Bolsa Chica Land Trust

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust will celebrate its fourth anniversary today with a party at Bolsa Chica State Beach. The organization will furnish condiments and wood for barbecuing at the free public event, set for 4 to 8 p.m. at Pacific Coast Highway and Warner Avenue. Party-goers must bring their own food to cook. Information: (714) 840-9212 or (714) 840-1580.

Jan Vandersloot, a leading Orange County environmental activist whose causes included the preservation of the Bolsa Chica wetlands, has died. He was 64. Vandersloot died Wednesday at his home in Newport Beach, said his son, Jon, who found his father in his home office. "He gave everything he had 'til his last breath," Jon Vandersloot said. The cause of death has not been determined. Vandersloot, a dermatologist with a practice in Huntington Beach, was one of the founders of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, which was formed in 1992 to preserve the Bolsa Chica wetlands by acquiring and restoring the area.

As parade officials tell it, the problem simply comes down to this: an environmental group flouted the rules by handing out fliers two years running at the Huntington Beach Fourth of July Parade. So the parade board got tough, voting Tuesday night to bar the Bolsa Chica Land Trust from marching in this year's Independence Day salute. Land Trust leaders are reacting with amazement and anger, suggesting the suspension may have less to do with fliers than with politics.

It truly is an engineering marvel to rejoin the Bolsa Chica wetland and the Pacific Ocean (Aug. 25). However, I was surprised by your failure to mention the Bolsa Chica Land Trust as the organization that picked up the ball to save all of Bolsa Chica in 1992. This organization pulled together so many different ways to finance the preservation of this jewel and reinvigorated the community to save the wetlands. Sadly, the story isn't over. The land trust, the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, continues to work to preserve the 50-acre upper Bolsa Chica wetlands and the six-acre Sacred Cogged Stone site.

Pointing to a company memorandum as evidence, an environmental group is questioning whether state and federal agencies secretly gave Koll Real Estate Group assurances that houses could be built on the Bolsa Chica mesa. The Bolsa Chica Land Trust has made public a February memorandum from Koll Senior Vice President Lucy Dunn, in which she refers to negotiations for "development assurances" for the mesa area.

Jan Vandersloot, a leading Orange County environmental activist whose causes included the preservation of the Bolsa Chica wetlands, has died. He was 64. Vandersloot died Wednesday at his home in Newport Beach, said his son, Jon, who found his father in his home office. "He gave everything he had 'til his last breath," Jon Vandersloot said. The cause of death has not been determined. Vandersloot, a dermatologist with a practice in Huntington Beach, was one of the founders of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, which was formed in 1992 to preserve the Bolsa Chica wetlands by acquiring and restoring the area.

With no media coverage or fanfare, Hearthside Homes' spurious "takings" lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission was finally tossed out of court last month for having no cause of action. This is a victory for the Coastal Commission that needs to be known in all circles. Once again, the developers of the Bolsa Chica mesa had tried to use the courts to bully our environmental protection system and were beaten back by common sense and clear adherence to the intent and process of the California Coastal Act. The Bolsa Chica Land Trust is proud to have been a partner with the stalwart Coastal Commission in defending the suit and once again is thrilled to be on the winning side.

The Coastal Commission will be hearing the Bolsa Chica development plan Thursday. The Bolsa Chica Land Trust, with its over 2,600 members, urges the commission to reject the proposed project. The Bolsa Chica Land Trust was formed in 1992 with the simple and self-evident vision [that] the development of over 3,300 housing units on 400 acres of Bolsa Chica is unsustainable. The impacts from increased traffic, increased water demands and increased services required will all be passed on to the taxpayers of this county.

Thank you for the Nov. 2 article about the archeological site, ORA-64, that was once in Newport Beach's Back Bay area. The Bolsa Chica Land Trust agrees that it is most regrettable that such an important and meaningful site has been destroyed. At this time, it is very important to note that there is an equally important site in Orange County, ORA-83. This site is in imminent danger of being destroyed also. This is occurring because of county government approvals and the desire of Koll Real Estate Group to maximize its use of the Bolsa Chica mesa for housing.

