Conservation

The conservation story of the Bolsa Chica wetlands is a story of perseverance, high ideals, and sustained citizen and community involvement. It’s not fast-paced, but it does have many twists and turns. It spans decades, with tough battles against enormous  odds.  Along the way, there were disagreements, high passions, and changing attitudes.  And while the final chapter has not yet been written, a great deal has been accomplished for wildlife, the environment, and our  quality of life. This year, Sea & Sage Audubon Society recognizes the tremendous accomplishments over several decades by awarding the 2002 Fern Zimmerman Conservation Award to two conservation groups that are major players in the battle to preserve the Bolsa Chica wetlands: the Amigos de Bolsa Chica and the Bolsa Chica Land Trust.

Here is some of the Bolsa Chica story.

In 1976, a group of concerned citizens formed the Amigos de Bolsa Chica to advocate the preservation of the Bolsa Chica and encourage public acquisition and planning to restore it to its natural marsh state surrounded by open space. The Amigos worked to educate us on the importance of wetlands. In 1979, they filed their first of many lawsuits to obtain, among other things, a determination that the “1973 Land Trade” - an agreement
between Signal Oil Company and the State of California, violated the California constitution, which prohibits the conveyance of tidelands to private parties.

The Amigos continued their legal battles, until in 1989 they agreed to settle their lawsuit out-of-court with the Coalition Plan. The Coalition Plan called for over 1100 acres of open space, including 600 acres of tidelands to be deeded to the State, no navigable entrance or marina, no commercial development, $25 million for restoration, a nonprofit conservancy and an interpretive center. While fewer than originally planned, it allowed for 200 acres of wetlands to be developed for housing.

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust was formed in 1992 with the vision to bring into public ownership the entire 1700 acres of the Bolsa Chica wetlands and mesas. They formed the Bolsa Chica Stewards to restore original plant growth on the wetland mesas.  They also worked to educate us on the importance of the mesas to the wetlands. As the Amigos before them, the Land Trust lobbied federal, state and local officials and used the political process and the courts to achieve their goals.

In 1996, the Land Trust challenged the Coastal Commission's approval of a plan that would allow developers to build 900 houses in the wetlands and
2400 houses on the mesas. They also challenged the approval of filling Warner pond and bulldozing the mature eucalyptus grove on the lower bench. The Court of Appeals ruled to protect the wetlands and Warner Pond, as well as the eucalyptus grove from relocation. In 1997, the State of California purchased 880 acres of wetlands from the developer. In 2000 the Coastal Commission voted to limit development on the upper bench of the Bolsa Chica Mesa.

There is still work to do, but because of the work that has been done, there are over 1200 acres of wetlands in public ownership at Bolsa Chica. And, the tides are turning. In 1987, the Amigo's application to participate in the Huntington Beach 4th of July parade was denied because the word “wetlands” in their banner was considered too political, while in a recent city election, 19 out of 20 candidates were in favor of protecting the mesas.

The Amigos de Bolsa Chica continues to focus on public education and wetlands restoration and to work for an interpretive center and further
public acquisition of lands. Meanwhile, the Bolsa Chica  Land Trust, in addition to its education and restoration efforts on the mesas, is well into a
fundraising campaign - Push for Purchase - for the public acquisition of the remaining privately held wetlands and mesas. They are nearly halfway to their goal of raising $1,000,000 for seed money to obtain grants.

Susan Sheakley
Conservation Chairman

One of the largest coastal wetland restoration projects in Southern California history may be coming closer to reality in the Bolsa Chica. With the state's purchase of 880 acres of Bolsa Chica in 1997, over 90 percent of the Bolsa Chica lowlands, amounting to over 1200 acres,  is now in public ownership.  Preliminary engineering studies for the restoration began in early 1998 and include the analysis of such things as wave impact, grading contours, shoreline morphology, hydraulic and water quality modeling, and numerous other aspects of the restoration.

The entire lowland will not be restored in the first phase; less than 500 acres will be involved immediately. About 260 acres will be contoured for full tidal flow.  A part of this area will be designed to expose mud flats at low tide to support probing birds, and part will be permanently flooded to accommodate diving species.   Another 220 acres or so will receive muted tidal flow to support pickleweed, which is needed by the endangered Belding's Savannah Sparrow. The balance of the lowlands, nearly 400 acres at the south end of the Bolsa Chica lowlands, will be set aside for future restoration. This area includes a number of seasonal ponds that are presently heavily used by coastal birds and will be retained permanently as such.

The Bolsa Chica State Ecological Reserve just off Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most popular birding spots in the county.  Since it was restored in 1979, its habitat values are now relatively well established and it will not be included in the present restoration plans. The Bolsa Chica wetlands restoration is not without controversy.  One sticky point is what to do with storm water flow from the Wintersburg flood control channel which drains over 28 square miles of Orange County.  The county is under federal mandate to upgrade the channel's capacity, which it hopes to do by directing all of the channel's flow into the newly restored wetlands.  The state prefers to continue to divert storm water through its present course to Anaheim Bay, and only allow limited storm water to enter the restored wetlands when the capacity of the present route is exceeded during extra heavy rain storms.  Such a plan would also satisfy flood control requirements, but the cost would be greater.

The most critical point concerning the Bolsa Chica wetlands restoration has to do with the ocean inlet.  An ocean inlet is necessary to bring fresh sea water to feed the restored wetlands.  The present source of sea water for the State Ecological Reserve, Anaheim Bay, would not be sufficient to sustain the additional restored wetlands.  But the inlet presents several problems.  Here are just two:  the inlet would bisect Bolsa Chica State Beach, making it difficult for state safety and maintenance personnel to carry out their duties, and depending on how much flood water enters the wetlands from the Wintersburg channel, the inlet could be a source of polluted urban runoff for the adjacent state beach.

The Environmental Impact Report for the Bolsa Chica wetlands restoration has been completed and we have been assured that all of the pertinent concerns will receive extraordinary scrutiny in this document. We believe we have solutions for the problems involved with the Bolsa Chica wetlands restoration,  but in the mean time it appears that the restoration is still not a certainty.