Amigos De Bolsa Chica

The mission of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica is to advocate for the full protection of the Bolsa Chica and educate the community about its ecological value.

Amigos de Bolsa Chica is a non-profit volunteer organization formed in 1976 by a group of Huntington Beach residents to protect the Bolsa Chica wetlands from development. Located in Huntington Beach in northwest Orange County, the Bolsa Chica wetlands had once been part of thousands of acres of coastal wetland that had been filled for urban development in the 20th Century. Concerned about the statewide loss of coastal wetlands, the Amigos de Bolsa Chica pledged to protect, preserve and acquire the Bolsa Chica and surrounding open space.

The Amigos de Bolsa Chica achieved major reductions to the development plans and spearheaded an effort that resulted in the state's acquisition in 1997 of 880 acres of wetlands. The Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve now consists of over 1400 acres of wetland and upland. Upon completion of a large portion of a major restoration project in 2006, biodiversity immediately increased.

The Amigos de Bolsa Chica has been offering educational programs to inform the public of the importance of preserving coastal wetlands since the organization’s beginning in 1976. Our cornerstone educational activity has been interpretive walking tours of the Bolsa Chica Wetland. We offer free public tours of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve that are aimed at all ages, and we offer private, scheduled tours for schools, scouts and other groups. Through these programs, which depend on the availability of trained volunteer Naturalists, we lead several hundred students through the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve each year.

In 2013, Amigos created a Citizen/Community Science based program, Follow and Learn about the Ocean and Wetlands (FLOW) in order to provide education about the relationship between the ocean and the coastal wetlands. FLOW Community Scientists conduct weekly water quality testing and analysis, and host field trips for schools during the school year. FLOW is also offered in conjunction with the Bolsa Chica State Beach’s Junior Ranger Program. Training for volunteers is ongoing.

With 90% of California’s wetlands lost to urban and agricultural development, the goal of community-based education programs centered on the Bolsa Chica is to create greater awareness of the state’s threatened biodiversity and offer environmental leadership roles to all. Providing education about the ocean-wetland ecosystem is a never-ending task. Our current and future plans include:
• Increase our research into the effect of climate change on coastal water quality.
• Address diversity, equity and inclusion by creating ongoing strategies for outreach, recruitment and retention of volunteers.
• Create a public outreach campaign that reaches diverse and disadvantaged communities who are currently not involved with coastal environmental issues.
• Ensure the Bolsa Chica Wetlands are resilient in the face of sea level rise, ocean warming and acidification.

1.  We provide guided walking tours of the wetlands to K-12, college students, girl and boy scouts and the general public.  The Amigos de Bolsa Chica wetland tour assists educators in meeting Next Generation Science Needs, and can help teach students how getting involved in the local community can promote positive environmental changes that can have a lasting impact on people and wildlife.  For scout groups, a tour of Bolsa Chica can help them earn various badges and achievements. 

2.  Amigos de Bolsa Chica's Citizen Science Program, FLOW (Follow and Learn about the Ocean and Wetlands), consists of regular analysis of water quality in support of the California Department of Public Health’s Harmful Algae Monitoring Program.  Citizen scientists are trained to collect water sample from the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve's tidal inlet as well as the Inner Bolsa Bay. Citizen scientists use professional plankton nets and analyze water samples using microscopes and chemical test kits. Water sample from the tidal inlet are sent weekly to the California Department of Public Health in support of their Phytoplankton Monitoring Program. 

3. The Educational Component of FLOW creates a unique learning opportunity for elementary school, middle school, high school and college students. Through this program, students come to the Bolsa Chica to shadow the citizen scientists in their monitoring activities and learn about methods, techniques and equipment used to collect and analyze plankton. Classes that participate in FLOW learn about methods, techniques and equipment used to collect and analyze plankton, and also about the importance and applicability of monitoring programs for coastal management and conservation purposes. Following the scientific method and protocols along with studying life systems aligns the FLOW program with several Next Generation Science Standards .

1. To bring attention to the long-term maintenance of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and the future phases of wetland restoration. The most pressing need is to ensure coastal wetland resilience in the face of sea level rise. State funding is no longer guaranteed, and failure of the inlet will diminish the biodiversity of the salt marsh ecosystem. The Amigos de Bolsa Chica meets regularly with members of a coalition of groups that monitor the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and determine the needs of the reserve.

