CPR For The Mesa
(Community Promoted Restoration)
The Bolsa Chica Stewards, Restoration Team Bolsa Chica Land Trust

The Story:
Degraded by a century of human use and abuse, the Bolsa Chica is rising like a phoenix from the flames.  The Bolsa Chica ecosystem is comprised of a now rare combination of saltwater wetland and dry upper Mesa.  The wetlands have received a breath of new life in the form of a precedent setting restoration; however the Mesa was not touched by that project. Twelve years ago, the Bolsa Chica Stewards saw the need to heal the habitat and had the passion to undertake the seemingly immense challenge of restoring native vegetation among a sea of non-native invasive weeds.

Today, the Stewards have successfully met the challenge and have transformed more than 9 acres into beautiful Southern California Coastal Sage Scrub habitat. At the bequest of the Department of Fish and Game and with funding from the Steelcase Foundation, the Bolsa Chica Land Trust hired the environmental firm Dudek to create a restoration and management plan for the Lower Bench of the Bolsa Chica Mesa.  It will guide the restoration of some of the most important upland habitat to be found along the southern California coast.

In November 2008 the Bolsa Chica Land Trust entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dept. of Fish and Game for the Lower Bench Restoration.

A ten year project, the restoration will incorporate new science, new environmental technology, our twelve years of on-site experience and will be supported by large numbers of community volunteers. A unique combination, ours will be a project that will set the standards for restoring vital wildlife habitat amongst urban sprawl.
The Bolsa Chica Stewards is a strong team of people who have extensive on-site experience and expertise in various aspects of the Reserve. Lead by Kim Kolpin, one of the groups founding members and its long term Restoration Coordinator, and Guy Stivers, an internationally recognized Landscape Architect, Arborist, and Urban Forester, the Stewards team also has a geologist, biologist, engineer, trail engineer, historian, Master Gardener and naturalists amongst the group. Working in close cooperation with the Department of Fish and Game, we also utilize the biologists and botanists that work for the Department.

The opportunities for additional expertise to assist with this project is exciting.  Golden West College is making a commitment through its Environmental Technologies program, the addition of other Community Colleges and University collaborations are developing as well.  Individuals from the restoration community will be consulted as further research warrants.  The Bolsa Chica Land Trust is a strong leader in the environmental community and can use its resources to see this project through, and to engage others. The challenges of restoring the Lower Bench are many.  By encouraging the input of additional professionals in the scientific and educational communities we also share the solutions, with the hope that what is experienced and learned here at Bolsa Chica can also help in other areas.

Frequently Asked Questions about CPR for the Mesa:

Who owns the Mesa?

The Lower Bench of the Bolsa Chica Mesa was purchased with the voter approved funds from Prop 50 by the California State Lands Commission for $65,000,000.  Title was transferred to the California Department of Fish and Game in January 2007.

When will the project break ground?

As soon as all permits have been granted. Our goal is to break ground in September 2010.

Why has it taken so long to restore the area the Stewards have been working on?

Fourteen years ago when we began we had little more than good intentions and a passion to make things right for the wildlife of Bolsa Chica. Once we identified a plant pallet that would be fitting of the Mesa we needed to raise money for tools and equipment and to purchase plants.  85% of the plants we have planted we have purchased through private funds and our corporate partners such as Boeing Employee Foundation, MWD, Alcoa, and many others.   15% were funded by US Fish and Wildlife to replace an area we had planted that was impacted by the wetland restoration and needed to be replanted.

When we began our work on the Mesa, if we successfully planted 100 plants each work day we were thrilled.  Today, we easily go through 400 in a typical three hour work day.  The biggest shift happened a few years ago when we were able to hire a 2,000 gallon water truck to join us on our work days.  For a decade we filled 35 gallon garbage cans with water off site and trucked them to the site using our core team member's personal trucks.  This was incredibly labor intensive and took a great deal of time, since we used on average 800 gallons of water. The plants were also brought in by our members' personal trucks and cars from San Juan Capistrano, today they are delivered by the nursery's truck.

During the 2008/2009 planting season we were still working on the thin strip of Mesa on the public accessed portion. Up until December 2006 this portion of the Mesa was actually owned by Hearthside Homes/Koll.  A little known fact, but the State boundary had eroded away into the private property.  Due to legal issues, the Coastal Commission ordered that the chain link fence be placed back further into the private property to allow the public to safely walk along the Mesa trail.  We had no legal right or permission to work on the habitat restoration nor trails of this portion of the Mesa trail until 2007.  Once the property ownership transferred to DFG work was done to create access gates so that we could 'connect the dots' and bring out materials to the work site.

