Democracy at work: State buys more of Bolsa Chica

On Dec. 21, 2005, a 118-acre portion of Bolsa Chica was purchased by the state of California for $65 million dollars. The state used funds from Proposition 50, a 2002 initiative that provided $3.4 billion for environmental projects and acquisitions, in what is a big win for the environment and the people of California.

photo by Connie Boardman The Bolsa Chica Mesa, which will now be added to the 1,100-acre Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.

The mesa and wetlands near Huntington Beach are home to herons, white pelicans, brown pelicans, white-tailed kites, American avocets, several species of terns, skimmers, owls, rabbits, squirrels, osprey, coyotes, and other species. The Bolsa Chica Mesa will be added to the 1,100-acre Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, portions of which are undergoing an $80-million restoration.

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust was formed in 1992 with the purpose of acquiring, preserving, and restoring all of Bolsa Chica including the wetlands, lowlands, and mesas. The BCLT followed in the tradition of the preservation group Amigos de Bolsa Chica, founded in 1976. The board of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust is made up of many Sierra Club members.

One of the most important and largest projects of the BCLT is the Bolsa Chica Stewards, which was founded by Sierra Club members over 10 years ago. The Bolsa Chica Stewards is a volunteer organization that does native plant restoration work on the mesa portion of Bolsa Chica. The passion to see the mesas as well as the wetlands preserved has been the driving force behind the Bolsa Chica Land Trust since its inception.

'When the Trust was formed, there were 4,884 houses proposed at Bolsa Chica, 900 in the wetlands and over 3,900 on the mesa,' said Jerry Chapman, president of the organization's board of directors. 'We've whittled that down to zero in the wetlands and 349 on the mesa.'

photo by Steven Eric Smith A red-tailed hawk hits its mark-a gopher snake-at Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

In the early days of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, the Sierra Club national organizers such as Elizabeth Lambe were instrumental in offering guidance for the fledgling organization in its efforts to build public participation and support for Coastal Commission hearings and testimonials. The Sierra Club also helped with insurance for events on the mesa.

Along the path to success, there were two defining moments in the history of the Land Trust. The first was the 1996 lawsuit that saved the wetlands from being developed. The Sierra Club was a co-plaintiff along with the Bolsa Chica Land Trust and the Gabrielino-Shoshone Nation in this case. The lawsuit not only resulted in the sale to the state of 880 acres of wetlands, but also the Coastal Commission's famous 'Bolsa Chica decision' that has led to the preservation of wetlands up and down the coast of California. The case invalidated the Coastal Commission's approval of over 2,200 homes, nearly 1,000 of which would have been placed in areas now under water. The case stands for the legal proposition that you cannot put houses in wetlands under the California Coastal Act.

The second was the 1999 legal ruling by the Court of Appeals upholding a lower court ruling that protected the Bolsa Chica lower bench eucalyptus grove, an environmentally sensitive habitat area (ESHA). This case established the proposition that in order to ensure the survival of the raptors that lived in the eucalyptus grove, they needed not only the trees, but also the open areas in the lower bench to forage and feed. The developer had argued that they could cut down the trees and replace them with perching poles, and then build houses in the lowlands. This case invalidated the Coastal Commission's approval of over 1,200 homes. The ruling not only protected Bolsa Chica ESHAs, but also other such habitats in California's coastal zone.

Both rulings had major impacts on the preservation of Bolsa Chica as well as coastal wetlands and ESHAs statewide.

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust was able to acquire and help restore a large and important piece of habitat in the generally hostile political landscape of Orange County. BCLT volunteers took their case to Coastal Commission hearings, Huntington Beach City Council meetings, and Sacramento. The Angeles Chapter's Orange County Political Committee, under the leadership of chair Alex Mintzer and vice-chair Chuck Buck, was instrumental in creating a more favorable political landscape. They worked to get Republican assemblyman Tom Harman elected to a state office. Assemblyman Harman was a great ally to Bolsa Chica in Sacramento. They also helped get Debbie Cook and Connie Boardman elected to the Huntington Beach City Council. Both council members were sympathetic to the cause of preserving Bolsa Chica.

photo by Steven Eric Smith Brown pelicans are one of the numerous birds that call the Bolsa Chica Wetlands their home.

Today, the BCLT offers two programs for the public, Miracles of the Marsh and the Bolsa Chica Stewards. Miracles of the Marsh is an elementary school education program which brings third grade students from Orange and Los Angeles counties to Bolsa Chica for a docent-led tour of the wetlands and mesa. The Bolsa Chica Stewards (once a Sierra Club task force) operate the Land Trust's restoration program and have planted over 8,000 native plants at Bolsa Chica using an all-volunteer community work force.

'While we are pleased that the lower bench will be preserved for future generations, there is still a lot of work to be done,' said Jan Vandersloot, co-founder and current member of the board of directors of the BCLT and Sierra Club member. 'This is just one battle. The fight to save Bolsa Chica is far from over.'

Therefore, the Land Trust also continues its advocacy role and continues to engage the democratic process, working to preserve the remaining private parcels at Bolsa Chica. This includes the historic Upper Bolsa Chica Wetlands, threatened by a 175-unit housing development, and the culturally significant sacred cogged stone site (see story on this page), a six-acre parcel on which the owner hopes to put a housing development.

'This is the culmination of 13 years and thousands of hours of work by the members of the Land Trust and other organizations in our community,' said Flossie Horgan, co-founder of the Trust. 'We are ecstatic that this important open space will be preserved forever at Bolsa Chica.'