FONB was founded in 1967 by a group of citizens, including Frank and
Francis Robinson, to call attention to the ecological importance of
the Bay and to enlist broad support for the retention and protection
of the Bay in its relatively natural state. The
Robinsons and others fought for the public interest through
litigation as individuals and as part of a separate campaign group.
At the same time FONB undertook a lengthy advocacy of alternatives
to the development of Upper Newport Bay. FONB was also at the
forefront of environmental education, conducting monthly nature
tours at the Bay starting in late 1968. "Friends
Tours" are still given by NBNF on the second Saturday of
each month from October to March.
UNBN was formed in 1989 to organize and conduct restoration,
education and fundraising activities on behalf of DFG and OC Parks.
Membership was restricted to volunteers who successfully completed a
comprehensive 10-week training class and became Naturalists. Many
talented educators, scientists and other professionals provided
their expertise to develop curricula, undertake research and turn
UNBN into a sophisticated independent organization. By 1999 UNBN had
over 100 active Naturalists. Therefore, a Volunteer Coordinator was
hired to support and assist the UNBN committee chairs responsible
for the school, scout, canoe, kayak and walking tours and other
programs, events and activities.
The opening of the OC Parks Peter and Mary
Muth Interpretive Center in 2000 saw the vision of the Robinsons
and other Friends become a reality. The time was ripe for the merger
and metamorphosis of FONB and UNBN to better support the
Interpretive Center and new DFG Back Bay
Science Center and to help build a cooperative partnership
between all the agencies and other organizations that affect or are
affected by the health of Upper Newport Bay.
We believe that NBNF is unique in the way in which a single
501(c)3 corporation works to support multiple government agencies,
through the provision of funding and volunteers and the organization
of programs and events on behalf of the agencies. NBNF functions as
a member of the Upper Newport Bay Management
Coalition and currently facilitates the meetings of the
Management Coalition and the Education Policy and Restoration Policy
Teams that function under the Management Coalition.
As successors to FONB, we feel we are also the voice of the
community and the conscience of the Bay and advocate sound science
and decisive action to restore and protect Upper Newport Bay from
unaddressed threats. NBNF works diligently to achieve this,
leveraging its efforts where appropriate and often setting the
wheels in motion for other more suitably qualified organizations to
secure funds for and manage critical projects. For instance, in 2002
NBNF provided seed money and assistance in developing an impressive
and persuasive pamphlet defining the problems facing the Bay and
helped organize boat tours by knowledgeable and passionate
Naturalists to point out these problems for visiting dignitaries.
This allowed Community Conservancy International, another non-profit
organization whose assistance we requested, to receive funding and
start work on the planning phase of a major and long-overdue
restoration project at Big Canyon in
early 2003.
