Wetlands Activist to Speak in S. Korea

The executive director of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica wetlands preservation group has been invited to talk about the pending Bolsa Chica restoration plan at an international symposium in South Korea this month.

Adrianne Morrison will address the International Wetland Conservation Seminar, scheduled for Oct. 29-31 in Seoul.

“For 20 years, we’ve held the line in protecting the Bolsa Chica wetlands, and now we have reached a point where we do have an agreement that has a balance,” Morrison said.

The California Coastal Commission approved a series of proposals this month as part of a plan for the state to purchase an 880-acre section of wetlands from the Koll Real Estate Group. The purchase would reduce the company’s 3,300-home development in the area by 900 homes.

Bolsa Chica is believed to be the largest unprotected coastal wetlands south of San Francisco. The plan would join several state and federal agencies and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to help buy and restore the wetlands.

Morrison was invited to speak at the conference after efforts to preserve the Bolsa Chica wetlands were featured in the South Korean newspaper Green Korea last year.

Much of the area was previously an oil field. A soil quality test by the end of the month is expected to determine if cleanup costs will be affordable.

“Most people in the community are feeling pretty good about this plan,” said Bob Winchell, a geologist and member of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, another preservation group. “But there are several different ways this could go down the tubes. This isn’t a done deal by any means.”