Activists Protest Conditions at Closed Tucker Refuge

Demonstrators gathered Saturday outside the Tucker wildlife sanctuary in Modjeska Canyon to protest Cal State Fullerton’s nine-month closure of the bird refuge and the university’s continuing failure to maintain the site for public use.

About a dozen environmental activists and supporters of the sanctuary picketed from 10 a.m. to noon near the padlocked entrance of the facility, which was shut without warning in September.

Activists say the closure of the 12-acre refuge coincided with the discovery of illegal bulldozing and other activities that disrupted a creek bed, stripped hillsides of native vegetation and destroyed a trail once used to teach disabled children about nature.

“The university has refused to explain the closure, did not provide the sandbags they promised to prevent erosion and has continued to cut down trees and remove wildlife habitat,” said Jim Sill, president of the Friends of the Tucker Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary.

Sill noted that Cal State Fullerton has repeatedly reneged on promises to reopen the refuge to the public. Dates in January, March, and April for the event came and went, he said, but nothing has happened.

For more than 30 years, the refuge at the end of Modjeska Canyon Road has been run by the university’s foundation and dedicated to the preservation of native plants and animals. More than 40,000 people a year visited before it was closed.

The sanctuary was donated to the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society in 1939 by Ben and Dorothy Tucker. In 1968, the birding group gave the site to Cal State Fullerton on the condition that the property be maintained and operated for the benefit of the public.

“If there were any surviving members of the Tucker family alive today, they would be in court right now,” said Mike Boeck, an environmental activist from Silverado Canyon. “They wanted a bird sanctuary open to the public. It’s so sad. We’re just trying to get Cal State Fullerton to do the right thing.”

Boeck was outside the refuge Saturday morning carrying a sign that said “Hummer Bummer,” a reference to the hummingbirds that frequented the site. Other placards stated, “Feed the Birds” or “Shame on Cal State Fullerton.”

In May, the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society sent a sternly worded letter to the university foundation threatening to take back the sanctuary, citing physical neglect and “inappropriate maintenance.”

University officials could not be reached for comment Saturday. Earlier this year, they said the foundation had planned to refurbish the facility, adding fences, seating for visitors along pathways, and handrails for a creek bridge as well as a railing for a pond.

The bulldozing, officials say, was done to remove overgrown vegetation and eliminate a fire hazard after a former sanctuary manager expressed concerns.