Conservancy, Murray contribute good work Concerning the...

Conservancy, Murray contribute good work

Concerning the Mailbag letter in your April 7 edition regarding

the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, I really wonder who wrote that letter. I

trust it wasn’t actually Jeff Rokos.

Some so-called environmentalists are so busy spreading hatred that

they cannot recognize the true efforts to restore the Bolsa Chica. If

Rokos were actually involved in the community, he would recognize the

good work of the Bolsa Chica Conservancy and that of Louann Murray as

the Conservator of the Year.

Whoever is behind this effort, please stop bad mouthing a

legitimate environmental effort. If Rokos were to take part in

installing native plants and pulling ice plants and doing something

useful, he might be able to give a legitimate comment.

ED LAIRD

Huntington Beach

Bolsa Chica group

is still going strong

Please accept this response to Jeff Rokos’ letter published in the

April 7 Mailbag section and its misrepresentations and errors in

fact.

First, Rokos alleges that the board of directors of the Bolsa

Chica Conservancy is controlled by “persons whose livelihoods are

derived from the developing and building out of Southern California.”

The Bolsa Chica Conservancy was established in 1990 by the Bolsa

Chica Planning Coalition, consisting of representatives from the

state of California, county of Orange, city of Huntington Beach, the

landowner Signal Landmark and the Amigos de Bolsa Chica. Now, 15

years later, our board of directors is comprised of a wide spectrum

of representatives from the scientific, education, business and

environmental communities. The 25-member board has guided our

environmental and educational programs and activities for the benefit

of the general public with great success over the course of 15 years.

Not one individual or organization controls the conservancy, a

nonprofit, public benefit corporation. Rather, it fulfills its

charter as a nonpolitical entity with representation from multiple

sectors in order to raise public awareness about and do real

environmental work for the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Please note that its

charter is in regard to the Bolsa Chica wetlands, not the mesa.

Next, he writes: “It seems that Murray has played the game well

and walked that fine line ... but the title about to be bestowed upon

her will ring hollow once the public learns the truth about the

organization recognizing her good service.”

Louann Murray has dedicated her life and work to preserving the

environment, most specifically in the city of Huntington Beach. Not

only has she successfully run restoration projects at the Bolsa Chica

and the Shipley Nature Center, she has also worked to enhance and

improve the lives of at-risk youth who help her in her projects.

Murray joins the list of accomplished individuals that have received

this award, which includes Stanley Grant, former mayor Shirley

Dettloff, Councilwoman Cathy Green and former mayor Peter Green, Ed

Laird and Robert Hight, the former head of the California Department

of Fish and Game. Like Murray, these individuals were selected as

recipients of the Bolsa Chica Conservator of the Year Award for their

outstanding commitment to the environment.

Further, Rokos states: “The Bolsa Chica Conservancy seems to be on

a public relations blitzkrieg lately. Could it be they sense their

own demise, having outlived their usefulness once the groundbreaking

take place on the upper mesa?”

The Bolsa Chica Conservancy is one of the more underestimated and

under-credited organizations in Huntington Beach. If it has one

failing, it is that it has not touted its successes and good work.

In its 15-year history, it has hosted close to 40,000 individuals

at the Bolsa Chica Interpretive Center, the only center that

showcases Bolsa Chica-related material. It has provided science-based

wetland ecology classes to more than 16,000 children and young adults

whose ages range from pre-school to graduate level students,

including mentally and physically disabled individuals and at-risk

youth. In addition, the conservancy has organized and managed more

than 25,000 hours of volunteer service to maintain and clean the

trails at the Bolsa Chica, weed non-native plants and install

hundreds of native plants. Between the years of 2002 and 2004, the

Bolsa Chica Conservancy assisted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service

with the restoration of Rabbit Island, a historic sand dune community

by removing more than 70 tons of ice plant, by hand to allow growth

of endangered species of plants such as the coastal wooly head, and

to improve habitat for nesting threatened snowy plovers.

Since 1998, it has logged thousands of hours in conducting water

quality testing of the Bolsa Chica and surrounding waterways.

Contrary to the writer’s claims that the organization is nearing

its demise, the conservancy indeed thrives and is in the midst of

repairing its 1,400-square-foot interpretive center to fulfill our

mission for many more years to come. We revel in overwhelming and

increasing support in time, talent and treasure from the general

public, government agencies and the corporate community. Demand for

its services, which include tours, wetland ecology classes, clean-up

of the wetlands and habitat restoration, is ever-growing as public

awareness for the benefits of wetlands increases.

We are proud of our track record of success and invite your

readers to join us in action, not rhetoric, for the benefit of the

wetlands at Bolsa Chica.

PATRICIA DAVIS

Chairwoman,

Bolsa Chica Conservancy

Sale of Little League fields rather insane

In regard to the selling of Little League fields at Wardlow Park

for housing, I have to agree with Councilman Dave Sullivan that the

idea of this proposal makes no sense. “Moronic” was the word he used

in the Independent. The city has been building new sports and

recreational facilities because a shortage exists. Now the Fountain

Valley School District wants to convert some to housing.

Perhaps the district superintendent should be reminded that the

office exists to serve the residents of this city. I feel certain the

residents want no conversions of sports facilities to housing. A

budget shortfall should never be satisfied by taking recreational

facilities away from school-age kids. Find other means to solve

budget problems!

Be reminded also, from a housing and population perspective, the

city is already extremely overcrowded with a seriously stressed

infrastructure. Add more housing? To whose benefit we need to ask --

certainly not to the benefit of the residents. However, it does

provide more dollars for real estate developers, doesn’t it?

Perhaps the district superintendent should be petitioned to

reconsider or be otherwise impeached, if that is possible, and be

replaced by someone who can provide creative, practical and amenable

solutions to budget management problems. Further, perhaps the City

Council should consider working with the Planning Commission to

prohibit the conversion of recreational and sport facilities to

housing or commercial developments.

It’s time for the insanity to stop!

GIL NIXON

Huntington Beach