Paying Tribute to Couple’s Activism

To a new generation of hikers, joggers and other weekend warriors who enjoy the Upper Newport Bay, the names Frank and Fran Robinson may not be recognizable.

But efforts they began nearly four decades ago helped preserve the area for public use.

On Tuesday, county supervisors are expected to name part of the new, $3.8-million Upper Newport Bay Interpretive Center in their honor.

“Their story is of a man and his wife who saved the bay, and they’re getting an appropriate tribute,” said Tim Miller, manager of the county’s Harbors, Beaches and Parks Division.

Robinson, 81, is regarded as the granddaddy of upper bay environmentalism. Ever since he and his wife Fran, 81, first moved to Newport Beach in the 1960s, the back bay has had a reputation for anything but a peaceful setting.

“There was always a war going on for something,” Robinson said.

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In one well-publicized battle, Robinson and other Newport homeowners thwarted plans by the Irvine Co. to develop the upper bay. The company lost a court fight to Robinson’s Orange County Foundation for the Preservation of Public Property, which argued that tidelands are part of a public trust that cannot be handed over to developers.

The developer eventually negotiated a sale of 750 acres to the state for $3.5 million that created the Upper Newport Bay preserve. As part of yet another settlement, the company turned over 144 acres of bluff-top areas, including the new park site, in order to expand nearby Fashion Island.

Today, there are five miles of nature trails and the bay is visited by an estimated 1 million people a year.

It is also home to more than half a dozen rare and endangered bird species, including an estuary where 70% of the nation’s remaining light-footed clapper rail birds live. The bird is on the federal endangered list.

The 750-acre wetlands area is under the state Department of Fish and Game while another 140 acres in the upper bay portion are owned by the county designated as the Upper Newport Bay Regional Park.

The Robinsons are one of two families whom supervisors are scheduled to recognize at the board’s meeting Tuesday.

The center is expected to be named in recognition of Peter and Mary Muth of Santa Ana, who donated $1 million to help construct the center.

The Muths have owned Orco Block Inc. in Stanton for more than 53 years.

Supervisor Tom Wilson, who represents Newport Beach and has suggested naming the center and exhibit room after both families, has visited the site with them and kept them updated on the center’s construction.

“I wanted to recognize the hard work and the dedication put in by both families,” Wilson said. “They should be recognized because they wanted to help retain something in the back bay for years to come.”

The 10,000-square-foot center is tentatively scheduled to open in June. Its construction is unique for environmentally sensitive areas. Designed by architect Ron Yeo of Corona del Mar, contractors dug tons of earth, creating an underground construction site. The facility actually looks buried and its roof will eventually be covered with dirt allowing grasses to grow and help further conceal it.