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Orange County environmentalist Frank Robinson dies at 84
Friday April 11, 2003NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) Frank Robinson, who helped lead Orange County's conservation movement and was credited with the preservation of Upper Newport Bay, has died. He was 84.
He died in his sleep Thursday at his home in Newport Beach.
Born in Charleston, S.C., Robinson graduated from the University of Cincinnati and then moved to Southern California and married his wife, Frances, who passed away two years ago.
The couple moved to Newport Beach in 1962, and began lobbying for the preservation of Upper Newport Bay, a wetlands that is home to nearly 200 species of birds, including several endangered species.
The bay was once owned by the Irvine Co., the county's largest developer, and the Robinsons blocked the company's efforts to transform the area into a marina surrounded by homes in the early 1970s.
The Robinsons circulated petitions and organized protests, and their group successfully argued that the tidelands were a public trust that should not be handed over to developers. The unprecedented court ruling meant the county could not transfer the land to the Irvine Co.
The developer eventually negotiated a sale of 750 acres to the state for $3.5 million that created the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Preserve.
Robinson, a retired aerospace engineer, is praised by fellow environmentalists for keeping Upper Newport Bay in its pristine state.
``Without him, we'd be looking at Marina del Rey, rather than the reserve that we have that is bigger than Central Park,'' said Bob Caustin, founder of Defend the Bay.
In recognition of the couple's work, the main exhibit at the bay's Interpretive Center is named for the Robinsons.
Robinson also worked on other Orange County coastal access issues. As a Harbors, Parks and Beaches commissioner in the 1970s, Robinson ensured that Dana Point Harbor would not be restricted to wealthy boaters.
Robinson is survived by a son, Jay Robinson; a daughter, Dana Prince of Sacramento; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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