The Sierra Club, one of the nation's largest and oldest environmental organizations, has endorsed the Bolsa Chica Land Trust's effort to save all vacant land around the Bolsa Chica wetlands. "We decided to become actively involved and lend our support to efforts to preserve Bolsa Chica because the Bolsa Chica Land Trust's solution will maintain the entire area," said Liz Merry, an official with the Sierra Club's Angeles chapter in Los Angeles.

Re "Bolsa Chica Project May Get Extra Aid," Aug. 24 I must take umbrage with your conclusion that "the Bolsa Chica restoration marks the last chapter of a decades-long battle over the marshland." There are still 50 acres of Bolsa Chica owned by Shea Homes that are threatened by houses. A Huntington Beach resident owns another six acres that are home to a sacred Indian site and a World War II bunker, which also might be paved over. And don't forget that the sale of the lower Bolsa Chica Mesa has not yet been completed.

A developer has asked the California Coastal Commission to postpone a Thursday hearing on its proposal to build 379 homes on a mesa overlooking the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach after the agency's staff recommended the development be rejected. The recommendation could scotch an agreement to sell 103.2 acres of the mesa to the state for conservation, said Raymond Pacini, chief executive officer of California Coastal Communities Inc. in Irvine, which owns the land.

With no media coverage or fanfare, Hearthside Homes' spurious "takings" lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission was finally tossed out of court last month for having no cause of action. This is a victory for the Coastal Commission that needs to be known in all circles. Once again, the developers of the Bolsa Chica mesa had tried to use the courts to bully our environmental protection system and were beaten back by common sense and clear adherence to the intent and process of the California Coastal Act. The Bolsa Chica Land Trust is proud to have been a partner with the stalwart Coastal Commission in defending the suit and once again is thrilled to be on the winning side.

Re "Crying Foul Over Choice to Protect the Fowl," Jan. 26: We read with interest Bob Polkow's negative comments about Huntington Beach Mayor Connie Boardman. It is unfortunate that Mr. Polkow is so misinformed about Proposition 50 and the Bolsa Chica mesa. The Huntington Beach City Council has voted unanimously to support efforts to acquire Bolsa Chica. To suggest that Mayor Boardman, in seeking state funds to acquire Bolsa Chica, is somehow pushing her personal agenda here is puzzling.

Re "Proposition 50 Is Good for Beaches, Wetlands," Aug. 18: A letter from the head of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust attempts to screen out the obvious facts as reported by The Times on Aug. 4, that money from Prop. 50 will be spent to acquire land from major corporations which, in return, will realize windfall profits on the sale of troublesome holdings. He states that the Yes on 50 campaign "welcomes any organization or developer to join in seeing that Proposition 50 is voted into law by the citizens of California."

Re "Bond Would Buy Out Developers," Aug. 4: The Bolsa Chica Land Trust has worked for 10 years to acquire and preserve the entire 1,700-acre Bolsa Chica wetlands and mesas. Our support of Proposition 50, the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002, which will be on the November ballot, is completely in tune with our efforts. The trust was one of the first organizations to endorse the initiative. It is clear to us that the voices of land preservation in Orange County too often fall on the deaf ears of Orange County supervisors, as evidenced by their continued track record of approving every development proposal for the Bolsa Chica.

The ultimate solution to the Bolsa Chica controversy is not the proposed development plan which would place 4,884 homes on this ecologically sensitive land. Rather, the solution lies in efforts by the Bolsa Chica Land Trust to acquire, preserve, restore and manage the entire 1,700-acre parcel as permanent open space in perpetuity. Interest in this concept has been high because it provides a win-win solution. Bolsa Chica, the crown jewel of ecological open space in coastal Orange County is preserved, and the landowners receive a fair price for the property.

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust received a wetlands recovery award this week for its work in defending the California Coastal Act. The award is given annually by the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project Symposium to an individual or organization whose contribution to wetlands had regional significance and required persistence in the face of adversity. The trust, based in Huntington Beach, is dedicated to preserving the Bolsa Chica wetlands and mesa.

Eileen Murphy navigates the dirt trails through the Bolsa Chica mesa and wetlands with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face. She says hello to everyone she passes, expounds on the evils of development to those who will listen and all the while oohs and ahs over the great blue herons and egrets as if she's seeing them for the first time. But Murphy has been traversing these wetlands for years. It's just that these days, she has a lot to smile about.