunton’s milkvetch plants — almost all of which have now likely been torched in the wildfires that consumed Topanga Canyon, along with nearly 24,000 acres (37 square miles) of some of LA’s most sought-after real estate.
Thank goodness that shrub wasn’t destroyed, just lots of people’s homes. Here’s what the thing looks like:
Yep, that’s a plant, alright. Hope it’s worth dozens of lives and billions of dollars in property damage.
And don’t worry, the shrubs haven’t been lost in the inferno. They actually need wildfires in order to sprout, so for them all this is just foreplay.
Look on the bright side: A lot of people will soon leave California entirely, making more room for shrubs and whatnot. Yay!