Restoration of Paradise

The Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Over 1200 Acres. Just 30 miles from Downtown Los Angeles. An important Bird Sanctuary and one of Southern California’s last ecological reserves, now threatened by real estate developers, builders and city planners. Over its history, the Bolsa Chica Wetlands has been a haven: for Native American tribes, who over 8000 years ago, produced mysterious artifacts known as Cogstones; to a Spanish Ranch settlement before this area became part of the United States; to a world-renowned Gun Club, which touted patrons such as President Theodore Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig; to an extensive Oil Field development during the 1920s and 1930s; and finally to a Restoration Effort successfully spearheaded by a dedicated group known as the Amigos de Bolsa Chica. Narrated by Robert Picardo, and interviewing local denizens including David and Margaret Carlberg of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, dogwalker Sharon Sikora, and business owner Hieu Tran, this documentary takes you from the detailed and varied history of the terrain, to the present-day important Bird Sanctuary where over 200 species of birds can be potted daily, to finally what the future holds for this extraordinary paradise.