Bay activists honored

When environmentalist Ray Williams took an environmental issues class at UCI in 1969, his professor advised him not to get involved in the battle brewing over Upper Newport Bay between the Irvine Co. and local environmentalists.

“You don’t want to do that,” his professor told him. “It’s a lost cause.”

Leading the charge against Irvine Co. plans to develop Upper Newport Bay into a marina in the 1960s were environmentalists Frank and Frances “Fran” Robinson, now widely recognized as the parents of conservation efforts in the Back Bay.

The Newport Bay Naturalists & Friends remembered the Robinsons on Saturday by unveiling a new viewing area dedicated to the couple overlooking Upper Newport Bay. The Vista Point viewing area near the corner of Eastbluff and Back Bay Drives includes interpretive panels, amphitheater seating and a small monument dedicated to the Robinsons.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has,” reads a quote from anthropologist Margaret Mead featured on the memorial.

Within days of hearing about a county land swap that would give the Irvine Co. control of about 150 acres of tidelands in Upper Newport Bay in 1963, the Robinson began going door to door to collect signatures to protect the estuary.

Along with four other citizens, the Robinsons sued on the grounds that the land swap between Orange County and the Irvine Co. was unconstitutional. The citizens won their lawsuit on appeal, and the land was set aside as the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve in 1975.

The Robinsons were among the founders of the group Friends of Newport Bay, which began conducting monthly tours of the Upper Bay area in 1968. The 40-year anniversary of the monthly tours coincided with the dedication of Vista Point on Saturday.

The Friends group merged with the Upper Newport Bay Naturalists in 2000 to become the Upper Newport Bay Naturalists & Friends, which is dedicated to preserving the area.

Frances Robinson died in 2001 at the age of 82, followed by her husband two years later at age 84, but their memory lives on in efforts to preserve Upper Newport Bay, said Jay Robinson, the couple’s son.

“My dad knew that it was not important what job you undertake, but that you finish it,” Jay Robinson said. “Fran and Frank would have been so proud to be a part of this today.”

Newport Bay Naturalists & Friends member Jim Cokas, who designed the interpretive panels and memorial to the Robinsons at Vista Point, first got involved with plans for the viewpoint about 6 years ago, when Frank Robinson wanted to dedicate the place to his late wife.

“He started to tell me about he and Frances and the bay. It was curious to see how intertwined they had all become,” Cokas said. “We had met with the intent for a memorial to Frances, but it became clear the memorial really had to be for both of them.”

Cokas was able to show Frank Robinson a miniature model of the yet-to-be constructed Vista Point before he passed away,.

“He still had that great smile and bright eyes,” Cokas said. “Just seeing that full-sized smile spread across his face was really gratifying.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.