Field Trip - Sunday July 31, 9:00 AM
UPPER NEWPORT BAY and BIG CANYON RESTORATION
with ALYS ARENAS

FIELD TRIP
Alys Arenas, the Newport Bay Conservancy Restoration Manager for the project, is our host leader. Ron Vanderhoff is the CNPS OC field trip lead. Alys will describe the on-going restoration, its goals, successes and challenges encountered, the results thus far, and future plans for the area. We will walk the restoration site and surrounding area while discussing many of the native plants in the various habitats and their unique adaptations. 


CLICK HERE TO

RSVP / REGISTER

FOR THIS FIELD TRIP

LOGISTICS
- MEET AT 9 AM at the large parking lot at the intersection of Back Bay Drive and the mouth of Big Canyon.
- DIRECTIONS: From Jamboree Road, go .25 miles West on San Joaquin Hills Road and turn right on Back Bay Drive. Go exactly .45 miles to the first and only parking area on your left.
- Free and open to all that register/RSVP. Physical Difficulty: Easy. Plant Intensity: Moderate, with many specialties. Time: Approx. 2-3 hours. No restrooms or water.

BACKGROUND 
Upper Newport Bay is one of Southern California’s largest remaining coastal estuaries. It supports a diverse range of native plants, unique plant communities, and the wildlife that depends upon these. The Big Canyon portion of the the bay has been the subject of an extensive and expensive restoration effort. The objectives include removal of invasive plants (esp. the 9+ acre Brazilian pepper forest), improving water quality, addressing the invasive Shot Hole Borer, and returning the area to a functioning ecosystem. The Newport Bay Conservancy, in cooperation with the City of Newport Beach, the  CA Dept of Fish and Wildlife, the State Coastal Commission, the Ocean Protection Council, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service have completed two of the three phases of this restoration.