Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge
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The Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge encompassing located in the
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
coastal community of
Seal Beach Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census. Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest ...
. Although it is located in
Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...
it is included as part of the
San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex The San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex is a series of wildlife refuges established by the United States National Wildlife Service beginning in 1972. The complex incorporates five refuges in San Diego County, California, San Diego County and ...
. It was established in 1972. The refuge is a collaboration between the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
and the
Department of the Navy Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the ...
. It serves as a critical habitat and winter stopover for many birds along the
Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...
. Among the birds found at the refuge are
great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...
s and the three endangered bird species:
California clapper rail Ridgway's rail (''Rallus obsoletus'') is a near-threatened species of bird. It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay to southern Baja California. A member of the rail family, Rallidae, it is a chicken-sized bird that rarely flie ...
,
California least tern The California least tern, ''Sternula antillarum browni'', is a subspecies of least tern that breeds primarily in bays of the Pacific Ocean within a very limited range of Southern California, in San Francisco Bay and in northern regions of Mexico ...
, and Belding's Savannah sparrow. The refuge is located within
Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach is a United States Navy weapons and munitions loading, storage and maintenance facility located in Seal Beach, California, with detachments in Fallbrook and Norco, both also in California. It also encloses the ...
. Public access in the refuge is limited or restricted to once-a month tour (last Saturday of each month) as it is located within an active military base.


Habitat


Subtidal habitat

The subtidal zone is the shallow, near-shore area below the
intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...
, the land between the high and low tide marks. Subtidal is permanently inundated, except for rare lowest low tide events. There are four tidal basins created for the restoration of wetland: Forrestal Pond, Case Road Pond, 7th Street Pond, and Perimeter Pond, which are currently supporting the subtidal habitat in the Refuge. Tidal water from
Anaheim Bay Anaheim Bay is an extensive harbor and wetland complex in Orange County, California in the United States. The bay is located on the Pacific Ocean coast of northwestern Orange County next to Seal Beach and is split into several distinct but interco ...
supports the ponds. Dominating plants in these subtidal habitat is
eelgrass Eelgrass is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Zostera'', marine eelgrass * ''Vallisneria ''Vallisneria'' (named in honor of Antonio Vallisneri) is a genus of freshwater aquatic plant, commonly called eelgrass, tape grass o ...
, and
mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...
portions in the habitat is supporting many invertebrate species.


Intertidal channels and tidal mudflat habitats

The complex system of
tidal channel A tidal creek or tidal channel is a narrow inlet or estuary that is affected by the ebb and flow of ocean tides. Thus, it has variable salinity and electrical conductivity over the tidal cycle, and flushes salts from inland soils. Tidal cree ...
s delivers moisture and nourishment (
oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
and nutrients) throughout the habitat and providing food or pathway to food for fish and other organisms. The soil of intertidal flats is a combination of
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
,
silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...
,
sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...
, shells, and
organic matter Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...
, with
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
as dominant plants.
Mudflats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...
contain organisms which are a major food source for worms and
invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
. Fishes, sharks and rays would often come to the mudflats with the tides and feed on transient or permanent residing fish.
Shorebirds 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
also depend on preying invertebrates on the mudflats.


