Tide pool rangers up for council review

June Casagrande

On a busy day, 400 school children might tour the tide pools at

Little Corona. If each of them took home a shell, a star fish or some

other souvenir, the tide pools could be decimated in one day.

A team of about 20 rangers are the front-line defense for these

delicate habitats. They may be the only reason these tide pools

survive.

City Council members on Tuesday will get a briefing on the

3-year-old ranger program that Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff calls

a huge success.

“Without this program, it would be a disaster for the area -- the

neighbors and the tide pools,” he said.

The ranger program of the Harbor Resources department works by

guiding school groups through the entire tour of the tide pools.

Program representatives contact schools as far away as the Inland

Empire to let them know that, if they plan to visit the tide pools,

they should first contact the city to make arrangements.

When schools contact the city, rangers, many of them volunteer

docents, provide literature and information to prepare students for

their visit. Not the least important is information on where to park

for convenient access to the beach that’s not too disturbing to

nearby residents.

A ranger greets the school group when it arrives at Little Corona.

The pools are home to diverse marine life, the types that entrance

kids: sea stars, sea anemones, urchins and tiny octopi.

But enjoying this show of nature without destroying it requires

some advance education. The general rule that the rangers teach is,

When in doubt, don’t touch.

For example, removing a sea star from its rocky perch ultimately

kills the fish by tearing off the tiny suction-cup feet that it uses

to anchor itself and sift the water for food. A hard and fast rule

is, Take nothing. And, as the rangers teach the kids, watch where you

walk. A poorly chosen step can ruin a creature’s whole world.

Crystal Cove also has tide pools, but Little Corona’s proximity to

roads and parking makes it a magnet for school groups, especially in

the spring.

“There are hundreds and hundreds of kids coming every year,” Kiff

said. “This has proved a really effective way to keep that from being

a problem.”