Gem in the Rough : The Jim Dilley Greenbelt Preserve in Laguna Canyon Is a Rare Piece of Wilderness Amid the County’s Urban Sprawl

Four-year-old Kyle Glaser was eager to look at the birds, but his brother, Robert, 2, was there just for the ride--in his father’s backpack.

They were in hiking gear as Jeremy and Nancy Glaser of Newport Beach took the boys on a leisurely walk through the Jim Dilley Greenbelt Preserve in Laguna Canyon, a 520-acre wilderness formerly known as Sycamore Hills.

“I thought it would be a wonderful way to spend the day,” said Jeremy Glaser. “The kids have to see open space. It’s important that they see what the land looks like--the trees, the plants, the birds, wildlife.”

About 300 hikers and nature lovers took advantage of sunny skies Saturday to visit the preserve, arriving in a steady stream from 10 a.m. to late afternoon, when the cool mountain breeze helped make the hike less tiring.

Hikers either traveled a 2 1/2-mile loop toward Laguna Lakes, or they followed a 1 1/2-mile nature trail, dotted with sycamore and oak trees and prickly pear cactus.

The preserve is also home to coyotes, foxes, raccoons, deer and rabbits. Herons and other aquatic birds inhabit the lakes.

The preserve--which is only open the third Saturday of each month, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is a V-shaped area, formed by the junction of Laguna Canyon and El Toro roads. Hilly, with picturesque rock outcroppings, it is within Laguna Beach’s city limits and under the city’s control.

The preserve was named after James W. Dilley, a Laguna Beach activist and academic, who founded Greenbelt Inc. about 20 years ago. He died 12 years ago after spending the latter half of his life fighting for more open space between Laguna Beach and the burgeoning South County.

Greenbelt Inc. manages the preserve, according to former Laguna Beach Mayor Jon Brand, who spent Saturday planting more sycamore and oak trees, as he has done during the last 10 years.

Brand said that in the first week of December, he planted about 150 sycamore and 100 oak trees. “We’re trying to hide the freeway with these trees,” Brand said, referring to the planned San Joaquin Hills toll road, which, when constructed, will cut through the heart of the preserve.

Greenbelt Inc. is opposed to the construction of the toll road, Brand said. At least a four-mile portion of the proposed road will go through the preserve, destroying its natural beauty, he said.

“This land is a jewel,” Brand said. “It’s the last piece of wilderness in what probably is one of the most urbanized areas in the U.S.”

In 1990, Laguna Beach signed an agreement with the Irvine Co. to purchase the 2,150-acre Laguna Laurel property. The purchase will be financed by the sale of voter-approved bonds, which will cost each Laguna Beach property owner $59 more yearly in property taxes for 20 years.

Once the land purchase is completed, advocates envision a contiguous greenbelt from Crystal Cove State Park in Irvine to Aliso Beach.

Elizabeth Brown, a former Greenbelt president, said a trail system can be established so nature lovers can walk from Crystal Cove Beach to the San Diego Freeway and back to Aliso Pier without leaving open space.

In the meantime, Brown said, officials are keeping the preserve open and training docents who will give guided tours to visiting nature lovers.

Saturday, from a makeshift reception area, Brown and volunteers Kimberly Bixler and Rocelle Hoffman handed out maps and other literature to visiting hikers.

John Nootbaar of South Laguna said he took a 1 1/2-hour walk and was impressed by what he saw.

Robert and Gail Roberts of Harrisburg, Pa., and their friends Leon and Barbara Morse of Seattle called their two-hour walk “great,” but said they had expected to see more birds.

Nootbaar, an elementary school teacher, said he was also interested in birds. “I saw a big heron,” he said, savoring what he said was his first hike at the preserve.

Greg Wagoner of Laguna Beach took his parents, Richard and Phyllis Wagoner, who are visiting from Ohio, on a two-hour hike.

“I just wanted to show them there is still wildlife in California,” Greg Wagoner said. He said he hikes regularly at the preserve. “This is where I go when I want to get away from the crazy city life,” he said.