The Mangini Ranch !!!SMD’s Newest Acquisition ProjectThe Mangini Ranch’s 207 acres, Save Mount Diablo’s newest acqui-sition project, swirls with importance. It winds sinuously throughhistory, biology and geography much like Galindo Creek, the green-lined, blue thread whose headwaters spring up there.

The Ranch is an oakand grassland bowl ris-ing to Lime Ridge—itis adjacent to LimeRidge Open Space onone side and throughchaparral toward thequarried slopes of Mt.Zion on the other. Thecreek descends norththrough Crystyl Ranchopen space intoConcord, its roots theproperty’s tributaries.Mangini rises south tothe Ginochio Ranch,and nearly to Mt.Diablo State Park.

After two years ofnegotiations, theMangini family agreed to sell the property to SMD on February 28.We have two years to raise $1.45 million. The family will retainanother 25 acres of the 231 acre property.

Ranchos & Place NamesThe five-branched Mangini family has a long history which we’rejust beginning to decipher. The Ranch boundaries hint of even olderroots. The property appears to have largely been made up of‘sobrante’, or common lands just outside of two Mexican ranchosgranted in 1828 and 1834, Rancho Monte del Diablo and RanchoSan Miguel. The property is largely unfenced, but we are surveyingit to determine its exact boundaries.

Rancho Monte del Diablo isnamed for a willow thicketwhich was later confused withContra Costa’s highest peak.The two Ranchos developed intoWalnut Creek and Concord. R.Monte del Diablo was granted to

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Triple Threat !!!ULL, CNWS & ESATens of thousands of acres surrounding Mt. Diablo hang in the bal-ance of three acronyms: ULL— the Urban Limit Line; CNWS —the Concord Naval Weapons Station; and ESA — the EndangeredSpecies Act (federal). We need your help to prevail.

Urban Limit LineSave Mount Diablosupported Measure J,the successful renewalof the County’s trans-portation sales tax,because it requires theCounty and all nineteenContra Costa cities toeither adopt a mutuallyagreed upon- voter-approved - Urban LimitLine, or to adopt indi-vidual Urban GrowthBoundries (UGBs)around each city. Themutual Line must beagreed to by April by75% of the cities repre-senting 75% of theCounty’s population,and four of the five

county supervisors. The deadline allows time for environmentalreview before the Nov. 2006 election. Failure of the cities and thecounty to reach agreement would cause each city to adopt their ownline, approved by their own voters, or lose their loacl street androads funding from Measue J.

The goal of the mutually agreed upon line is to promote rationalplanning with less traffic congestion. But now, a number of citiesare attempting to expand the line to include thousands of acres ofundeveloped land. Concord wants the tidal portion of the NavalWeapons Station; Antioch wants Roddy Ranch; and Brentwood andPittsburg are proposing big additions to the line. Clayton is seekingto add parcels east of the city—including on North Peak’s slopes.Voters are not likely to approve these porposals that will lead to

Save Mount Diablo Protecting the Mountain Since 1971 Spring 2005 No. 39

w a t c hD I A B L O

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The Mangini Ranch. All photos by Scott Hein

Special Note & ApologiesWe’re sorry that you may be receiving this newsletter after someof the “Spring on Diablo” events have taken place. We couldn’tsend it out until the Mangini property purchase agreements werefinalized.

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s a v e MOUNT DIABLO

Board of DirectorsMalcolm SproulPresident

Arthur BonwellVice-President

Allan PragerVice-President

David TrotterSecretary

Frank VarenchikTreasurerBurt BasslerMary L. BowermanDonald de FremeryDana DornsifeScott HeinMichael HitchcockSteven MehlmanJohn MercurioDavid OgdenDave SargentSharon Walters

StaffRonald BrownExecutive Director

Seth AdamsDirector of Land Programs

Jennifer HouseOffice Administrator

Julie Seelen Administrative Assistant

PublisherSave Mount Diablo1196 Boulevard Way #10Walnut Creek, CA 94595-1167925-947-3535, Fax 925-947-3603www.savemountdiablo.orgsmdinfo@savemountdiablo.org

Founded in 1971, Save MountDiablo has been instrumentalin increasing open space onand around the mountain from6,788 acres to more than87,000 acres.

