April 6, 1943 – July 6, 2024
Elisabeth ‘Liz’ Brown, Ph.D., biologist and inspirational Orange County advocate for open space and wildlife habitat protection, died peacefully at the age of 81 on July 6. A beloved figure in the Southern California environmental community, she served as President of Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. from 1985 to 2019. During that time, she played invaluable roles in collaborative efforts and legal battles protecting wilderness lands around Laguna Beach, establishing organizations to manage those lands, and creating programs for public access.
Dr. Brown was part of the Orange County environmental movement that created the South Coast Wilderness, 22,000 acres of contiguous open space within the cities of Aliso Viejo, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Newport Beach, and unincorporated Orange County. Her passion for protecting Southern California ecology and her ability to help craft complex conservation agreements led to remarkable achievements. When reminded of her accomplishments, she was quick to point out, “I didn’t do it alone.”
Elisabeth came to Laguna Beach in the 1970s with her husband Dr. Allen Brown, settling in a home in Canyon Acres where they raised their daughter Mina. Elisabeth became fascinated by the local wildlife and landscapes. She soon joined the movement to assemble a “greenbelt” of protected open space around Laguna Beach. Dr. Brown explained later that she got involved because she wanted to teach people about Laguna Canyon ecology—but realized that if she didn’t help protect it, there would be nothing left to teach them about. As Board President of the Laguna Greenbelt, Inc., she treated her position as a full-time job and seemed to have limitless energy for it.
Dr. Brown was a key player in the historic fight to protect Laguna Canyon, representing the Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. in months of negotiations with The Irvine Company. A historic agreement was made to preserve the land and establish Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. Dr. Brown remained involved throughout the years-long process of land purchase, fundraising, management planning, and park creation. “The idea of bringing all the Laguna Canyon lands under common management has been my most important goal short of the preservation of the land itself,” Brown wrote. A cooperative oversight body, Coastal Greenbelt Authority, was created to ensure that the acquired land would remain ‘wild’.
Passionate about helping the public to appreciate and understand local ecology, Dr. Brown created trail and field guides, wrote a regular column for Laguna Beach newspapers, and taught a naturalist training class that gave more than 600 people the knowledge to lead tours and educate others about local natural history.
Always vigilant, during the last two decades Dr. Brown turned her focus to ensuring the long-term health of flora and fauna in the South Coast Wilderness. Increasingly concerned that some species in the protected coastal ‘island’ were showing signs of inbreeding, she helped to conceive the Irvine-Laguna Wildlife Corridor to provide a pathway for animals to move between the coastal wilderness and the Cleveland National Forest. A key portion of the Corridor is under construction in Irvine with an expected opening in 2025. Inspired by Dr. Brown’s sense of urgency, Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. is working to complete the Corridor by addressing remaining challenges, including safe passage through the I-5/I-405 freeway complex.
“Liz was an excellent leader, a mixture of steadfast determination in achieving her goals mixed with a pragmatic understanding of what can be achieved.”
— Norm Grossman, President of the Laguna Greenbelt, Inc.
A memorial for Dr. Brown is currently being planned. Her family encourages donations in her memory to Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. Please visit lagunagreenbelt.org for more information and to leave your thoughts about her life and contributions.