Group Hopes Free Concert Strikes Sympathetic Chord on Bolsa Chica

A group dedicated to preventing any new development around the Bolsa Chica area is sponsoring a free bluegrass concert and rally at the Bolsa Chica State Ecological Preserve on Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m.

Officials with the newly formed Bolsa Chica Land Trust, sponsor of “Bluegrass on the Mesa,” said the Grey Eagle band will play.

The concert site is near a grove of palm trees, on a walking trail about three-quarters of a mile from the ecological preserve parking lot on Pacific Coast Highway, opposite Bolsa Chica State Beach.

Chris Hegge, a spokeswoman for the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, said the free musical event will help spread the organization’s message.

“Our mission is zero (new) dwelling units on the Bolsa Chica,” she said. “We want to acquire the land, and then work for restoration of the wetlands. If the Bolsa Chica is developed, a lot of birds and animals will be displaced.”

The Koll Co. currently has plans to build up to 4,884 housing units on private land that circles the Bolsa Chica State Ecological Preserve.

Hegge said the Bolsa Chica Land Trust hopes to prevent that development by finding some way to buy the land from the Koll Co. Hegge said residents of Laguna Beach set an example that can be followed.

“The people of Laguna Beach decided they wanted to preserve Laguna Canyon for their children and their children’s children, and they did it,” Hegge said. “I think we can do the same thing for the Bolsa Chica. There is very little open space left in this area. And we need the open space of the Bolsa Chica. We need it for our mental health, as well as to prevent congestion and traffic.”