“4^th Tues.”

Conservation Lecture

Tuesday, Sept. 24th – 7:00 pm

Zoom Doors will open at 6:30 pm

“Preserving the South Coast Wilderness and the Irvine-Laguna Wildlife Corridor”

The South Coast Wilderness consists of 22,000 acres of protected open space encompassing portions of the cities of Aliso Viejo, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Newport Beach, the County of Orange County, and the State of California. These 22,000 acres were acquired due to the efforts of citizens who understood the importance of preserving nature.

The South Coast Wilderness environment is facing a potential catastrophic threat to the native wildlife. The 22,000 acres is simply not large enough to guarantee the genetic diversity necessary to maintain healthy populations, particularly under the increasing stress of a changing climate. This threat was identified almost 20 years ago by biologists who realized that the only practical long-term solution was to create a wildlife corridor between the South Coast Wilderness and the Cleveland National Forest. This became the basis of the six-mile-long Irvine-Laguna Wildlife Corridor (ILWC).

Norm Grossman, President of the Laguna Greenbelt, will be presenting a brief history on the creation of the South Coast Wilderness and the challenges faced in maintaining wildlife resiliency. He will describe how the concept of the ILWC as the first totally urban wildlife corridor in the country was developed and the current status of the project.

Grossman has been President of the Laguna Greenbelt since 2019 and a Board of Directors member since 1984. He has played a role in multiple environmental and land use initiatives, including two on preserving Laguna Beach open space (1998 and 2012), four on redevelopment of El Toro Air Station (1994-2000), and one on growth management in Orange County (1988). His professional background is digital engineering, with experience in the aerospace industry and academia. He served 26 years as a Laguna Beach Planning Commissioner.