Bay’s Bluffs Need Recreation Protection : Planning, Careful Administration of Valuable Upper Newport Parkland Is the Key

The remarkable pace of development in Orange County is evident in the environs of Upper Newport Bay. After World War II, much of this land was simply tenant farm and pastureland; today there is pricey residential real estate all around.

But development has come with a price--a threat to ecologically sensitive lands. That’s why the recent agreement to protect 114 acres of scruffy bluff land in the area is a welcome one.

Early this month, a long legal and political battle ended when Orange County officials accepted the acreage from the Irvine Co., thus assuming responsibility for patrolling the property and managing it. A $12-million private gift will pay for building a nature center on the land, and the county will staff the center once it is operating.

The park is being protected from development, but nowadays, recreational uses pose their own hazards. Planning and careful administration of this valuable parkland is the key.

Although the park will feature nature trails and the center, it must be protected from heavy recreational use so birds and other wildlife that live and nest among the scrub grasses and bluffs will be protected. The battle has already been joined.

This summer, a sole county park ranger, Nancy Bruland, has been policing the area to prevent damage caused by mountain bikers, hikers and natural water runoff. She worries about “a real me-type of generation around here”--people who ignore signs and tell a ranger to mind her own business. Careless bikers pose a special hazard.

Fortunately, the county plans to have a general development plan for the park within the next couple of years. It will be important to designate trails and restrict their use to protect this valuable resource. And rangers such as Bruland need to have the authority to keep the “me-type generation” in line so the land will be safe from damage.