Visitors

Bolsa Chica is visited by an estimated 100,000 people each year. The number of visitors has been steadily increasing each year.

Habitat

The Reserve protects and provides critical habitat for hundreds of species, 23 of which are listed. It is also a sacred ancestral homeland to two local Native American tribes.

Landscape

At the conflux of nature and suburban development, it weathers the impacts of considerable and constant human influences.

The Need for the
Reserve Watch Program

In the past three years, visitor numbers at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve (BCER) have increased approximately 20%. The future of the Reserve depends upon achieving a greater balance between the visiting public and their impacts to the environment at BCER. Encouraging healthy visitor experiences and maintaining healthy habitat are the shared goal.

The Need for the
Reserve Watch Program

In the past three years, visitor numbers at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve (BCER) have increased approximately 20%. The future of the Reserve depends upon achieving a greater balance between the visiting public and their impacts to the environment at BCER. Encouraging healthy visitor experiences and maintaining healthy habitat are the shared goal.

The Need for the
Reserve Watch Program

In the past three years, visitor numbers at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve (BCER) have increased approximately 20%. The future of the Reserve depends upon achieving a greater balance between the visiting public and their impacts to the environment at BCER. Encouraging healthy visitor experiences and maintaining healthy habitat are the shared goal.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, along with four Non-Profits, have created the Reserve Watch program to educate the public about Bolsa Chica’s environment, history, and the rules of the Reserve. This program brings a new level of outreach to support and further the greater community’s understanding and respect for our coastal biodiversity and deepening the connection to our amazing natural coastal resources. In addition to engaging with the visiting public, volunteers monitor and report on the plants and animals they observe.

This program is administered and overseen by the participating organizations: California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Melissa Borde, Reserve Manager, and the Board of Directors of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, and Sea & Sage Audubon.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, along with four Non-Profits, have created the Reserve Watch program to educate the public about Bolsa Chica’s environment, history, and the rules of the Reserve. This program brings a new level of outreach to support and further the greater community’s understanding and respect for our coastal biodiversity and deepening the connection to our amazing natural coastal resources. In addition to engaging with the visiting public, volunteers monitor and report on the plants and animals they observe.

This program is administered and overseen by the participating organizations: California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Melissa Borde, Reserve Manager, and the Board of Directors of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, and Sea & Sage Audubon.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, along with four Non-Profits, have created the Reserve Watch program to educate the public about Bolsa Chica’s environment, history, and the rules of the Reserve. This program brings a new level of outreach to support and further the greater community’s understanding and respect for our coastal biodiversity and deepening the connection to our amazing natural coastal resources. In addition to engaging with the visiting public, volunteers monitor and report on the plants and animals they observe.

This program is administered and overseen by the participating organizations: California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Melissa Borde, Reserve Manager, and the Board of Directors of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, and Sea & Sage Audubon.

Goal 1

Establish the daily, ongoing presence of volunteers at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve to interact with visitors.

Goal 2

Increase the casual visitor’s awareness, respect for and understanding of the Ecological Reserve as habitat for increasingly threatened birds, animals, plants, fish, and invertebrates.

Goal 3

Create awareness through education and outreach to change the behavior of people who ride bikes, walk dogs, fly drones, fish, walk off trail – all of which harm plants and wildlife and create unpleasant experiences for other visitors.

Goal 4

Monitor critical species by logging bird, wildlife, and plant species into the eBirds or iNaturalist app in order to help the future management of the Reserve. Identify birds and animals in distress and facilitate their rescue.

Volunteers are trained with interpretive skills on how to communicate and educate the casual visitor about the rules and regulations of BCER, its history, the importance of its unique habitats and birds, fish, and plants.

Reserve Watch volunteer shifts are in two-hour increments between 7:00am and 5:00pm every day of the week. Volunteers are asked to serve eight hours, or four shifts, per month.

Contact Annie Daw, Program Coordinator, if you are interested in volunteering for Reserve Watch.

Volunteers are trained with interpretive skills on how to communicate and educate the casual visitor about the rules and regulations of BCER, its history, the importance of its unique habitats and birds, fish, and plants.

Reserve Watch volunteer shifts are in two-hour increments between 7:00am and 5:00pm every day of the week. Volunteers are asked to serve eight hours, or four shifts, per month.

Contact Annie Daw, Program Coordinator, if you are interested in volunteering for Reserve Watch.

Volunteers are trained with interpretive skills on how to communicate and educate the casual visitor about the rules and regulations of BCER, its history, the importance of its unique habitats and birds, fish, and plants.

Reserve Watch volunteer shifts are in two-hour increments between 7:00am and 5:00pm every day of the week. Volunteers are asked to serve eight hours, or four shifts, per month.

Contact Annie Daw, Program Coordinator, if you are interested in volunteering for Reserve Watch.