Masthead PanoramaDragon Oaks 550by Stephen Joseph

DiabloWatch is printed on recycledpaper with a soy base ink and can berecycled.

CONTAINSSOYOIL

From The Executive DirectorIt has been nearly five years since I became the Executive Director of Save MountDiablo. It has been a wonderfully enjoyable and exciting, as well as demanding andchallenging experience. During my first month on the job, we celebrated the dedica-tion of Turtle Rock Ranch. Since then we have bought the Wright Ranch, the MorganRed Corral, the Galvin Ranch and now the Mangini Ranch. We also successfully pre-served the Gateway parcel with a conservation easement. We successfully influenceddozens of development projects and we have been involved with a number of success-ful community wide issues that effect the quality of life in our county: tightening the

Urban Limit Line in 2000; development of the county-wide Shaping Our Future project; and creation andpassage of Measure J - the County’s half-cent transportation sales tax (with associated Growth Management).We also have worked to support two state wide bond measures for protection of watersheds and naturallands. Unfortunately, we also worked on several projects that were not successful; the County’s Open SpaceFunding Initiative; the Los Vaqueros expansion campaign and the East Bay Park District’s measure to gener-ate maintenance and operating funding.

During the past several years we have increased our community outreach efforts and have developed a num-ber of new relationships. In addition to our continued alliances with environmental groups and park andresource agencies, we have developed associations with unions, developers, home builders and the businesscommunity. These new alliances are based upon identifying and then working toward the accomplishment ofmutually shared objectives. These synergistic alliances with “strange bed-fellows” have helped accomplish anumber of SMD’s objectives while also generating increased volunteer and financial resources.

The next several years will be challenging for SMD. The continued impacts of the urbanization of our grow-ing community (with associated increases in land values) challenge us to increase our land use advocacyefforts while simultaneously increasing our need to develop outreach and educational efforts with land own-ers. Our need for financial and volunteer support are going to be greater than ever. We hope that as you readthis issue of Diablo Watch that you will recognize how important the success our little organization is inensuring the quality of life in our community.

Our growth and success can be attributed to the support and assistance we have received from our activemembers. We encourage you to take a more active role by becoming more involved: volunteer for a project;ask friends and neighbors to become members; become a sponsor; help us solic-it donations and sponsors. Thanks for your help.

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Blackhawk-Nunn commits to Multi-Year SponsorshipFollowing their $10,000 sponsorship of SMD’s Mountain Star Awards for the pasttwo years, Blackhawk-Nunn has generously agreed to continue as awards sponsor forthe next two years, including an option for two additional years.

This early commitment kicks off our sponsor recruitment effort for our September17, 2005 “Moonlight On the Mountain” anniversary.

Blackhawk-Nunn are developers of the Summerset adult community and the Vineyards at Marsh Creek, adevelopment associated with the new 4,000 acre Cowell Ranch State Park. Our thanks to Steve and MattBeinke and Bob and Ron Nunn for their continued generous support of Save Mount Diablo.

Call for 2005 Mountain Star NominationsSMD will be awarding Mountain Star Awards at its 34rd anniversary celebration - “Moonlight on theMountain” - on September 17. We are seeking nominations of individuals, organizations or agencies, whoseone-time, or ongoing contributions have contributed to the preservation of land surrounding Mount Diabloand the quality of life in our community. Current SMD Board Members and staff are ineligible.

