Call him the lone enforcer. Andrew Willis is the only California Coastal Commission official patrolling for illegal development and habitat destruction from Pacific Palisades to San Clemente. Here, he takes a photo at Semeniuk Slough, near Newport Shores Park in Newport Beach, while looking into how docks, decks and residential encroachment are affecting the habitat. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Theres a lot of people and a lot of coast. A lot of homes being built, says Andrew Willis. “But Im just one person for that area, and I cant protect everything. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Andrew Willis stops to check out a report of illegal dumping near the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach, where neighbors said they witnessed oil company crews piling dirt on a slope. The Coastal Commission inspector carries no ticket book, gun or baton. He wears no uniform, opting instead for short-sleeved, surf-brand shirts and jeans or shorts. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Andrew Willis’ detective work is sometimes interrupted by his own passions bird sightings and plant identifications. He goes into the field with a bird book stuffed in the back pocket of his jeans and a digital camera and pair of binoculars slung around his neck. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
When Andrew Willis is in the field, it feels worlds away from the 10th floor of his office building in downtown Long Beach, where he sits at a desk with views of an eternally lighted flame from an oil refinery and the sprawling port. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)