Photos: The humble guardian of Ormond Beach

Walter Fuller, right, greets Lorenzo Salcedo, a fisherman.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Lorenzo Salcedo shows his morning catch of ocean Perch at the entrance to Ormond Beach Wetlands.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Fencing protects the nesting area of the California Least Tern at the Ormond Beach Wetlands in Oxnard.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Walter Fuller, right, looks for birds with friend Roger Poirier at the Ormond Beach Wetlands.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A snowy egret at the Ormond Beach Wetlands in Oxnard.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Walter Fuller, right, scans the ocean for wildlife as he walks the beach with friend Roger Poirier.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A man walks his dogs on Ormond Beach Wetlands.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The track of a raccoon at the Ormond Beach Wetlands in Oxnard.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A tall slag heap behind walls and gates, a remnant of the closed Halaco steel recycling plant that is part of a Superfund hazardous waste north of the Ormond Beach Wetlands.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A tall slag heap behind walls and gates, a remnant of the closed Halaco steel recycling plant.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A tall slag heap behind gates, a remnant of the closed Halaco steel recycling plant.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)