By Greg Lehman
Published: October 05, 2009

By Greg Lehman
Daily Titan Staff Writer

Volunteers met at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Warner Avenue at 9 a.m. on Saturday to assist in restoration efforts at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Children and adults alike put their strength into digging temporary trails and planting native vegetation in the first bi-monthly workday the Bolsa Chica Stewards will organize every year between October and April.

Dr. Thierry Kolpin, co-founder and co-director of the Bolsa Chica Stewards, rallied the volunteers in the morning. He showed the proper way to use tools, passed around sign-in sheets and thanked everyone for coming to help.

“My main thing is trail design and maintenance,” Kolpin said. “And making sure we get the groups here and working and having a good time.”

The group would be planting 20 native species of vegetation in the area. Native sage scrub, bladderpod and coyote bush sat in plastic buckets waiting to be taken out to the wetlands.

Kolpin and his wife, Kat, started the restoration days 10 years ago. Each of them wanted to give back to the environment in some way, but they did not have a lot of money. They established the Bolsa Chica Stewards as a way for people to show their care for the wetlands.

“It was cool because it offered people the opportunity to come in,” Kolpin said. “And, you know what, we’re not asking for money, but if you want to help you can get your hands dirty, and put some native plants in.” Kolpin said that in 10 years they have put in around 10,000 plants.

Kat Kolpin, one of the founders as well as a director and restoration coordinator for the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, said that all of the destruction to the wetlands has been man-made. Kolpin said the area used to be a thriving Native American settlement, where they practiced a mutually beneficial way of life that did not damage the environment. According to Kolpin, the problems began in the mid-1800s when a rancho farmed the land. Cattle production took a toll on plants, soil and water. World War II brought the Army to the wetlands, and oil production detracted even more from the environment in the mid-1900s.

Yet Kat Kolpin was happy with the improvements the stewards have made.
“So far the progress at Bolsa Chica has been amazing,” Kolpin said. “We had a large wetland restoration which cost about $147 million to restore a large area of wetlands at Bolsa Chica. And whenever you do any type of restoration, right now you have a 50-50 shot that it’s going to work. It has nothing to do with how much money you pour in to it. Basically, you are trying to fix a natural system, one that really only Mother Nature can really achieve. So we can try to get it as best as we possibly can, and you never know if it’s going to really truly work. With Bolsa Chica though, it has worked. The wetland restoration has been very, very successful, and then the upland restoration that we do has been very successful as well.”

One of the best signs of progress is the return of the endangered California Gnatcatcher at the wetlands. Kolpin said, “When we first started a lot of scientists said, ‘Oh, you’re never going to have gnatcatchers at Bolsa Chica again, because you can’t bring it back.’ Well, we brought it back. We were able to restore the area with a habitat that it wants, and lo and behold the bird is here. That is one indicator that what we’re doing has worked. We’ve seen shifts in the wildlife, positive shifts in the way they use the property, and in their concentrations, the numbers of the animals that are out there. So we’re seeing definite improvement.”

Kat Kolpin said that the Stewards welcome anyone wanting to help out.

“Everyone is welcome to join in our work days,” Kolpin said. “You do not need to join in the land trust; all you have to do is show up on our work days. All we ask is that you dress for mess, which is long pants and closed-toe shoes.” The stewards meet for their work days on the first Sunday of each month in the season and the third Saturday, according to their Web site at http://www.bolsachicalandtrust.org/stewards.html.

Mike Armstrong, a member of the Bolsa Chica stewards working on Sunday, said that the land might not ever be exactly as it once was before human intrusions. “We’re never really going to do that,” Armstrong said. “But you can get it to a point where it will sustain wildlife pretty well.”

Kerry Martin, a volunteer working at the wetlands, said that the new Junior Steward program is a way for young people to get involved as well.

“All these young folks are out here,” said Martin. “So we’ve just expanded, we’ve gotten bigger. It’s great to get them involved so very young, and what a great place to be doing it.”

“There’s so much land that’s in need of restoration,” Armstrong said. “And I like it because it’s fun, it’s physical, it’s as physical as you want to make it. And you get to see stuff that other people don’t see. Where else can you see a rattlesnake in a huge populated area?”