FILM CREW DOES RIGHT THING SENSITIVE TO CONCERNS, PRODUCERS LEAVE AREA BETTER THAN THEY FOUND IT.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

LAKE VIEW TERRACE - Hansen Dam neighbors revolted last year when filmmakers proposed building a giant mining town right next to a willow forest that is home to a tiny endangered bird.

They fought the action film - originally titled ``Helldorado'' but being released as ``The Rundown'' - at public hearings and derided city officials for careless stewardship of sensitive habitat.

``I'm afraid we were a little loud and boisterous,'' recalled Dennis Kroeplin, a daily hiker at Hansen Dam who led the charge against the moviemakers. ``But this is our area. This is what we love about it. It's quiet, there's trees, there's the lake and we don't want anything to happen to that.''

Now, with the film shot and ready for release, tender new shrubs are growing where the mining town once stood. The neighbors who were once critical of the filmmakers are now singing their praises for restoring and improving the site.

``They did an excellent job with the native plantings,'' Kroeplin said. ``There's going to be more native vegetation than even before they began filming.'' As the makers of ``The Rundown'' discovered, it isn't always easy filming in environmentally sensitive areas - and rightfully so, said protectors of those areas.

``It's the habitat of endangered species, and they are very sensitive to impacts that would affect their feeding and breeding cycle,'' said Kerri Davis, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist who reviewed ``The Rundown'' filming request. ``We can't afford to lose any species to an event that could be prevented.''

But here in the film and television industry's back yard, the demand for rural, wild and natural habitat is high.

``Many times it's still cheaper here than them going someplace else or leaving the country,'' said Cezar Ballardo, operations manager in the city's film office.

For ``The Rundown,'' which stars Dwayne ``The Rock'' Johnson and Seann William Scott, location manager Murray Miller searched all over for the ideal spot and found it right here in Los Angeles, with the willow forest masquerading as a Brazilian rain forest.

But he didn't know he would have to deal with the least Bell's vireo, a tiny bird that breeds in the Hansen Dam willow forest before wintering in Baja.

``I just saw a blank piece of dirt with some trees around it and some shrubs growing on it,'' said Miller, who secured the location for Helldorado Productions, LLC.

Filmmakers delayed work until the last least Bell's vireo migrated south for the winter. Then, before removing a strip of willow forest next to the bird's breeding ground, they had to get permission of the Army Corps of Engineers and wildlife regulators.

``The basic condition is, you come in here and use the land, but, when you're done, you do restoration if there was a significant impact,'' said Army Corps ecologist Carvel Bass.

``The Rundown'' hired national environmental services firm AMEC to plant 360 shrubs, including mule fat, narrow-leaf willow and black sage. AMEC will monitor the growing shrubs for two years.

The hard work paid off, Murray said. ``Our objective was to leave there with the community feeling happy.''

``A lot of times these endangered species and sensitive areas are coveted by the community,'' said Darryl Seif, vice president and general manager of the Entertainment Industry Development Corp. ``You've got to get involved with the neighbors immediately.''

Other land managers are more protective of sensitive habitat. Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy historical sites, wildflower preserves and any areas off limits to visitors are also closed to filming, said Dash Stolarz, director of public affairs for the conservancy.

Any land used by the California spotted owl, California red-legged frog or any other threatened or endangered species on the Angeles National Forest is off-limits to filming, spokeswoman Gail Wright said.

``We cannot allow an action to happen that would have an impact on a threatened or endangered species,'' Wright said. ``We automatically recommend another place.''

Managers at Griffith Park, which is among the city's busiest natural sets with more than 365 film permits pulled each year, have limited production in sensitive areas in part because they noticed environmental damage.

At Cedar Grove, a picturesque area that could pass for a forest campground, city officials have prohibited heavy equipment and cut the number of crew members allowed on site. The dirt road was getting compacted and killing the trees.

``We're here to try and accommodate, but we're also here to maintain the integrity of the park,'' said Ballardo.

Kerry Cavanaugh, [phone]

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Dennis Kroeplin stands near vegetation that Universal Pictures planted after filming the movie ``The Rundown'' at Hansen Dam.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer