Mailbag:

What a show of community support! Nearly 600 volunteers took part in the annual Coastal Cleanup Day at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve on Saturday.

In collaboration with the California Department of Fish and Game, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, along with the Amigos de Bolsa Chica and the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, organized and fielded volunteers of all ages and walks of life to remove 13 tons of trash, debris and invasive, noxious plants from the Bolsa Chica.

Removal of these items helps preserve Bolsa Chica, and helps protect the waterways by minimizing pollution and mitigating nonnative plants that choke the growth of native vegetation that are vital to the Bolsa Chica ecosystem. Past cleanup data tell us that most of the debris and trash found in the Bolsa Chica come from inland sources, traveling through storm drains, the Wintersburg Channel or wind blown from the beach and the adjacent Pacific Coast Highway.

I want to thank all the volunteers who came to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Interpretive Center in full force and the conservancy’s sponsors — Sempra Energy Foundation, Rainbow Disposal and Poseidon Resources — for their help. It was a fruitful, productive and fun day. The power of community volunteerism goes a long way to protecting the Bolsa Chica and enhancing our environment.

Editor’s note: Gaughan is the chairman of the board for the Bolsa Chica Conservancy.