Coastal salt marsh habitat

Coastal
salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...
habitat, situated above mudflats, contains salt tolerant vegetation. It is the predominant habitat in the refuge with 565-acre land occupied. It is a nesting, feeding and cover area for bird and fish including the endangered light-footed
clapper rail The clapper rail (''Rallus crepitans'') is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. The taxonomy for this species is confusing and still being determined. It is a large brown rail that is resident in wetlands along the Atlantic coasts of the easte ...
s and Belding's
Savannah sparrow The Savannah sparrow (''Passerculus sandwichensis'') is a small New World sparrow. It was the only member of the genus '' Passerculus'' and is typically the only widely accepted member. Comparison of mtDNA NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 and 3 sequ ...
. A study on light-footed
clapper rail The clapper rail (''Rallus crepitans'') is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. The taxonomy for this species is confusing and still being determined. It is a large brown rail that is resident in wetlands along the Atlantic coasts of the easte ...
was conducted since 1979. One of the study area is in the salt marsh in Anaheim Bay, the coastal salt marsh located in the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. The environment of
salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...
was described: "The surrounding land lands are flat or gently sloping and provide little drainage into the bay. Consequently there are very little fresh water input other than winter rains… Most of the vegetation is characteristic of the low and middle
littoral zone The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...
s and is completely inundated by a 1.8 m tide (
Mean Lower Low Water A chart datum is the water level surface serving as origin of depths displayed on a nautical chart. A chart datum is generally derived from some tidal phase, in which case it is also known as a tidal datum. Common chart datums are ''lowest ast ...
)." A list of major plants in the marsh was also provided:
cordgrass ''Spartina'' is a taxon of plants in the grass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. Its species are commonly known as cordgrass or cord-grass, and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Europe, north ...
(dominant plants at lower elevation),
pickleweed Pickleweed is a common name used for two unrelated genera of flowering plants: *'' Batis'', family Bataceae *''Salicornia ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that gro ...
and
saltwort Saltwort is a common name for various genera of flowering plants that thrive in salty environments, typically in coastal salt marshes and seashores, including: :*''Salsola'' and related genera within subfamily ''Salsoloideae'' :*''Salicornia'' :*'' ...
(dominant in middle elevation),
seablite __NOTOC__ ''Suaeda'' is a genus of plants also known as seepweeds and sea-blites. Most species are confined to saline or alkaline soil habitats, such as coastal salt-flats and tidal wetlands. Many species have thick, succulent leaves, a character ...
, saltgrass,
sea lavender ''Limonium'' is a genus of 120 flowering plant species. Members are also known as sea-lavender, statice, caspia or marsh-rosemary. Despite their common names, species are not related to the lavenders or to rosemary. They are instead in Plumbag ...
, arrowgrass,
Jaumea carnosa ''Jaumea carnosa'', known by the common names marsh jaumea, fleshy jaumea, or simply jaumea, is a halophytic salt marsh plant native to the wetlands, coastal sea cliffs and salt marshes of the western coast of North America. Description It is a ...
, and Frankenia grandiflora. The dominating plants in the upper zone are
glasswort The glassworts are various succulent, annual halophytic plants, that is, plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. The original English glasswort plants belong to the genus ''Salicornia'', but today the glass ...
and
pickleweed Pickleweed is a common name used for two unrelated genera of flowering plants: *'' Batis'', family Bataceae *''Salicornia ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that gro ...
. In the highest elevation (which sometimes is referred to as
wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
/upland transition), there are no remaining native species. Oil extraction beneath the bay led to the marsh subsiding. From 1957 to 1970, elevation dropped 12.5 cm and by 1984, dropped by 25 cm.


Upland habitat

41 acres within 65 acres of the uplands areas were built into roads, railroad tracks or others manmade structures. Most of these areas were originally wetland but were replaced for agricultural or military practices in the 19th century. * Hog Island Situated in the southern part of the Refuge, Hog Island was the only place that supported native vegetation, although none of it has been left for today. There are three "arms" stretching out of the land (military used in the past) planted with native vegetation today to support and shelter upland birds, especially during high tides. * NASA Island The island is completely manmade, built in the 1960s for rocket testing until 1977. It is leveled today and covered with sand to provide a nesting site for the
least tern The least tern (''Sternula antillarum'') is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the little tern of the Old World. Oth ...
. * Non native upland One of these upland islands, located in the 7th Street Pond, supports non-native vegetation including five-horn smotherweed, common
thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...
, Maltese star-thistle,
milk thistle ''Silybum marianum'' is a species of thistle. It has various common names including milk thistle, blessed milkthistle, Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary's thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle (thou ...
,
tumbleweed A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumble ...
,
black mustard ''Brassica nigra'', or black mustard, is an annual plant cultivated for its dark-brown-to-black seeds, which are commonly used as a spice. It is native to tropical regions of North Africa, temperate regions of Europe, and parts of Asia. Descrip ...
, and the native
pickleweed Pickleweed is a common name used for two unrelated genera of flowering plants: *'' Batis'', family Bataceae *''Salicornia ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that gro ...
. Another one, in Case Road Pond, supports native intertidal vegetation, and some of the non-native vegetation mentioned.


