Make the Back Bay boardwalk a reality

The oil spill from the American Trader tanker in 1990 left Newport and Huntington beaches and their habitats in ruins. The

400,000-gallon spill remains the worst environmental disaster in

Orange County history.

Earlier this month, Newport Beach officials received a residual,

if you will, of $786,000 from the oil-spill agreement that will be

used toward building a $3.4-million boardwalk along the Back Bay’s

western edge.

We can’t think of a better beneficiary for that money than an

environmental project and the Back Bay boardwalk sounds like a great

idea.

Anyone trekking through the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve

these days will find makeshift trails that city officials dub

illegal. In essence, they are quite harmful to the Back Bay’s habitat

and, as proposed, the boardwalk would better protect that habitat.

Officials propose a long walkway along the Back Bay’s western edge

that would then sprout out three viewing platforms extending into the

middle of the estuary.

Now, though, Newport Beach leaders need to come up with the rest

of the boardwalk’s price tag within a year. We urge the city to

immediately begin asking around for the money so that it doesn’t lose

out on this grand opportunity.

Among the agencies that will be solicited so far is the Wildlife

Conservation Board, which hands out money from Proposition 40, a bond

passed in 2001.

If the city comes to a point where it has exhausted all of its

resources, we urge officials to ask the city’s state and federal

representatives for help in securing the needed funding.

The boardwalk is a novel idea and will do even more to save the

Back Bay environment while helping to educate those who visit it.