Over the course of our history we have kept detailed records on our progress, our failures, and our abilities. We have grown considerably in knowledge and capabilities.  Today, we can outfit a work crew of 320 and handle any challenge that comes our way. Restoring the rest of the Mesa is a challenge, yet by further increasing our productivity, focusing our methodology, and increasing the opportunity for the community to become involved we are completely prepared to take on this challenge.

What plant species are you going to use?

No specific plant species have been discussed with the public to date. The reason being that the plant pallets for each of the habitats is being designed specifically for the needs of the Mesa. The plant pallets will need to be approved by both DFG and the Coastal Commission, who may alter the pallets as they see fit. We do not want to state that we will be using a specific plant and then not use it. As the pallets are confirmed the list will be posted on this web site.

There are many theories as to what plant materials existed historically on the Mesa. However, our research strongly leads us to believe that the plants on the Mesa were impacted by human intrusion dating back more than 8,000 years.  The Native Peoples of Bolsa Chica harvested and most likely farmed the Mesa, significantly altering and recomposing its plant material.  In fact, it is now known that the Native Peoples of what we now call California burned much of the land several times a year in order to hunt mammals and to control the germination and maturity of certain plant species so that they may harvest more efficiently (California's Fading Wildflowers; Lost Legacy and Biological Invasions Richard A. Minnich University of California Press, 2008).

The earliest Spanish explorers diverted around the Bolsa Chica area, most likely because of the amount of water and marsh as well as the large Native Peoples settlements known to exist here.  The Spanish chronicled the plant materials they encountered throughout their explorations, and we can use this as a base for our restoration today.  However, when the Stewards began the question was "How far back are we restoring to?" then it became "What are we restoring for?" and now it is "How do we restore for the future.".

Very little of Bolsa Chica is as it was prior to human intrusion, the plants, animals, insects and even the landscape itself has changed. The current composition of wildlife, its stressors, and most importantly its needs as a whole are the paramount foundation to which our work is based. In many ways our restoration plan includes the creation of habitats that will support the current needs and continued use of the Mesa by the vast amount of wildlife at the Reserve.

Why is it taking so long to start?

After the property within the fence was purchased and title given to DFG several 'technical' issues needed to be ironed out. The property needed to be legally incorporated within the Reserve boundaries.  Two Reserve managers were hired by DFG, one specifically in charge of the Mesa, following the Wetland Restoration and Mesa purchase.

Once the title was transferred to DFG the Stewards team started on the Restoration plan. The environmental firm Dudek was hired to create the base plan. Soil testing was done, addition research was begun and funding opportunities identified. The nursery concept needed to be created and researched. Designs and plans were drafted, and are still being created. Research into each habitat is ongoing, and seeded testing plots on the Mesa have been established and are being monitored.  Above all, a Memorandum of Understanding was drafted and signed between the Bolsa Chica Land Trust and DFG. Today we are working on the permit applications, one within DFG and the other for the California Coastal Commission. This all takes time!

Where will the trails be?

A perimeter trail system has been incorporated within the Restoration plan.  Trails within the interior of the property will be developed, however they are for the Restoration project and are maintenance trails only at this point. It is our intention that these trails be decommissioned once the Restoration is complete unless further retained by DFG.  These maintenance trails do not bisect habitat zones, rather are placed strategically so that there is minimal impact to the wildlife and do not cross the interior of what will be a native grassland habitat.

What about the trees?

The Eucalyptus ESHA is a very special place. Most agree that the Mesa more than likely did not harbor tree species historically.  There were possibly trees closer to the fresh water rivulets that fed down into the wetlands.  The trees you see on the Mesa today were planted as part of the landscaping for the famous Gun Club, the foundation of which can still be seen among the trees.  Today, the trees are essential habitat for many raptor bird species and have special protection afforded them. The Restoration Project will clean up the under canopy, removing all of the non-native weeds and grasses and replace it with native grass and coastal sage plant species.  The existing palm and eucalyptus trees will be left to live and die.  Within the grove native tree species will be planted – so as the old existing trees die down, the new trees will grow up to gradually replace the grove.  A native tree buffer zone will also slightly extend the grove onto the Mesa.