Submit written nominations byJune 1. Include your name and con-tact information; the name of yournominees(s), their contact informa-tion and several sentences aboutwhy you are making the nomina-tions. Mail nominations to SMDMountain Star Awards, 1196Boulevard Way, Suite 10, WalnutCreek, 94595 or email <smdin-fo@savemountdiablo.org>

Save the Date: Moonlight On The Mountain - Saturday, Sept. 17, 2005

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{Editor’s Note: Martinez resident M. AllenCunningham has written fiction for numer-ous literary magazines and is a two-timePushcart Award nominee for short fiction.His lyrical first novel The Green Age ofAsher Witherow, set in Black DiamondMines Regional Preserve’s Nortonville dur-ing its 19th century coal mining era, waspublished in October 2004.

It immediately began collecting acco-lades—from Publisher’s Weekly, LibraryJournal, and others including a top BookSense pick by the American BooksellersAssociation. Critics have used terms like:‘richly descriptive, evocative language’;‘poetic intensity’; ‘strikingly beautifulprose style’; ‘unerring instinct for story-telling’; ‘a startling accomplishment’; and‘lushly talented’; ‘It’s impossible to ade-quately review such excellence…’. Thework has been compared to that of AnnieDillard, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, WallaceStegner, and John Steinbeck and the firstprinting immediately sold out, followed bya second printing in December.

“In many ways I was writing a love letterto the area,” Cunningham explains, “I lovethis land.” “This is the book’s home. Itcouldn’t have grown out of any soil butthis.”

“I had lived in the area forfourteen years before I everheard of Black DiamondMines. I went there and wasjust blown away by the land-scape, then went to the CentralLibrary in Pleasant Hill anddid research.” One reviewsaid “Cunningham shows aknack for picking beautiful,haunting settings: the road tothe Nortonville graveyard, airpressure doors in the coalmine,and the East Bay hills most ofall. He displays a real love forCalifornia geography and cli-mate, the hills green in winterand gold in summer.”

Mark Cunningham’s descrip-tion of the Green Age of AsherWitherow is below. The bookcan be found in area bookstores, and you can read moreabout Cunningham and thebook at: www.mallencunning-ham.com}

Mark Cunningham: There’sa peculiar human experiencethat the American writerWendell Berry beautifullydescribes as: “the intimacy themind makes with the place it

awakens in.” My own intellectual and cre-ative life began in the great shadow of ourMount Diablo, and for all my fondnesstoward the mountain and its surroundingcountry, I never suspected I’d set a bookhere. Still, Diablo exerted its mythic forcein my imagination, and I’ve now publisheda novel in which the mountain appears as aprimary character.

The book is set in the 1860s-70s in thecoal-mining village of Nortonville, oncethe largest community in Contra CostaCounty, now long vanished from the earth.In the mid 1870s Nortonville was sobustling that its mines were producingmore than 1 ton of coal per minute, butwithin 10 years fortunes changed and thetown was virtually vacated. In a sceneabout halfway through my book, the younghero, Asher, observes a wild cougar“emerging” from the image of the moun-tain. It’s a mysterious moment, imbuedwith almost aboriginal wonderment, and tome it’s the heart of the novel, because itfaithfully renders the impression of bewil-dering immensity the mountain stirs in me.

We locals are lucky to enjoy such an emi-nent daily centerpiece as Diablo. Themountain grants us perspective, constantlyreminds us where we are (in more sense

than one), and thus serves the indispensa-ble role—the same it served Contra Costa’sfirst Native Americans—of world-center;one needn’t be at all religious to recognizethe strange inner misgivings summoned, ona day of heavy fog or haze, when it’sblanked from sight.

I’ve long been in the habit of gazing uponthe mountain from some vista point atMount Wanda or Briones. While our high-ways thrum at its foot, I often reflect on thebrevity of our human legacy in this region.The transition from pastoral wilderness totoday’s commuter gauntlets has occurred inlittle more than a hundred years—a blinkin the eye of a mountain as old ashumankind. The original paradise is barelysubmerged, and Diablo stands above histo-ry, evidence of that paradise. As long as wewish for the mountain to remain eminent,wish that it be aproned by expansive openspace, we will have held fast to the vitalimportance of awe and its invigoratingsource in our local wonders.

