Our Mission
Providing a unified voice concerning issues which enhance, affect, or threaten the equestrian lifestyles in Orange County
Updated: 24.11.2006
President
Alice Sorenson
Alice Sorenson has been an active member of the Orange County environmental community for her entire life. Having grown up in Newport Beach, she has seen first hand how the personality of the county has gone from a seasonal, rural atmosphere to one of a recognized financial capital of the world. Along with that growth has come an almost unprecedented urban growth that has consumed the local environment, left it threatened with extinction and earned it the label “hot spot” of biological diversity.
More than 20 years ago, Alice recognized that Herculean efforts needed to be put forth to save the golden jewel of an environment the Orange County has. Quietly, she began contacting the then sitting board of supervisors, preaching the goodness of saving our environment. Alice’s theme was that growth and development is a good thing but balance is equally important. Giving the people of Orange County jobs without also the opportunity to recreate was a recipe for disaster. Eventually, the Board agreed and the first Orange County Trail Advisory Committee was formed with the specific purpose of revising the Master Plan of Riding and Hiking Trails (1990). Once the revision was completed and presented to the Board of Supervisors for acceptance, the Board reconstituted the Committee for the specific purpose of implementing the Master Plan (1992). Alice has continued to sit on this committee, which was renamed the Orange County Regional Recreational Trails Advisory Committee and incorporated the Bikeways Master Plan, for the past 16 years, chairing it for the past 3 years. In this time over 250 miles of multi-use trail have been built as part of the County’s trail system, including bridges, under crossings and staging areas.
In addition to her participation in the above, Alice is president of the Equestrian Coalition of Orange County, an organization dedicated to the maintenance and furtherance of the equestrian lifestyle of Orange County. She has been a member of this organization since it’s formation in ( ). She is a founding member of the Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks as well, currently serving as its vice president. Friends is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the environmental interests of Orange County and is the leader in the Orange Coast River Park development as well as the Green Vision Map of Orange County. Alice was the original equestrian docent for The Nature Conservancy who was the land manager for what is now called the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve. In this capacity she is able to take equestrians out in the wilderness areas of Orange County that have been donated by The Irvine Company as part of the NCCP. She helped build the equestrian program that now proudly staffs over 20 equestrian volunteer docents. Alice sits as ( ) on the Nature Reserve of Orange County, the organization created to oversee the NCCP implementation in the Central District of the Plan.
In the past, Alice was the founding member of the equestrian unit for the Orange County Ranger Reserve, a subset of the Orange County Park Rangers who are charged with maintaining the parks of Orange County. She remained a member for 9 years before retiring. As a member of this unit, to which she brought the original 5 members, she was able to combine her two passions: riding her horse and protecting the Orange County wilderness open spaces. Finally, she sat on the California Trails Advisory Committee for 4 years, having been appointed by then Governor Pete Wilson.
From Stables to Trails
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