Island White
an abandoned Oil Storage Island – Adjacent to the harbor area of Long Beach, California, out-dated in terms of it’s original functionality, looked for alternative use proposals to extend it’s utility. Originally proposed as an element of Laura Powell’s Landscape Architecture program at UCLA, the concept was later adopted by Peter Wallerstein, for a much needed Whale Rescue Center here on the Pacific south west. Unfortunately, funds were needed and the project still stands.
The Pacific Flyway
Island White is on the direct path of the the Pacific Flyway where birds migrate from the north (Alaska and Canada) to Mexico for the cold months, returning to the upper latitudes in the spring.
Whale Migration
Every year 20,000 Gray Whales migrate from Alaska to Mexico to give birth to their calves. This year alone, hundreds of Whales and Dolphins washed up on the the western U.S. shore with Domoic Poisoning and had no place available to them for treatment of this deadly disease. The Federal Government of the U.S. mandates that all sea mammals must remain on the beach, whether near death or not, for 48 hours before volunteers can assist. Even if assistance could be provided, existing centers only have room for 40-50 mammals at a time, and none is equipped to treat larger animals, i.e. whales.
About
In the Los Angeles region, marine life desperately needs a Qualified Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. Thousands of stranded or beached marine animals in the U.S. are reported each year to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations’s stranding network. A total of 98 pilot short and long-finned pilot whales have been reported stranded in the last 5 years in the United States.
Portfolio
Thousands of stranded or beached marine animals in the U.S. are reported each year to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s stranding networks. View My Work