In the steep arc of Nortonville I see a his-torical allegory for us today: an era ofimmense growth and activity, all of itunsustainable and ultimately swallowed bythe greater processes of—first economy,and finally nature (the pristine BlackDiamond hills now suggest precious littleof the bleak industry they once supported).

The Mount Diablo of my novel stands as abit of eternity amidst the unstable world ofNortonville. Likewise, the true MountDiablo continues to bear witness to theflurry of our human presence. I hope mybook may inspire a fresh awareness of itscontinuing role as axis and awe-giver.

3Mark Cunningham (photo by Seth Adams)

The Green Age of Asher Witherowby Mark Allen Cunningham

Mark Cunningham is a thought-ful, fascinating speaker and willconduct a reading and lead an

SMD hike to Nortonville onMarch 26th. Check the events

schedule for info.

Black Diamond Mines Regional PreserveMap: www.ebparks.orgDirections: Take Hwy 680 north to Hwy 4 east toSomersville Rd, Antioch, south to the end &Somersville parking lotTrails: Nortonville to Black Diamond to CoalCanyon trails, back on Nortonville Trail.Distance: 1-3 hours RT. Moderate (Rose Hill: 1mile RT; Nortonville 2.7 miles RT) Full loop,some short steep, 5.7 miles RTNotes: Mining Museum reservations, 925 676-0192

Imagine Black Diamond Mines as an indus-trial wasteland. From the 1850s through theearly 1900s the Mount Diablo Coalfieldoperated. Nine hundred miners laboredunder the earth in hundreds of miles of tun-nels, removing nearly four million tons of“black diamonds.” They lived in five coalmining towns, two the largest towns in theCounty, south of present day Pittsburg andAntioch.

Streams ran acid black with coal dust.Wooded slopes were cut to bare earth forfirewood and for tunnel supports. Mineopenings were everywhere, marked by cas-cading waste heaps. Sand mining followedfrom the 1920s to 1940s. Much of theCoalfield is protected within the Preserve, anecological restoration success story.

M. Allen Cunningham’s first novel, TheGreen Age of Asher Witherow, has focusedattention on the area; reviews note thatMount Diablo and the surrounding landscapeare main characters. So is the Rose HillCemetery. You can visit the undergroundMining Museum or make short hikesthrough the town site of Somersville to thecemetery and to Nortonville. A longer hikeloops back through beautiful Coal Canyon.

Little is left ofSomersville but forgroves of non-nativetrees, ailanthus, pep-per trees, and eucalyp-tus, and coal wasteberms. Coal was dis-covered in 1855 southof Antioch and in1859 at Nortonville byFrancis Somers andJames T. Cruikshank.

Noah Norton took uptheir abandoned firstfind, Black DiamondMine and Somers and

Cruikshank went further east and createdSomersville. The two towns were aban-doned around 1885 and most structuresrelocated.

Rose Hill’s statuesque italian cypress areyour beacons near the divide over toNortonville. Follow the paved road andMarkley creek up to the Mining Museum oron the Nortonville Trail (right), the oldstagecoach trail from Martinez to the minesand on to Antioch. Before long you riseabove the trees to grassland past ManhattanCanyon. Look back at the north facing treecovered slopes. In the 1940s they werenearly bare.

The cemetery was a Protestant burialground. The earliest known burial was in1865; many deaths were related to epi-demics. The cemetery and 1506’ hill aboveare named for Emma Rose, daughter ofAlvinza Hayward who was president andchief stockholder of the Black DiamondCoal Mining Co. of Nortonville.

Emma, and her husband Andrew Rose,inherited his fortune and in the 1940sEmma deeded the cemetery to Contra CostaCounty. The road to the cemetery wasopen until 1973 and the cemetery was van-dalized but EBRPD is restoring it now.

