250 Foxes Taken From Bird Refuge

In an effort to save two endangered species of birds, 250 red foxes have been removed from a national wildlife refuge at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station in the past 2 years, a federal official said Thursday night.

The total was the first public announcement of the number of foxes that have been trapped or killed at the military base since 1986, when the drive against the predators began.

“The number (of red foxes) we found far exceeded our estimates,” said Charles Houghten, a Sacramento-based official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

While giving no estimates of how many foxes remain in the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding 5,000-acre weapons station, Houghten said the non-native animal is still proliferating and poses a serious threat to the endangered California least tern and the light-footed clapper rail, birds that nest in reeds and sandy areas.

Houghten spoke at a public hearing at Seal Beach City Hall where federal officials were receiving comments on how to save the birds as well as possible alternatives to removing the predatory foxes. The hearing was jointly sponsored by naval authorities and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Only five persons testified, and no one spoke in favor of trying to save the red foxes.

Three speakers representing major environmental groups said they favor continued efforts to remove the red foxes from the refuge.

Lorraine Faber of Huntington Beach, representing Amigos de Bolsa Chica, said foxes have been reproducing at such rates as to pose “a crisis.”

“The same problem is now being seen at Bolsa Chica,” Faber said “The problem is extreme, and it has to be dealt with and dealt with as soon as possible.”

Support From Sierra Club

Larry Lee of Long Beach, representing the Sierra Club, said his organization “fully supports plans to remove red foxes from this particular refuge.”

He added that the “Sierra Club policy has clearly identified and supported the need to control non-native species when they threaten the native populations of plants and animals.”

Dick Kust of Irvine, representing the Audubon Society, said, “the red fox is not native to this area. It can’t be released anywhere else in the state. It’s like an infestation of mice and roaches in your house. It’s life, but it’s there because man has upset the natural order of things.”

The two other speakers did not specifically mention red foxes, introduced into Southern California earlier this century, but simply told the hearing that their organizations supported the goals of saving the endangered birds. Hal Baerg of Huntington Beach, president of the Animal Lovers Volunteer Assn., was in the audience but did not testify. Baerg and his organization, which he said has about 3,200 members, have spearheaded efforts to try to save the red foxes at the weapons station.

The nonprofit Orange County-based group filed suit in federal court in 1986, claiming that the program to trap the foxes was “inhumane, gross slaughter of helpless animals.”

The suit became mired in a court backlog, and it was not until June, 1988, that a federal appeals court ruled on the case. The court said both the Navy and the Fish and Wildlife Service must take testimony for a new environmental report. In effect, the agencies were told to return to the drawing board.

The statements from the public at the meeting Thursday night were an initial step toward preparing a new environmental impact statement, Navy officials said.

In an interview after the hearing, Baerg said he considered the public hearing “a kangaroo court” for the foxes.

He added, “Look who is sitting up there--the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.” Baerg said he and his organization have battled both agencies to try to save the red foxes. His organization plans to provide written comments later for the environmental impact report, he said.