A History of the Laguna Canyon Foundation
In 1989, the world was a different place than it is today. The Berlin Wall came down. Student protesters were killed in Tiananmen Square. And 8,000 Laguna Beach residents marched to Save the Canyon.
On November 11, 1989, the organized protest march began in downtown Laguna Beach and peacefully made its way on Laguna Canyon Road to The Tell, a 636- foot art installation made up of 60,000 photographs – snapshots of life around Orange County – created by local artists Mark Chamberlain and Jerry Burchfield. The Tell was located where the Dilley Preserve is now. The marchers were protesting the 2,150-acre Laguna Laurel development that had been approved to be built in the open space of Laguna Canyon, sacrificing pristine wilderness to build an initial 3,200 homes, shopping centers and golf courses.
Residents came together to protest this development, and in 1990 approved a tax increase to help pay for the purchase of the land. That year, Laguna Canyon Foundation was formed to help broker the purchase of the land, ensuring that the open space would be protected in perpetuity. Several municipalities and public entities purchased the land from the developer, The Irvine Co.
Today, Laguna Canyon Foundation has moved from a land acquisition organization to focus on advocacy, education and conservation and is proud to continue carrying that legacy into the future, acting as guardians and stewards of the open space so many fought so hard to protect, rising to meet new challenges and new threats to the habitat and the animals that live there.
So, when you’re out in the canyon, whether on foot, on a bike, or just driving through, take a minute to think about what could have been. What we could have lost if those 22,000 acres hadn’t been preserved.
This is what makes Laguna Beach such a unique coastal community: the wildlife we’re privileged to share our home with (bobcat, mule deer, and red-tailed hawks, just to name a few), the incredible vistas, the smell of the coastal sage scrub, and the break from all of the hustle of South Orange County.
by: Laguna Canyon Foundation
