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The wrongs done to trees, wrongs of every sort, are done in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief, for when the light comes, the heart of the people is always right.
-John Muir
When one walks into the San Clemente canyon entrance off Genesee one immediately senses the serenity at odds with the roaring of the freeway. It is this silence that captures the essence of the park, its history, and its issues. Before the 1970s, few wanted to occupy the land around Clairemont, and in fact it was almost empty, or at least had few paved roads. Clairemont was only inhabited in a suburb format in the late 1950s, and remained mostly undeveloped until the 1960s. In the 1970s, Clairemont was booming, and San Diegan suburbs were flourishing in general. It was in this decade that Route 52 was conceived and originally planned. In the 60s and 70s, the urbanization of San Diego’s canyon lands began to bring suburbs to even the outer Eastern and Southern limits of the county. In this period, the rapid expansion of suburban America led to a loss of many, many acres of forest area. Marian Bear was an environmental activist who helped nurture the protection of canyons all over San Diego, including familiar names like San Clemente Canyon, Tecolote Canyon, and Mission Trails.
