Allow mule deer to return to Peters Canyon Regional Park. Reduce roadkill by creating and enhancing wildlife crossing infrastructure to allow for safe passage between Irvine Regional Park and Peters Canyon Regional Park. Expand or modify existing drainage culverts and construct vegetated overpasses to serve mule deer, mountain lion, bobcat, coyote, gray fox, spotted skunk and various other wildlife species who risk their lives trying to cross under or over Santiago Canyon Rd and Jamboree Rd.

Create irrigated “green zones” by restoring the native plant communities along Jamboree Rd and Santiago Canyon Rd to increase habitat for declining special status species, including coastal cactus wren and Blainville’s horned lizard and increase soil and vegetation moisture levels as a wildfire buffer for adjacent residential communities.

Develop an interconnected trail network utilizing the wildlife crossings, so hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians can travel between Irvine Regional Park and Peters Canyon without having to step foot on Santiago Canyon Rd or Jamboree Rd. Offer educational programs, including guided interpretive walks and rides that focus on natural and cultural history.

The Orange Hills are considered an Indigenous cultural landscape and culturally sensitive area by the Tongva Gabrieleño, Kizh Nation and Acjachemen Juaneño. Protect and preserve CA-ORA-556, a prehistoric Native American village site that is eligible for California register of historic resources, with permanent access for tribal gathering and archaeological research.

In the early 1960s, the Irvine Company and Orange County officials pursued a plan to transform Upper Newport Bay into a sprawling marina with private docks, homes, and recreational developments. To make this possible, a controversial land swap was proposed: the County would trade publicly owned tidelands for blufftop land held by the Irvine Company. The Board of Supervisors approved the deal in 1965, paving the way for what many assumed would be an irreversible transformation of the Bay.

But a small group of concerned residents had a different vision. Frank and Frances “Fran” Robinson, along with other grassroots activists, began organizing to protect the Bay’s rich wetland habitat. They helped found Friends of Newport Bay (FONB) in 1967, a pioneering environmental group that combined community organizing with educational tours to raise awareness about the ecological value of the area. Despite being environmental underdogs in a developer-dominated era, the group filed a legal challenge to the land swap in 1969, questioning its constitutionality.

The court battles, coupled with growing public awareness and media coverage, created a groundswell of support for preserving the Bay. In 1971, the land exchange was finally canceled. By 1975—after more than a decade of advocacy—the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve was officially established and dedicated “in the name of the people of the State of California.” Additional land was later added to the reserve, including the Big Canyon area (1982) and 140 acres of surrounding bluffs (1990), now managed as the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve by Orange County Parks.

Today, Upper Newport Bay is one of the largest remaining natural estuaries in Southern California, supporting thousands of migratory birds and rare wetland species. None of this would exist without the courage and perseverance of local citizens who believed the Bay should belong to everyone—not just developers.

Learn more:

• Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve – OC Parks

• Newport Bay Conservancy – History

• Frank and Frances Robinson

Laguna Canyon, a stunning stretch of coastal wildlands nestled between Laguna Beach and the inland suburbs, became the center of one of Orange County’s most iconic land preservation battles. In the 1980s, the Irvine Company had secured county approval to develop Laguna Laurel, a master-planned community of 3,200 homes, commercial buildings, and a shopping mall—right in the heart of the canyon. But artists, residents, and environmentalists saw the canyon as sacred, wild, and worth fighting for.

Among the most powerful expressions of protest was “The Tell,” a 636-foot-long mural composed of thousands of donated photographs from Orange County residents, capturing their memories of Laguna Canyon. Created by artist Mark Chamberlain and The Laguna Canyon Project, the mural became both a symbol of the community’s connection to the land and a rallying point for collective action. On November 11, 1989, nearly 11,000 people marched into the canyon, staging one of the largest environmental demonstrations in Orange County history.

What followed was a rare collaboration between former adversaries. The Irvine Company, environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Audubon Society, local governments, and community leaders entered into facilitated negotiations. After months of dialogue, the parties reached a historic agreement: the Irvine Company would sell the disputed land for permanent conservation, at a discounted rate. A successful property tax bond campaign, which passed with 79.7% of the vote, helped fund the acquisition.

By 1993, the land was officially protected as Laguna Canyon Wilderness Park, part of the 22,000-acre South Coast Wilderness—now the second-largest urban wilderness greenbelt in the U.S. What could have been just another suburban sprawl became a national example of how grassroots advocacy, creative protest, and unlikely partnerships can preserve the wild heart of a region.

Learn more:

• Laguna Canyon Foundation

• Art and Activism: The Laguna Canyon Project

• Laguna Coast Wilderness Park – OC Parks