Natural Perspective

VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY

This is the little-known story of how a few boys from Santa Ana

inspired a major Bolsa Chica restoration project.

People want to save the Bolsa Chica for different reasons. Some want

open space, some want increased recreational opportunities, and some want

to save endangered species. We want to preserve this rare coastal habitat

because if you save the land and the plants that grow on it, you have a

better chance of saving the wildlife that occupies that habitat.

The Bolsa Chica is host to the endangered California least tern and

Belding’s Savannah sparrow. Indeed, the wetlands host a significant

proportion of the United States population of these two species. The

light-footed clapper rail feeds at the Bolsa Chica, and after restoration

of full tidal flushing, they may choose to breed there as well.

Endangered brown pelicans are frequently seen in the bays of Bolsa Chica.

Formerly endangered peregrine falcons fly down from Los Angeles for a

quick lunch at the wetlands. Human effort has helped these latter two

species recover from the brink of extinction.

Most of us involved with the wetlands are familiar with these birds.

But how many people know about some of the other rarities of the Bolsa

Chica -- species like the silvery legless lizard and the wandering

skipper butterfly?

In 1978, the California Department of Fish and Game completed the

wetland restoration project that you see today. They restored tidal

flushing to Inner Bolsa Bay, with tern breeding islands and remnant sand

dunes along Pacific Coast Highway. That remnant sand dune between the

walk path and the highway had once been home to small brown butterflies

called wandering skippers, as well as to silvery legless lizards. This

rare lizard is a beautiful animal, about 6-inches long, silver on the

back, bright yellow on the belly and has no legs. But no one had seen

wandering skippers or silvery legless lizards in a long time.

In the mid 1980s, California Fish and Game biologist Esther Burkett

began a habitat enhancement project along the sand dunes that was

amazingly simple. She got a work crew of kids from the California Youth

Authority to pull out nonnativeice plant. The theory was that if you

remove the nonnative plants, the native dune plants would fill in the

space.Why was that important? Because ice plant, which has little or no

habitat value, had overgrown the native plants that the rare wandering

skipper butterflies and silvery legless lizards needed to survive. One

summer, Burkett’s work crew spent a few weeks pulling up ice plant and

clearing a small section of dunes.

When Burkett was reassigned to Northern California, the Bolsa Chica

Conservancy took over the project.

Enter a group of boys from Santa Ana High School. These teenagers came

on a tour of the wetlands one Saturday a decade ago at the urging of

their science teacher. The boys were so impressed with the wetlands that

they asked what they could do to help. With their tattoos, gang clothing

and scars, those boys were a bit intimidating. But appearances were

deceiving. They were serious, soft-spoken and dedicated to improving the

natural environment. They were the Bolsa Chica Conservancy’s first work

crew.

These boys volunteered every Saturday morning for most of the summer.

They pulled up huge quantities of ice plant and uncovered struggling

stands of native plants. By the end of summer, wandering skipper

butterflies had returned to the newly expanded heliotrope and salt grass

habitat. The rains came that fall, and we spotted a silvery legless

lizard near the tide gates. These lovely lizards look like smooth,

brightly-colored worms with eyes and smiles. They’re back at the Bolsa

Chica thanks to the efforts of a small group of teenage boys. These

positive signs encouraged us to keep going with the restoration project.

Their efforts inspired a decade of ongoing efforts to eradicate nonnative

plants at the Bolsa Chica, a project that has been expanded to include

over two miles of coastal sand dunes. The dunes are now covered with sand

verbena, beach primrose, ambrosia, coast goldbush and other native

plants.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at o7 vicleipzig@aol.comf7 .