If you've ever cruised south along the PCH from Long Beach to Huntington Beach, you've passed a very important stretch of land, the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.  For thousands of years, these vast wetlands were home to Native Americans who practiced a reverence for nature that sustained their way of life.  However, in the 1890's, the land was purchased by American businessmen who created a duck hunting preserve by cutting off the flow of salt water into the wetlands, and thereby initiating a chain of ecological events that would lead to the local extinction of of many plant and animal species over the next century.  In the 1970's, salt water flow was finally restored to the marshes and work began to try and rehabilitate this land.  The past 30 years has brought significant positive results, with further projects planned to continue improving the wetlands over the next 25 years.  

The point here is that we selected this location to shoot our 2017 Patagonia collection for a reason.  Yes, it's beautiful to look at, but even more important, the efforts to restore this land could not be more in line with Patagonia's mission.  With federal, state and local support of national parks at risk, we feel very strongly about featuring this unique landscape in a unique way.  And maybe somehow encouraging us all to find ways to support our local and national parks and reserves.  

(Also featuring RRL, Clarks Originals, and SALT. Optics)