Here are a pair of press releases that landed in Chicken Corner's feed box. Don't worry, Chicken Corner knows your eyes already are sore from smoke and maybe tears, and these press releases will not make you cry. (By the same measure, don't get all excited, they won't make you laugh, either, or maybe they won't.)
The first press release is close to my heart because it involves goats, which I love and which, I believe, should be more of a presence in Echo Park. It is the brain child of Project 1947's Kim Cooper. Though I have, honestly, often wondered why goats aren't used for brush clearance in L.A.
LOS ANGELES- Last night's firestorm made it horrifyingly clear: fire season is upon us, and it's long past time for the City of Los Angeles to wake up and clear its brush. How many more acres of Griffith Park and the Hollywood Hills need to burn, how many animals need to die, how many homes threatened or destroyed before a practical solution is found?
Kim Cooper, creator of time travel crime history blog 1947project and the successful Save the 76 Ball preservation campaign, says the answer to all those questions is ZERO. The solution is simple, traditional, economical and ecological: we need to fight fires with goats.
Managed grazing by hired herds might sound like an oddball idea, but it's been enthusiastically embraced in Northern California, which has spent the past 16 years since the deadly 1991 Berkeley-Oakland Hills Conflagration largely fire-free, in stark contrast to flame-swept SoCal.
The Fire Goats petition, launched on the morning of May 9, 2007, while the ashes from the Griffith Park fire still rained down over LA, has already been signed by such notables as Academy Award-winning screenwriter Nancy Dowd ("Coming Home") and New York underworld historian Luc Sante ("Lowlife").
The goats are hungry, always hungry. Bring 'em back!
The next press release comes via the Echo Park Animal Alliance, concerning displaced animals -- as we all know, the people survived the Griffith Park Fire, the animals...maybe not so lucky.
Los Angeles – This is an urgent message from Los Angeles Animal Services Wildlife Division: The recent fire in Griffith Park will have a major impact on wildlife in the area. It is important for LA City residents to understand that many wild animals will be displaced by the fire and may turn up in areas of the City of Los Angeles where wildlife has never been seen before. These animals will be looking for water and may be seen drinking from garden ponds, pools and other water reservoirs. These animals will be frightened and in some cases may be suffering from injuries caused by the fire. Displaced animals not injured or orphaned are to be left alone to recuperate and move on. All injured, sick and orphaned wildlife should be reported to LA Animal Services at (888) 4527381. More information on LA’s wildlife can be found at: http://www.laanimalservices.com/aboutani_wildlife.htm.
*Missed it earlier, but Which Way LA discussed Griffith Park wildlife today.
