Irvine Ranch Conservancy

Newport Bay Naturalists & Friends
Restoring and Preserving the Native Habitat of the Bay

In 2000, two highly respected volunteer organizations - Friends of Newport Bay and Upper Newport Bay Naturalists – merged to form the Newport Bay Naturalists & Friends (NBNF). The merger created a unified and passionate volunteer force whose members work diligently on behalf of beautiful Upper Newport Bay.

NBNF’s important work includes the following:

Restoring and preserving the Bay’s native habitat
Educating the public about the ecological value of this important natural resource
Protecting and improving water quality
Protecting the area’s native flora and fauna
Promoting and ensuring compatible public use of this protected ecosystem, which happens to be in the midst of a dense urban environment.

Irvine Ranch Conservancy and NBNF have worked together on many environmental education, habitat conservation and volunteer management efforts. IRC helps to publicize NBNF’s work to build public awareness of the many outdoor opportunities that are available in the Bay, and the two organizations also share a common volunteer network.

"The Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends have been working with the Irvine Ranch Conservancy for almost five years," says NBNF Vice President Jack Keating. "We have enjoyed a close relationship with the IRC team, sharing information and ideas about habitat conservation, environmental education and volunteer management. We look forward to continuing this relationship for many years into the future."

Upper Newport Bay – or the Back Bay as it is fondly known to those who live nearby – is the "Central Park" of Newport Beach. Many people come to ride horses and bikes, hike, canoe, kayak, bird-watch or simply savor the delightful sunrises and sunsets over its tranquil waters. However, it is more than a place of great natural beauty. The Bay is the largest of only a few remaining protected estuaries in Southern California. An estuary is a coastal wetland where ocean saltwater mixes with nutrient-rich freshwater from inland sources, creating a fertile feeding, nesting and breeding area for birds, fish and other animals.

The Back Bay is also an important rest stop and winter home for birds migrating south from Canada and Alaska. Up to 30,000 ducks, shorebirds and wading birds can be seen in and around its waters on any given day during winter. In spring and summer, many birds that have migrated nest there, together with other birds that are year-round residents. Resident nesting birds include the highly-endangered light-footed clapper rail and the California least tern. The Back Bay also is a spawning ground and nursery for many commercial and sport fish species, including halibut and seabass.

Upper Newport Bay became an Ecological Reserve in 1975, managed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Additional lands were preserved at Big Canyon in 1982. And in 1990, the County of Orange acquired 140 acres of bluffs on the north and northwest sides of the Bay, creating what is now known as the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, managed by Orange County Parks. The Ecological Reserve and Nature Preserve together include about 1½ square miles of precious open water, mudflat, salt marsh, freshwater marsh, riparian and upland habitat.

The hub of human activity in Upper Newport Bay is the Peter and Mary Muth Nature Center, owned by the County of Orange and staffed by volunteers from the Naturalists and Friends. Tucked into a bluff on the northwest shore, this building was built with sustainable materials and blends in nearly seamlessly with the landscape. It offers educational programs and displays about the Bay and its ecology daily to visitors.

Another important project of the Naturalists and Friends was fundraising and supporting the creation of the Back Bay Science Center, a new science and educational facility on the south shore that is the result of a partnership among several public agencies, non-profits and other groups. NBNF helps to staff the Center, which houses a water quality lab, educational facilities, and displays. Its grounds are also the end point for the Mountains to Sea Trail on the Irvine Ranch.

To learn more about Newport Bay Naturalists & Friends and Upper Newport Bay, visit http://www.newportbay.org/. To sign up for programs and projects in the Back Bay, visit www.irvineranchwildlands.org/activities.