Phase One of Big Bend Habitat Restoration Project Completed

Submitted by the Laguna Canyon Foundation:

The Laguna Canyon Foundation announces the completion of the first phase of a five-year habitat restoration project at Big Bend.  The project, partially funded by a grant from OCTA, will restore a weedy lot to a meadow of native plants with public trails and picnicking areas. 

According to Laguna Canyon Foundation’s Executive Director, Max Borella “I have always considered the majestic cliffs of Big Bend to be the city entrance. Nothing welcomes us home quite like the sight of that soaring ridgeline. Laguna Canyon Foundation purchased the ridgline property in partnership with the City of Laguna Beach and the Conservation Fund, and we are proud to continue our work by transforming the City owned field below to native habitat.”

Laguna Canyon Foundation (LCF) applied for and received an OCTA grant to restore the field and create a “small, passive nature area” in 2012.  The nature area was designed by local landscape architect Richard Ramsey and LCF President Derek Ostensen.  Ostensen is also managing the restoration project.

The first step of the project is now complete, with the removal of invasive exotic plants and their replacement with native plants and oak trees.  Although some of the larger trees on the property are non-native, they were kept as “heritage” trees.   The new plants will be irrigated for an initial two-year period until the roots establish, and then will rely on natural rainfall. The final phase of the habitat restoration project will include the construction of a public trail and seating areas. 

"We are grateful for our successful partnership with OCTA and the City of Laguna Beach, which has resulted in the substantial improvement of a former dirt lot. The project will grow more beautiful each week as the vegetation fills in and will be a vital resource for a number of sensitive flora and fauna which inhabit the site and surrounding open space," says Ostensen.

More than 5,000 native wildflowers, plants and trees have been restored to the site, with additional species planned for next season.  Together, this native habitat will support a wide range of wildlife, including butterflies, raptors, deer and bobcat. A number of important species also use the site as a connection point between Laguna Coast and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Parks.

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Laguna Canyon Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing southern California’s second largest coastal canyon wilderness. This 20,000-acre area includes marine preserves, Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, Crystal Cove State Park, Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and adjoining open space in Irvine, Laguna Beach and Laguna Woods.  For more information about the land preservation program and the South Coast Wilderness call the Foundation at 949-497-8324 or visit www.lagunacanyon.org.