Historical change

In 1944, the Department of the Navy acquired about 5,000 acres of land in and around Anaheim Bay from the Alamitos Land Company. Although the Navy purchased the land, the
California State Lands Commission The California State Lands Commission is a unit of state government that is responsible for management and protection of natural and cultural resources, as well as public access rights, on some of California's publicly owned lands. The members of ...
held all of the submerged lands within the station. In May 1954, the Service contacted the Navy, regarding a potential hunting program on their land; however, the Navy rejected permission. Between 1954 and 1956, the Service made several additional proposals to the Navy for managing its lands including raising food crops to support waterfowl. In 1963, Congressman Richard Hanna told the Service he was interested in establishing a Refuge between Huntington Beach and Seal Beach. This cooperative plan for 600 acres of tidal marsh on
Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach is a United States Navy weapons and munitions loading, storage and maintenance facility located in Seal Beach, California, with detachments in Fallbrook and Norco, both also in California. It also encloses the ...
(NWSSB) was approved in 1964 through a three-way agreement among the Navy, the Service, and the
California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is a state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages and protect ...
. In 1971, there was a new discussion about establishing a Refuge at this location. This ultimately triggered political intervention by U.S. Congressman Craig Hosmer and California State Senator Dennis Carpenter. Through the efforts of Congressman Hosmer, President Nixon signed Public Law 92-408 in August 1972, authorizing the establishment of a National Wildlife Refuge on the NWSSB. The Refuge was officially established on July 11, 1974 when the Notice of the Establishment, which included the specific boundaries of the Refuge, was published in the Federal Register.


Environmental change

Loss of habitat In 1989, there was a big trapping of hundreds of foxes at Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. The
red foxes The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, p ...
were killed because they put a significant threat to two endangered species of birds, light-footed
clapper rail The clapper rail (''Rallus crepitans'') is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. The taxonomy for this species is confusing and still being determined. It is a large brown rail that is resident in wetlands along the Atlantic coasts of the easte ...
and the
California least tern The California least tern, ''Sternula antillarum browni'', is a subspecies of least tern that breeds primarily in bays of the Pacific Ocean within a very limited range of Southern California, in San Francisco Bay and in northern regions of Mexico ...
. Even though an animal rights group had requested an injunction to prohibit trapping and maiming the foxes at the refuge, U.S District Judge refused to grant it. Thus, hundreds of foxes were sacrificed to preserve the light-footed clapper rail and the California least tern. Nowadays, no foxes or other predatory mammals can be seen at Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. Toxic Contamination In 1995, there was a study that U.S Navy has found elevated levels of toxic chemicals in the carcasses and food of endangered birds at the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. The elevated levels of
cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...
,
chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...
,
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
,
lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
,
nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
and
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
, all poisonous heavy metals, were found in dead California least terns and light-footed clapper rails. However, these potentially toxic substances were not only found in the birds, but also found in smaller animals normally eaten by them. They also found small amounts of
PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...
and
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
, a dangerous pesticide that was banned by the
Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...
in 1973. To find the cause, the Navy assessed the impacts of ponds on the refuge on the birds. They found that there was a construction of the pond by the Port of Long Beach that has raised the volume and velocity of the bay water flowing into the refuge. The toxic materials affect the birds with altered growth patterns, reduced survival, loss of appetite, lethargy, difficulty in reproducing, and even killing the birds.


Studies

Study of the endangered light-footed
clapper rail The clapper rail (''Rallus crepitans'') is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. The taxonomy for this species is confusing and still being determined. It is a large brown rail that is resident in wetlands along the Atlantic coasts of the easte ...
was conducted in 1979. This study mainly focuses on the three remaining largest populations in Anaheim Bay, Upper Newport Bay and Tijuana Marsh in San Diego county. Study of the
California least tern The California least tern, ''Sternula antillarum browni'', is a subspecies of least tern that breeds primarily in bays of the Pacific Ocean within a very limited range of Southern California, in San Francisco Bay and in northern regions of Mexico ...
nesting season The nesting season is the time of year during which birds and some other animals, particularly some reptiles, build nests, lay eggs in them, and in most cases bring up their young. It is usually in the spring. Bird conservation Bird conservati ...
was conducted in 1980. This study mainly focuses on previously color-banded least tern chicks nesting behavior in the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. A least tern nesting site was prepared in the refuge in 1978 for the study.


Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan/Environmental Assessment

In March 2011, Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan/Environmental Assessment (CCP/EA) was established to "describes and evaluates various alternatives for managing the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge (NWR)."


References


External links


Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge
* https://www.cnic.navy.mil/SealBeach/Programs/Env/NWR/index.htm {{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in California Protected areas of Orange County, California Seal Beach, California Wetlands of California Protected areas established in 1972 1972 establishments in California Landforms of Orange County, California