 In the 1960s, most of Bolsa Chica was acquired by Signal Landmark and plans for a massive housing development and marina were released.State officials objected, and so in 1970 the developer set aside alongside Pacific Coast Highway to create the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.This action satisfied state officials but not members of the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women, who decided to create a new group, Amigos de Bolsa Chica ("Friends of Bolsa Chica"), to save and preserve more of the wetlands.