Chapters 1 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Refuge Resources
To understand the current proposal’s potential effect as is relates to environmental justice, the
following information is presented regarding the economic and ethnic composition of the
communities that surround the Seal Beach NWR.
Orange County, California is about 790 square miles in size, and in 2006 the estimated
population was three million, representing a population density of approximately 3,800
residents per square mile (U.S. Census Bureau 2008). According to the U.S. Census Bureau
(2008), in 2002 approximately 47 percent of the population in Orange County identified
themselves as white, 33 percent as Hispanic, 16 percent as Asian, 1.9 percent as African-
American, 0.8 percent as American Indian or Alaska native, and 0.4 percent as native Hawaiian
or other Pacific Islander. Over forty percent of the population in the County over the age of
five speaks a language other than English in their home. This percentage is similar to the
percentage for California as a whole.
Closer to the Refuge are the cities of Westminster, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Seal
Beach, and Long Beach. Table 4-17 provides census data for each city and illustrates the
differences in ethnic composition among of these cities and Orange County as a whole.
With respect to household income, Orange County had a median household income in 2004 of
$58,605, which was above the median household income of $49,894 statewide in 2004. For the
greater Southern California region, the median household income in 2006 was $55,678, which
was below the median household income of $56,645 for the entire state in 2006 (SCAG 2007).
Table 4-17
Census Data for Areas in Proximity to Seal Beach NWR
Census Data Westminster Garden Huntington Long Seal
Grove Beach Beach Beach
Total Population,
2006
89,520 166,296 194,436 472,494 24,157
(2000)
Orange
County
3,002,048
White, 2000 45.0% 46.9% 79.2% 45.2% 88.9% 1
47.4%
Hispanic, 2000 22.0% 32.5% 14.7% 35.8% 6.4% 2
32.9%
Asian, 2000
African American,
38.0% 30.9% 9.3% 12% 5.7% 16.1%
2000
American Indian or
1.0% 1.3% 0.8% 14.9% 1.4% 1.9%
Alaska Native, 2000
Hawaiian or other
0.6% 0.8% 0.7% 0.8% 0.3% 0.8%
Pacific Islander, 2000
Persons reporting two
0.5% 0.7% 0.2% 1.2% 0.2% 0.4%
or more races, 2000
Those living below
4.0% 4.1% 3.9% 5.3% 2.2% 2.0%
the poverty line, 1999 13.5% 13.9% 6.6% 22.8% 5.5% 10.2%
Source: (U.S. Census Bureau 2008).
1 These data do not exclude people of Hispanic origin.
2
These data include any race of Hispanic or Latino.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines low income as 80
percent of the median household income for the area, subject to adjustment for areas with
unusually high or low incomes or housing costs. According to the 2000 Census, the median
Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan/Environmental Assessment 4-91