2. To attract volunteers who are interested in helping educate the public about the importance of healthy wetlands and oceans and the connections between them. To attract volunteers who interested in Citizen Science.

3. Funds for operations including minimal personnel who will do what volunteers alone cannot. This consists of a part-time Administrative Director and a part-time FLOW Program Manager. The Administrative Director supervises the Program Manager, schedules wetlands tours, coordinates trainings, writes grants, creates various news materials for print and web, and corresponds with the public. The Program manager oversees the FLOW program, trains citizen scientist and organizes school field trips.

4. Ensure the Bolsa Chica Wetlands are resilient in the face of sea level rise, ocean warming and acidification. This requires forming strong coalitions with public agencies responsible for coastal resources, local and state politicians, and other community groups who are impacted by climate-related issues.

Orange and Southeast Los Angeles counties including, but not limited to:Santa AnaHuntington BeachWestminsterFountain ValleyGarden GroveCosta MesaAnaheimOrangeCypress Long Beach 

It is widely assumed in the community surrounding the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve that once the wetlands were preserved and restoration begun, nothing else needed to be done. This is a misperception we are trying to change. Restoration of a dynamic ecosystem like the Bolsa Chica is a living, changing, ongoing process. It does not have an end date. Amigos de Bolsa Chica’s major goal is to bring attention to the threats of climate change and seal level rise. These are not just threats to the Bolsa Chica, but to the entire coast of California. Current maintenance of the Reserve and future restoration plans must include methods that create coastal wetlands resilience. In order to accomplish this, the Amigos de Bolsa Chica must attract a wide range of volunteers who are interested in helping educate the public about the importance of healthy wetlands and oceans and the connections between them.

Volunteers are vital for the strength and success of any environmental organization, and must be shown how their efforts make a difference in both large and small ways, that they are needed and appreciated, and that they are critical to the success in protecting a threatened ocean-wetland ecosystem. The Amigos de Bolsa Chica are working on plans that revitalize current volunteer participation, foster inclusion in outreach to new volunteers, and can make it more widely known that we offers environmental leadership roles to all.

Funding for the Amigos de Bolsa Chica will assist in our efforts to increase the community’s awareness about the importance of wetland habitats like Bolsa Chica. Funding will also help increase awareness of the opportunities for volunteers to participate with Amigos de Bolsa Chica in a number of ways: become a Naturalist to lead private wetland tours; become a citizen scientist to collect and analyze ocean and wetland water samples for plankton and ocean food web health; teach water quality analysis to visiting classrooms and State Beach campers; learn about native and drought tolerant plants through hands on planting and maintenance; help with monthly trash clean-ups; meet with officials from governmental agencies; and train and motivate other volunteers.

I am honored to follow heroes of mine who have led the Amigos de Bolsa Chica during the past 46 years. The list is impressive and includes Charles Falzon, Shirley Dettloff, Vic Leipzig, Dave Carlberg, both Jim and Jennifer Robins and Tom Anderson who left the organization’s board to serve in the position of Administrative Director.

The Amigos de Bolsa Chica was created in 1976, to protect and preserve the Bolsa Chica Wetland just before I became a South Coast Regional Coastal Commissioner. That Commission, together with the State Coastal Commission I later joined, was responsible for determining the fate of the Wetland. A lot has happened to help acquire, restore, and protect it since then. Although I am new to the presidency of the Amigos, I have a long history with Bolsa Chica. In the 1970s and early 1980s, as Chair of the Coastal Commission, I had the privilege of helping negotiate some of the early land use requirements that ultimately led to the abandonment of proposals for a Marina del Rey like marina and the recognition that protecting and restoring it as a wetland would be far more valuable.

As another hero of mine, former Coastal Commission Executive Director Peter Douglas, said on numerous occasions, “The Coast is never saved. It is always being saved.” Today, we face new challenges at Bolsa Chica. For the wetland to thrive, the tidal inlet must be maintained. The wetland values now in place must be protected. The effect of sea level rise on the wetland must be addressed. The risks associated with the continuing onsite oil production must be monitored and mitigated. Wetland restoration efforts must continue. Our wetland educational efforts aimed at all segments of the public, especially the young must be continued and enhanced. In short, we do have an obligation to current and future generation to keep saving Bolsa Chica. I hope you will help us do this.