About our organization, The Laguna Greenbelt, The Land and History

An aerial view of Moro Canyon, located in Crystal Cove State Park

The Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. is a grassroots organization, founded in 1968 to promote the preservation of Orange County, California's wilderness and open space. The Laguna Greenbelt works for the benefit of the general public informing, advocating and educating. The Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported solely through grants and personal donations of concerned citizens.

With our primary goal being the preservation and protection of open space in Orange County, the Laguna Greenbelt has long struggled in our battle to secure open space for the residents of Orange County and beyond to use for their enjoyment and pleasure. We believe like our founder Jim Dilley that open space and wilderness areas along with wildlife habitat preservation are critical to the long-term health and well being of residents of southern California.

With this in mind, our organization has led the fight for protection and preservation of 22,000 acres of open space in southern Orange County, California. We fought to preserve Laguna Canyon, Aliso and Woods Canyons and, the large swath of coastal hills known as the San Joaquin Hills. Much of our history has revolved around informing citizens, decision makers and stakeholders about the many benefits of open space preservation and protection.

Photo Location:
Aliso-Wood Canyon Wilderness Park.

The Laguna Greenbelt Fact:
The 22, 000-acre Laguna Greenbelt is the second largest coastal wilderness & open space area in Southern California. Only the Santa Monica Mountains National Refuge is larger.