This open letter is directed to:

Matthew Rudnick, Executive Officer City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks

AND

Chief Joe Losorelli, City of Los Angeles Park Ranger Division

AND

Alex Crow, Chair, Griffith Park Advisory Board

Last month, under direction of LA City Park Ranger Sergeant Sean Kleckner, two new fences were erected to block access to popular hiking trails in Griffith Park.

These trails, which have been open for decades, are used by hundreds of hikers every day.

With this open letter, we respectfully request that you remove these fences—which are ugly, ineffective, and have created dangerous situations.

We understand the primary intention was to reduce the number of rescues on these trails—a worthy goal. But based on our interactions with Sargent Kleckner, we’re not convinced that the frequency of trail use or rescue data is tracked with geographic precision. Without that data, it is impossible to know the impact of the new fences.

We understand the second intention was to protect habitat—also a worthy goal. But the fences are not helping. People are already cutting alternate paths to join the trails that are blocked. The blockade approach inadvertently expands the harms to habitat as hikers seek new routes and trample habitat.

We suggest that signs—directing hikers to stick to the safe established trails--would have been a better place to start. Signs are suited better than fences to the spirit and the aesthetics of the park.The Rangers could then measure the impact of the signs and take other steps as necessary.

We also suggest considering other tactics such as improving trails to make them safer, exploring ways to assign rescue costs differently, or education about habitat preservation.

Thank you for your consideration.  

Please remove the fences.

See you on the trails,

-Annette Sikand, Yasmin Ross & Justin Szlasa 

PS: if you'd like to call the Ranger Station with questions or suggestions the number is 323-644-6661