Dear Laguna Canyon Conservancy Members,

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With the holidays well behind us it is time to recap the past year a bit, look forward to what is ahead for Laguna Canyon Conservancy (LCC) in 2023 and ask for your membership renewal if you have not completed that yet. Thank you to those that have already renewed!

This past year LCC awarded its first college scholarship to a Laguna Beach High School senior student who had donated many hours of community service and demonstrated an environmental interest. This coming year LCC will again offer another scholarship to interest more young people in our organization’s mission.

Last spring LCC partnered with the Sawdust Festival, Laguna Greenbelt, Inc., C.A.N.D.O. and the Laguna Beach Garden Club to create a Pollinator Garden on an acre of hillside in the back of the Sawdust Festival. Work is on-going with non-native plants removal and more appropriate natives to be installed to complete the project later this year with help from the Laguna Canyon Foundation.

In the fall members of the LCC Board of Directors worked very hard to lobby the Orange County Supervisors, OC Public Works and Laguna Beach City Council to request them to preserve the many large and mature trees that are now missing from the Laguna Canyon Frontage Road where the flood channel repair is still taking place. We hope our efforts will result in replacement with appropriate trees but they will never be the size in our lifetimes of what was cut down.

The extensive records collection of long-time LCC President Carolyn Wood are on their way to the University of California, Irvine archiving department. There will eventually be a permanent catalogue history on file at UCI Library of the beginnings and achievements of the LCC that led to the founding of the critically important Laguna Canyon Foundation. Many important pieces of historical information were discovered in the process and distributed to specific organizations and individuals that could use them. 

 

The LCC Board of Directors also cooperates with other local and state environmental agencies and groups by lending support when possible. We support the Green Vision plan for Orange County; Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks is leading the fight for smart planning in land use development while keeping nature in mind. Members of our Board of Directors attend the Board meetings of Laguna Canyon Foundation as was mandated by the Laguna Laurel purchase and the Coastal Greenbelt Authority. We and others are monitoring the coming plans for undergrounding the utilities along Laguna Canyon Road that are in the planning stages and options proposed may impact the open space preserve that is so important to us. If you are interested in becoming more informed or involved about such issues, please let us know.

This past January 12 th , LCC co-hosted a celebration dinner with over 175 admirers in attendance for retiring Laguna Beach city council member and longtime open space advocate Toni Iseman. LCC epecially felt it important to show her our appreciation, after all she was the ‘Phantom of the Canyon’ in 1989!

Exciting speaker programs are being planned for coming months and we are looking forward to more in-person gatherings although we know there still must be caution exercised when meeting in groups and masks are always suggested. For this reason, at times the program’s space may be limited and reservations restricted to members. Our next speaker meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 6 th, 4:00 PM. Terry Welsh, President Banning Ranch Conservancy is our guest speaker. Terry is the longtime leader of the drive to keep the Banning Ranch/Randal Preserve for open space that recently closed escrow. Watch for more emails on these or check out our coming events on the website.

It is the time of the year for annual renewals, whether you are a continuing member, a member from past years or a first-time member. We are grateful to have you participate in helping continue the Laguna Canyon Conservancy’s mission to protect and preserve the environment in and around Laguna Canyon. The dues are still a reasonable $25 per year and funds support the organization and open space causes. If you wish to make an additional donation, it will be appreciated and can be designated for a specific use or cause.

There is an online method to renew your dues, each member must complete a separate registration and payment. The system does not provide for couples to submit at the same time unfortunately. If you do not wish to pay by credit card, you can print a membership form from the website and mail it with a check to our mailing address: Laguna Canyon Conservancy (LCC), P.O. Box 1383, Laguna Beach, CA 92652.

If you have suggestions for speakers or topics that would interest you, please let me know. You can email me at this address or call me at (949) 887-3247.www.LagunaCanyonConservancy.org 

 

Thank you for being a part of the Laguna Canyon Conservancy. I wish you a healthy 2023 and hope it will bring plenty of positive things for you and your loved ones.

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Best regards,

Gayle

Gayle Waite, President

Laguna Canyon Conservancy

President@LagunaCanyonConservancy.org

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The Laguna Canyon Conservancy is a non-profit organization; however, donations are generally not tax deductible. Since we do take positions on issues of public policy, the LCC is not a 501 (c) 3 organization, but rather a 501 (c) 4. California Corporation Number (CCN) 1428036 and Federal Employer Identification number (EIN) 33-0294068.