Chapters 1 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Chapter 3
implementation of the following actions on the Refuge and adjacent NWS: 1) species monitoring,
particularly nocturnal, predatory species, California least terns, and light-footed clapper rails, to
determine abundance and population trends; 2) studying the population dynamics and habitat use
of the California least tern and light-footed clapper rail; 3) implementing predator control
activities, including lethal take and relocation, to protect listed species particularly during the
nesting season; 4) habitat management; 5) restoration and enhancement; 6) evaluation and
remediation as necessary of contaminated sites; and 7) public education.
3.3.3 Management History and Past Refuge Actions
Management History
From the time the Seal Beach NWR was established in 1974 until 1991, the Refuge was managed
as an unstaffed satellite of the Kern NWR Complex, located 225 miles to the northeast. The
wildlife biologist assigned to the Hopper Mountain NWR also had on-site management
responsibilities at Seal Beach NWR. As a result, Service staff presence on the Refuge was rare
and primarily involved endangered species recovery work. The first on-site manager was assigned
to the Refuge in November 1996 after the Refuge was incorporated into the San Diego NWR
Complex. Seal Beach NWR is one of four refuges managed through the San Diego NWR
Complex.
Today, staff for the Refuge includes one full-time permanent Refuge Manager and one part-time
maintenance worker. Additional support for Refuge maintenance and management comes from
dedicated Friends of Seal Beach NWR volunteers, the San Diego NWR Complex, and the Service’s
Coastal Program, Contaminants Program, and Ecological Services Program stationed in the
Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office. The Refuge Manager also receives assistance from NWSSB
personnel in the Environmental Programs and Services Department, Public Affairs Office,
Facilities Department, and other departments responsible for operations at NWSSB.
Past Refuge Actions
The first significant habitat modification projects on the Refuge occurred in 1977. In that year, the
Navy determined that the man-made 2.9-acre NASA Island site was no longer needed for military
purposes and turned the site over to the Service for conversion to a least tern nesting site (Figure
3-1). From 1963 to 1974, a 40-acre section of NWSSB, including NASA Island, was granted to the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for design and manufacture of the second
stage of the Saturn V rocket as part of the Apollo program. The massive rocket stages were
assembled on NSWSB and NASA Island was created for use as a rocket testing site. It was used
for this purpose until the site turned over to the Service for least tern management. Prior to use as
a nesting site, the site was leveled and capped with sand. In 1979, following the capping of
approximately five percent of the site with clean sand and crushed shell, California least terns
began nesting on the site. Nesting has occurred annually since that time.
Another project implemented in 1977 was the installation of a screw-type tide gate and headwall in
Case Road to increase tidal flow to about 50 acres of degraded salt marsh habitat that was isolated
from the rest of the marsh when Case Road was constructed. Today, this area is referred to as the
Bolsa Cell. Once installation was completed, tidal flows into this area were controlled seasonally.
In the winter, tidal influence into the marsh habitat was increased to support shorebirds and
waterfowl, and in the summer the gate was closed to reduce the potential for mosquito breeding.
In 1979, the Refuge was awarded $185,000 in Bicentennial Land Heritage Program funds to
restore approximately 165 acres of salt marsh habitat located to the south of the small weapons
range parcel between 7 th Street and Case Road (refer to Figure 3-1). The project, which began in
1981 and was completed in the spring of 1982, involved removing old fills and dikes to restore tidal
3-4 Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge