As a frequent visitor to the Los Angeles River near downtown, Tony Taylor says he has been passed around from agency to agency when he has tried to get vegetation trimmed or graffiti painted over.
So it irks him when environmentalists and politicians hold a news conference to announce yet one more beautification project along the river's edge.
When the cameras leave, says Taylor, river visitors face this: graffiti, gang members causing havoc, encampments of the homeless, loose dogs attacking wildlife.
Instead of politicians announcing new projects, he says, "they should take care of what's already there."
Taylor's frustration highlights a problem that river advocates -- environmentalists and public officials -- have been wrestling with for years:
Even as new projects signal the continuing effort to revitalize the river, officials haven't been able to devise a comprehensive system of maintenance, security and liability that some say is necessary to create a greenbelt along the 51-mile waterway.
Those responsibilities fall into a patchwork of jurisdictions, from local to federal agencies to private environmental groups that have some sort of claim to the river or have built projects along it.
"This is so convoluted that I'm having difficulty describing it," said Scott Wilson, a longtime river advocate and founder of Northeast Trees, sitting in one of the "pocket parks" his nonprofit group has built along the river.
Officials and river advocates say the various groups and agencies with jurisdiction don't always work together or have a single vision for the river's future.
And with so many players involved, mistakes can happen. River advocates recall times when one group planted vegetation to beautify the river, only to have a public agency's maintenance crew inadvertently tear it out -- as happened to one of Northeast Trees' projects.
Maintenance, security and liability are important issues to address, say those involved in river issues, because recreational improvements, such as parks and trails, are drawing more people to the river for recreation.
Increasingly, advocates are recognizing the need to work together. In August, Los Angeles formed an ad hoc committee on the river chaired by City Councilman Ed Reyes. The city hopes the panel will function as a clearinghouse that finally brings together all the relevant agencies and groups to deal with a host of issues.