A persistent myth of cemeteries is a myste-rious “Glowing Lady” or “White Witch”usually reported to have been seen at thecemetery at night. At Rose Hill the “WhiteWitch” is said to be the ghost of midwifeSarah “Granny’ Norton, widow of NoahNorton for whom the town was named,who died Oct, 5, 1879 (plot 6).

Continue over the divide to drop toNortonville or, better yet, go left up theBlack Diamond Trail for the longer loop.You’ll pass ghostly buckeyes in winter,leafing out in January above carpets of

miner’s lettuce, through woodland grovesof blue oak. Detour past the power linesfor unimpeded views of ManhattanCanyon, exposed cliffs and points east.

Each new gate signals better scenery. Youleave city noises behind. Muddy soilsmake way for sand, rock and chaparral.Past a dip in the trail, a rose colored grottoappears. Look for several mazanitasincluding Diablo manzanita, an endemicfound only in the Diablo area, cream pinkflowers abuzz with bees.

Sparse needled gray pines are shadowed bylarger more distinctive pines bearing hugecones, the biggest of any pine—the north-ernmost stand of Coulter pines in the state.Other than at Diablo you’d have to travel200 miles south to find them again.

The view opens up east to the Sand Creekdrainage past another coal mining townsite, Stewartville, to the large hill above theStar Mine. The trail loops west toward1894’ Kregor Peak above rolling, rumpledhills of velvet green. Reportedly the fastestgust of wind ever recorded in the Bay Areawas at Kregor Peak in 1995, 134 mph for20 seconds. More coulter pines are silhou-etted like Christmas trees on rock studdedridges, and palisade cliffs appear above.

Before you reach paved Black DiamondWay you can take a visible but unmarkedscenic trail over to Wolf Rock and back.

As you crest the hill, views expand toHonker Bay, Pittsburg and Antioch. IrishCanyon, Clayton’s Peacock Creek neigh-borhood and Central County spread outbefore you in one direction, Mt. Tambeyond, and Sierra views in the other. Mt.Diablo comes into view one peak at a time.At the knee-burner paved road you canclimb to the peak, or simply descend to theCoal Canyon trail.

Dropping into Coal Canyon is an exercisein sheer joy—steep in a few places but notusually slippery, rolling downhill like agentle roller coaster.

Don’t miss “Jim’s” Place; what would itrent for today? The canyon’s a great springwildflower spot and one of the places youcan see the area’s other fairy lantern,Calochortus albus, a cream colored globelily with deep rose tints.

When you reach the Nortonville town site,take a right back onto the Nortonville Roadand it will take you back to the start.

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Rose Hill cemetery overlooking the Somersville town site (Scott Hein)

Rose Hill Cemetery &The Mt. Diablo Coalfield

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If you’ve rested in the shade of willows andcottonwoods along Mitchell Creek orbraved muddy trails to find Donner Creek’sspringtime waterfalls, you’re probablyalready a friend of Mt. Diablo Creek.Mitchell Creek, Donner Creek and BackCreek are tributaries of Mt. Diablo Creekaccessible by State Park trails.

Of Contra Costa County’s thirty-one majorwatersheds, only Mt. Diablo, Walnut, andMarsh Creeks boast Mt. Diablo’s summit astheir highest point. From the slopes of itsnamesake mountain, Mt. Diablo Creekflows in a relatively natural state for ninetypercent of its length, unencumbered by theconcrete channels and underground culvertsso prevalent in urban areas.

Eight miles of Mt. Diablo Creek {whichbegins on SMD’s Chaparral Spring proper-ty} wind through the inland area of theConcord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS) –one of the county’s most significant stretch-es of undeveloped creek channel. Wetlandsat the mouth of Mt. Diablo Creek supportthreatened species including an endangeredplant called soft bird’s beak, salt marsh har-vest mouse, and black rail. This area iscalled Seal Creek.

