Friends of Newport Coast closes up

Friends of the Newport Coast has been dissolved, according to a letter from the nonprofit group to supporters.

Its board of directors voted in June to disband. Over its 35-year history, the group has helped protect almost 80% of the coast between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.

“It is not often that a nonprofit organization has completed its mission and is able to step into the history books,” Fern Pirkle, president of Friends of the Newport Coast, said in the letter. “We believe we have done so and the time is right.”

Friends of Newport Coast was formed in 1976, and its main goal was to preserve public open space and protect natural wildlife habitat, according to the letter.

— Kelly Parker