PARK MISUSE HURTS BEAUTY AND BEASTS.

Byline: SETH SHTEIR

THE ground is littered with hypodermic needles, plastic garbage bags, diapers and soda cans. Human and dog excrement attracts flies in hardening piles. A used condom, abandoned after an evening tryst, is draped unceremoniously over a bush. The blackened vegetation suggests that someone built a fire that later raged out of control.

If you think this scene is from Skid Row, think again. You've just seen some of Los Angeles' prime parkland.

In the San Fernando Valley, both the Hansen Dam Recreation Area and the Sepulveda Basin are threatened by misuse. Drugs, prostitution, homeless encampments and off-the-leash dogs are just a few of the problems. Hansen Dam also suffers illegal incursions by all-terrain vehicles.

The significance of these urban parks cannot be underestimated. Millions of urban residents live within 25 miles of them. These parks' shady trees and brushy hillsides are a haven for concrete-weary runners, hikers, equestrians, fishermen, bird watchers and sports enthusiasts. On any given Saturday, the Sepulveda Basin is filled with families barbecuing and children playing.

But the Sepulveda Basin and Hansen Dam aren't only recreation hot spots. They are equally significant in terms of being some of the last remaining natural habitat in the Los Angeles Basin.

The Sepulveda Basin boasts more than 160 species of birds, including ospreys, woodpeckers and warblers. At dusk, the hooting of a great horned owl can be heard drifting across the cricket field adjacent to the wildlife area.

Big Tujunga Wash's willow forest, located within Hansen Dam, has been identified by biologists as one of California's 150 most important bird areas. Canary-yellow warblers and blue grosbeaks forage in the riparian undergrowth. The diminutive least Bell's vireo, an endangered species, can be found darting in and out of the willow thickets.

Recreational users and wildlife can coexist and thrive in the Sepulveda Basin and Hansen Dam, but only if the people are good stewards.

The May 13 brush fire at Hansen Dam serves as a reminder of the fragility of our parks. The fire, which almost certainly had human origins, destroyed 80 acres of willow forest, including the territories of four endangered least Bell's vireos. This was devastating to the nesting vireos, but such wildfires aren't only dangerous for birds. They also threaten public safety, recreational opportunities and homes.

The Hansen Dam fire underscores what many recreational users and wildlife enthusiasts have already realized: In order to reinvigorate and reinvest in our urban parks, we need to increase resource-management efforts and law enforcement patrols.

Government agencies, recreational users and wildlife enthusiasts must work together to develop sound policies and enforce regulations. Only then can we ensure that our children and grandchildren will continue to enjoy our urban parks.