State officials postpone entrance fee requirement for Bolsa Chica wetlands

State officials said Wednesday that they are postponing indefinitely a planned fee requirement to visit the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach.

Julie Horenstein, an ecological reserve coordinator with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in Sacramento, said holding off on the fee, which was scheduled to take effect Thursday, came at the request of the California State Lands Commission, which owns most of the wetlands but leases it to her department for management.

Both agencies want time to do further research, she said.

For the time being, Fish and Wildlife also is canceling the pass requirement for the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve in Newport Beach, Horenstein said. That requirement went into effect Jan. 1.

According to signs posted in Bolsa Chica, the fee was to be $4.32 for a daily pass for visitors 16 and older. Visitors also could buy an annual Lands Pass for $25.10, granting admission to various state properties, including Bolsa Chica. People with a valid fishing or hunting license would be able to enter Bolsa Chica as well, though no fishing or hunting is allowed there.

Passes and licenses would have been available only through approved retailers, online or by phone, not in the park itself.

Grace Adams, executive director of the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, called Wednesday’s change “good news, if they’re indeed postponing until this matter can be resolved and fully addressed.”

She said her group and other Bolsa Chica advocates have been fielding calls about the pass requirement. She noted the state has postponed the fee before.

For now, Adams said, “we’re continuing to work with the Department of Fish and Wildlife so we can address … issues relating to maintenance in conserving these precious wetlands.”

State officials were not planning to add staff to enforce the pass requirement. Horenstein said that in the first six to 12 months, visitors would be asked if they had passes, and if they didn’t, they would be told how to get one.

bradley.zint@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradleyZint