By Vincent Charles, with bags of invasive plants in tow, paddled across the river to clear Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve of its troublesome weeds on Oct. 26. His efforts– with the help from volunteers– are part of a broader mission to help protect endangered birds in the area.
The California Least Tern and the Western Snowy Plover, both endangered species protected under state and federal law, like sandy habitats but human activity makes it difficult for them to nest along the coast.
“Unfortunately all of our beaches are covered with people…they can’t use that as habitat anymore,” Charles, a Department of Fish and Wildlife technician, said.
The breeding season for the California Least Tern is April to September. Vegetation removal from the end of September to March helps them have an area to nest.
Volunteers from non-profit organization Bolsa Chica Land Trust and Long Beach State club, Re:Wild, helped the California Department of Fish and Wildlife with the removal of a weed called White Sweet Clove which allows the animals to have an easier time nesting.
“Part of that means removing native plants, but they will eventually regrow and take over the sides [of the island] which will help with erosion control,” Charles said.
Katy Leach, who serves on the Board of Directors at Bolsa Chica Land Trust, carried bags of plants that were removed from the island. It was put in an area where it can decompose.
Photo Credit: Justin Enriquez
Bolsa Chica Land Trust uses community based initiatives to educate, involve and preserve Bolsa Chica. Alicia Newland, president of Re:Wild, helped to bring CSULB students to the event.
Tania Vasquez, a graduate student majoring in international affairs, explained that she was browsing through the CSULB events page and was interested in the habitat restoration event.
“I think it’s really important to get involved in activities that can improve the environmental situation,” Vasquez said.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife manages five islands with different non-profit organizations assigned to each different one. BCLT and Re:Wild worked on an island called site Number 2.
Beverly Hansen, director of restoration and stewardship at BCLT, specified that the efforts of the non-profit organizations and CDFW have helped raise the population of species such as the California legless lizards.
“Habitat restoration will support them better,” Hansen said.
Bags of plants are stored in a black bag and sent off to an area where they are decomposed. Plants like the White Sweet Clover don’t allow for birds like the California Least Tern to nest in the sites where they can be monitored by California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Photo Credit: Justin Enriquez
To arrive at the destination, volunteers crossed a small river and kayaked to the island. Once there, they were given bags and tools to remove plants and start digging.
BCLT hosts its habitat restoration events twice a month and organizes other programs ranging from educational efforts to beach clean ups.
“We use volunteers to do all the work, that makes it a slow process, but moving slower reaps better rewards…we’re paying attention to how things are growing and how things are doing. All the weeds are removed by hand. So it’s a lot of work to get done,” Hansen said.
Prior to Bolsa Chica becoming a game reserve owned by businessmen from Los Angeles, the land’s history dates back to 9,000 years ago when Native American tribes Tongva and Acjachemen lived on the land. The Spanish took over the land and built ranches in the 1900s.
Now however, infrastructure has disrupted the habitat, ranging from houses being built to oil drills scattered across the wetlands.
“[The oil drilling company] try to be good neighbors and cooperate with CDFW, and participate in some of the nesting sites to help remove weeds, and are pretty good about being careful with their infrastructure…obviously we don’t want it here, it’s not pretty to look at and in some way disturb the birds– keeps them out,” Hansen said.
While the California Least Tern and the Western Snowy Plover’s natural predators range from coyotes to small insects such as Argentine ants, their greatest threat to survival is human activity.
The Pacific Coast Highway– which cuts through the sand dunes linking Bolsa Chica to the beach– also affects an area where the Snowy Plover is meant to nest.
In 2006, a restoration project reconnecting the tidal basin with the ocean helped restore the habitat and bring back species once prized by hunters. Despite this, ongoing human activity and rising sea levels pose an even greater threat, making continued efforts to protect Bolsa Chica and its endangered species essential.
“Because we use the beach, because we like to recreate there, because we’ve built parking lots and use infrastructure they have nowhere to go,” Hansen said.
