Huntington Beach : Cleanup Help Needed for Ecological Reserve

Mounds of trash, blown by wind or swept ashore on the tides, are clogging the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, and a local environmental group is seeking volunteers for Saturday’s annual cleanup effort.

The 530-acre state reserve near Huntington Beach is one of the last remaining coastal wetlands in California. It provides feeding grounds for thousands of migrating birds, protected nesting areas for many species of rare and endangered birds, as well as spawning grounds for many varieties of fish.

Work will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, but helpers will be welcome all day, said Lorraine Faber, spokeswoman for Amigos de Bolsa Chica, an environmental lobbying group that is trying to protect privately owned wetland areas near the reserve that are slated for development.

Faber said that volunteers should park in one of two lots along Pacific Coast Highway just south of Seal Beach, either at the Warner Avenue intersection or at a second one about a mile down the coast. Volunteers should be at least high school age, and are advised to bring their own work gloves, sturdy shoes and rakes. Trash bags will be furnished.

As an added bonus, reserve biologist Dan Yparraguirre will lead interested volunteers on a special tour of a 22-acre mud flat not open to the public.

For information, call (714) 897-7003.