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Seal Beach includes the Leisure World retirement gated community with roughly 9,000 residents. This was the first major planned
retirement community of its type in the U.S. The small gated community of Surfside Colony southwest of the Weapons Station is
also part of Seal Beach.
The United States Navy's Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach was originally developed during World War II for loading, unloading,
and storing of ammunition for the Pacific Fleet, and especially those US Navy warships home-ported in Long Beach. With closure
of the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, the Weapons Station has become more involved in the research and development of missiles,
torpedoes and conventional ammunition. Although the US Navy declines to comment on the issue, the common rumor is that nuclear
weapons have been among the munitions stored in the bunkers on the base.
The Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge is located on part of the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Much of the refuge's 911 acres
are the remnant of the saltwater marsh in the Anaheim Bay estuary (the rest of the marsh became the bayside community of Huntington
Harbour, which is part of Huntington Beach). Three endangered species, the light-footed Clapper Rail, the California Least Tern,
and the Belding's Savannah Sparrow, can be found nesting in the refuge. With the loss and degradation of coastal wetlands in
California, the remaining habitat, including the Bolsa Chica Lagoon in Huntington Beach and Upper Newport Bay in Newport Beach, has
become much more important for migrating and wintering shorebirds, waterfowl, and seabirds. Although the refuge is a great place
for birdwatching, because it is part of the weapons station access is limited and usually restricted to once-a-month tours.
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