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Map Satellite A partially degraded remnant of the extensive marsh system that stretched along the coast from here to Anaheim Bay is to be restored by the California Department of Fish and Game as wildfowl habitat. Much of the area is saltmarsh, with the primary plants including Salicornia virginica, Salicornia bigelovii, Jaumea carnosa, Frankenia salina, and Spartina foliosa. There is a vertical zonation present due to the restriction of tidal flow over most of the area. It is proposed that a channel be opened to the ocean, and the dynamic nature of the salt marsh makes restoration feasible. In the past the area supported a large and varied fauna and was an important migratory stop for waterfowl and shorebirds. It is still used by migrating birds but not in the numbers and varieties of the past. Two endangered species, the light-footed clapper rail, Rallus longirostris levipes, and the California least tern, Sterna albifrons browni, are probably still found in the area. Much of the area, which lies on Quaternary alluvium, is at sea level and, before being dammed, was open to the tidal action. The area lies within the Seal Beach Fault Zone. Integrity: The marsh has been dammed, filled, channelized and diked. It is bordered in several areas by residential developments and portions are still in an inactive oil field. Use: Research, educational, observational. Access is restricted. Ref: Young, Ralph, 1973. Return to Bolsa Chica. Outdoor Calif. 39, pp. 1-3. April 1976
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
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