HUNTINGTON BEACH : Bolsa Chica Wetlands Center Rolls to Town

The future Bolsa Chica Wetlands Research and Education Center arrived by truck Monday at a parking lot of the ecological reserve and is waiting to be transformed into a science lab and visitors center to increase public appreciation of the wetlands.

The 1,440-square-foot, double-wide mobile home, purchased and outfitted through a $138,000 grant from the California Coastal Conservancy, is scheduled to open in a festival-like atmosphere in mid-April during the return of the California Least Tern from Mexico and South America.

The opening also is expected to coincide with visits to the wetlands by third- and fourth-graders from throughout Orange County as part of the county Department of Education’s environmental studies program.

The center will house a visitors center, a wetlands library and a laboratory for the Volunteer Scientists Program, which will study methods for future wetland restoration.

The California Fish & Game Department and the Bolsa Chica Conservancy will have offices in the center. The Bolsa Chica Conservancy, which will operate the center, is a nonpolitical, nonprofit organization dedicated to wetlands education, research and restoration.

Phil Smith, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy’s executive director, said there will be displays on wetlands, ecology, migratory birds, history and endangered species of the area that include the Belding Savannah sparrow, the light-footed clapper rail, the California brown pelican, the California least tern and the Peregrine falcon.

“This is a real step forward,” said City Councilman Victor Leipzig, who was on hand for the arrival of the mobile building at the parking lot on Warner Avenue, just east of Pacific Coast Highway.

“There is a growing awareness of the wetlands but a new generation needs educating every year,” he said.

Louann W. Murray, a wetlands scientist and research director for the local conservancy, said that more than 90% of the wetlands in California have been destroyed by development. The proposed restoration would be the largest in Southern California, she said.

The Koll Real Estate Group is seeking to build more than 4,000 homes in the area while restoring 1,100 acres of wetlands and open space.

The center is equipped with several security systems and shatter-proof windows.

The grand opening has been delayed until April so that displays of the Bolsa Chica wildlife and habitat can be completed.