Judge Allows Trapping of Foxes to Resume at Seal Beach Refuge

A federal court judge Monday denied a request for a temporary injunction to block the trapping of red foxes at a wildlife refuge within the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.

The ruling cleared the way for resumption of a trapping program aimed at saving two endangered bird species--the least tern and light-footed clapper rails--at the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, a 1,100-acre salt marsh inside the 5,000-acre military base.

“It will resume Saturday, unless I have (scheduling) problems with my trapper,” said Patricia Jones, environmental coordinator at the weapons station.

Jones estimated that it would take several weekends to trap an estimated 60 foxes on the base with a “live capture system.” Efforts will be made to find homes for the animals, she said, but if that fails they will be killed.

Immediately after U.S. District Judge Robert J. Kelleher’s ruling, attorney Dan Stormer, representing the suing Animal Lovers Volunteer Assn., said he plans to file an emergency appeal as soon as possible.

Tom Charmley, U.S. Fish and Wildlife manager of the Seal Beach refuge, said he hoped that elimination of the red foxes will give the threatened least terns and clapper rails “a real boost.”

“The terns can come right back as they did last year,” he said. “But, the rails . . . could take several years.”

During last season, the terns fledged 81 chicks on a three-acre island, which is surrounded by an electrified fence in the refuge,Jones said. But only about five pairs of breeding clapper rails remain where once there were about 200 pairs, experts estimate.

Charmley mostly blames foxes for the decline. According to the refuge manager, any claim that red foxes do not eat birds is “garbage.” He said, “They will eat anything they can get hold of.”

The weight of Stormer’s argument Monday centered on a contention that the Navy had failed to properly assess all the environmental factors in the decline of the bird population.

He insisted that additional factors such as other predators, the effects of unusually high tides, and proper fencing should be considered before a decision is made to eliminate the foxes.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Joe Butler argued that opponents of trapping had failed to show that they will be damaged by removal of the foxes or that there is any environmental harm caused by the Navy’s program.

Kelleher found that the fox project does not significantly degrade the environment.