As in many parts of Contra Costa County,change is coming to the Mt. Diablo CreekWatershed. Proposed urban developmentof the inland CNWS land could bringanother 36,000 residents to this currentlyundeveloped area of Concord in the next 25years, contingent on the Navy making theland available for civilian uses {see TripleThreat!!! and Claretion Seminary:Preserving Mt. Diablo Creek articles}.

Anticipating changes and opportunities forMt. Diablo Creek Watershed, Mary Malkoand Lisa Anich started Friends of Mt.Diablo Creek (FoMDC) in May 2004. Its

mission is to increase awareness of Mt.Diablo Creek and its watershed, to pre-serve and restore the creek’s habitats, andto add to the quality of life for residents ofClayton, Concord, and Clyde.

In September, seventeen FoMDC volun-teers surveyed about 2000 feet of thecreek near Clayton Library as part ofContra Costa County’s volunteer streammonitoring program. GPS equipmentallowed observers to link the creek’s phys-ical characteristics to an exact location.Wading downstream, volunteers notedstreambed materials, channel shape, loca-tions of culverts, bridges, outfalls, vegeta-tive coverage and tree canopy, and inva-sive plants. Surveys will be organizedagain in 2005.

FoMDC’s latest project builds on ClaytonLibrary’s environmental education pro-grams. FoMDC won a technical assistancegrant from the Watershed Project, a localnon-profit with expertise in watershedstewardship and education. Project staffwill help plan improvements to thelibrary’s creek-side presentation area.FoMDC will organize work days to imple-ment the Project’s designs. The WatershedProject will also help FoMDC and theLibrary create a pilot program for 4th and7th grade students from Clayton schools.

Change may be inevitable as cities grow,but the character of that change is deter-mined by our imagination and our com-mitment to nature and community.Watersheds give us a different way todefine community - a definition based onnature. Watersheds include diverse neigh-borhoods and challenge us to find com-mon interests.

FoMDC meets monthly, alternating eveningmeetings with afternoon hikes. Contact LisaAnich at (925) 689-2642,glanich@california.com or visit us atwww.alexnice.com/creek.ht

Friends ofMount Diablo Creekby Lisa Anich, co-founder

Claretian Seminary: Preserving Mt. Diablo CreekFor decades a large, nearly abandonedschool building below Mt. Diablo’s DonnerCanyon has overlooked Clayton. Built in1961, the school is owned by the ClaretianMissionaries religious order, which hasentertained a variety of development pro-posals there over the years.

The 24 acre site drops from a knoll next toMt. Diablo State Park across Mt. DiabloCreek (where a caretaker residence is cur-rently located), to the Regency Meadowssubdivision.

Two years ago Lemke Construction, Inc.proposed replacing the school building andcaretaker unit with 25 houses. The propos-al included significant grading near thepark and three houses along Mt. Diablocreek. SMD and neighbors along Rialtoand Regency Drives got involved. Whatwas surprising is how willingly Lemkeaddressed our concerns.

Early on SMD recognized that the site wasnot pristine; the school building is visuallyobvious and includes asbestos in need ofremediation. We focused on protection ofthe creek corridor, oak woodland along theeastern boundary, and buffers to the Park.

Lemke greatly reduced proposed grading,relocated the three units along the creek,and agreed to a scenic easement along theborder with the Park.

All trees will be saved and five acresincluding the creek and woodland along theeastern boundary will be donated to theState Park.

The project will still be visually prominent,but a variety of development conditionswill reduce aesthetic impacts and Lemkewill work to solve drainage problems thathave been affecting neighbors.

The most significant precedent is that thecaretaker house along Mt. Diablo creek will

be removed and the riparian corridorreplanted. For the first time in theCounty’s history, a house will be torndown to restore habitat.

SMD supported and the Clayton CityCouncil approved the redesigned DiabloPointe project on Dec. 21, 2004. Thanksto project manager Susan Larson and EricLemke of Lemke Construction, Inc. fortheir willingness to compromise.

