The story of BCLT has always been a story about the future.  The future of a small part of the rare 5% of coastal salt marsh ecosystem remaining in California, an important wildlife habitat in this urbanized coastal area, and a sacred place for local Native Americans.  It was the idea of saving this special place from the threat of massive development that spurred the creation of BCLT in 1992.  Without grassroots, community-based efforts the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve would have been lost to development and habitat degradation. Its historic, cultural, and environmental significance gone forever.  We still believe it is our duty to protect, preserve, restore, educate, and fundraise in order to protect Bolsa Chica for the future. 

Surrounded by the dense urban setting of Huntington Beach, Bolsa Chica continues faces many threats – pollution, biological degradation, destruction of the 9,000-year-old Native American sacred site, and climate change, especially sea level rise.  So, BCLT continues its commitment and resolve to care for it through hands-on community-based habitat restoration to increase habitat and biodiversity, educating students and the public with tours and outreach so everyone can learn about and understand the importance of this successful example of open space preservation and restoration, including the way Bolsa Chica connects to the wider world.