CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Upper Buck Gully Could See Cleared Trails, Footbridges

A group of about 40 citizens gathered at the Central Library on Tuesday evening to learn more about plans to revitalize the hiking trails in Upper Buck Gully.

The protected nature preserve, which is located in Corona del Mar south of San Joaquin Hills Road and to the east of the Harbor View Hills South neighborhood, has overgrown trails covered with poison oak. The city of Newport Beach is considering a plan that would cost about $220,000, plus about $100,000 per year for upkeep, that would create two trails and remove non-native plant life from the area.

“We were told nobody loves Buck Gully,” said Mike O’Connell, executive director of the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, which developed plans for the gully on behalf of the city. “But it should be loved. It’s a great place. Right now it’s kind of sitting there unamanaged, and we want to change that.”

The plan calls for cleaning up the existing trail, which is about 2 and a quarter miles long with amazing views, and calling it the Buck Overlook Trail. Connecting to that would be a new mile-long trail called Bridge Trail that would end at Fifth and Poppy avenues. That trail would include four new wooden bridges to go over the creek that runs through the area.

Additionally, the area would be cleared of invasive non-native plants, including mustard, artichoke thistle and pampas grass, and new native plants would be introduced. These steps are necessary because the area is a protected wildlife area, and the city is obligated to maintain it correctly.

“Unfortunately, poison oak is not invasive and won’t be taken out,” said Dave Kiff, assistant city manager. The trails would be clear of it, he added.

O’Connell said that bikes, horses and people would be able to use the trails, but not dogs, which threaten native bobcats and could scare them away, thus causing ecological problems in the area. It also would be closed on windy days with Santa Ana winds because of fire dangers; O’Connell said there would be great opportunities for members of the community to get involved with the project, possibly by being fire watchers.

Several members of the audience asked about Lower Buck Gully, which is connected to Upper Buck Gully, with the dividing line being the area near Fifth and Poppy avenues. O’Connell explained that although they are connected, Lower Buck Gully has a different designation and is not part of the protected area. The city has projects in the works that involve Lower Buck Gully, but the meeting on Monday was specifically to address the Upper Buck Gully protected area.

The city council has approved the current plan, and now that public meetings have been held, it will go back to the council most likely in June. Any implementation of the plan will likely be part of the 2010 budget, Kiff said.

Feel free to let us know your thoughts. Is it a good idea to create trails in this area? Would you use them? Leave us a comment with your ideas and concerns.