The Diablo Pointe development above Claytonwill preseve and enhance Mt. Diablo creek

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REI & the Diablo Trail Map ProjectEach year SMD presents slideshows atlocal REI stores. REI is a sponsor ofSMD’s Mt. Diablo Trail Adventure, a half-marathon and 10k run and hike on themountain held each November.

In 2004, SMD received a $5,000 REI grantto produce a trail map highlighting the 30-

ing 8 stores in the Bay Area, and directsales via the Internet, telephone and mail.In 2003 REI provided nearly $2 million indonations in support of the outdoors andrecreation.

“The Trail Adventure is a great familyevent,” said Tracey. “It’s a good way forpeople in the community to get together,do something active on the mountain andalso get to know what SMD is all about.Diablo’s a great resource. I went to highschool in Walnut Creek then moved away;I’ve been with REI for 15 years, traveledaround and lived on the East Coast andmoved back here four years ago. Comingback here, what is so nice is to have somuch open space close to where peoplelive.” We appreciate REI’s support.

REI - Concord 1975 Diamond Blvd SteB100 (Willows Shopping Center), 925825-9400, REI - Berkeley 1338 SanPablo Ave, 510 527-4140; REI.com andREI-OUTLET.com

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S p o t l i g h t o n S p o n s o r s & S M D B o a r d mile Diablo Trail—from WalnutCreek to Brentwood—which wecreated in 1994. The map will showthe proposed route of the DiabloGrand Loop Trail which could circlenorth from Brentwood to the moun-tain if two gaps are protected.

“Since REI is an outdoor store and alot of our employees and membersuse Mt. Diablo we thought weshould do something to preserve theland and let them know about SaveMount Diablo,” said Doug Tracey,Store Manager for REI – Concord.“SMD does a great job and we’re

really pleased to support the organization,its Map project and to be a sponsor of theTrail Adventure.”

In 1938, mountain climbers foundedRecreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), as aconsumer cooperative to purchase high-quality equipment. REI has grown toinclude 70 retail stores in the U.S., includ-

REI Concord: Chris Chambers, Sup.; Chris Negri, Asst. StoreMan.; Megan Costello, Sup.; Doug Tracey, Store Manager;Aaron Olsen, Sup.; Kim Jones, Asst. Store Man. (Scott Hein)

At Moonlight on theMountain 2004,SMD’s anniversaryevent, guests celebrat-ed under the full moonand a spectacular arrayof lights. It was a tech-nical achievementgiven that there was

nothing at the site before the event butexpansive views. We can all thank DanaDornsife, a professional Lighting Designerand new member of SMD’s Board ofDirectors, for setting it up.

A member of SMD’s DevelopmentCommittee, Dana got involved with SMDin 2001 through personal trainer GregFrancisco of Healthwise Fitness. SethAdams, SMD’s Director of Land Programsleads a hike for Healthwise clients andfriends of Dana and Dave Dornsife once ayear. In April 2002 the Dornsifes partici-pated in Four Days Diablo, SMD’s four daytrip on the 30-mile Diablo Trail, andbecame strong supporters of Moonlight onthe Mountain.

“The turning point for us was Four DaysDiablo,” said Dornsife. “It really made animpression, the vastness and diversity ofthe mountain, and SMD’s whole focus inattempting to preserve the mountain’s land-scapes and to expand recreational opportu-

nities. Mt. Diablo is very important to usfrom an aesthetic standpoint, something wefeel very strongly about supporting.”

“We’re in lock step with SMD, we believein everything that the group is trying toaccomplish. The numbers speak for them-selves—when you look at the acres thathave been preserved, development projectsthat have been improved or stopped, newlyaccessible areas, increasing public aware-ness of the mountain, and the ways SMDeducates developers about how their proj-ects affect the mountain, wildlife and habi-tat corridors—it’s all a very positive effort.I’m looking forward to working with theboard and exploring my role. I can bring alot of energy to the organization, to helpmake it even more successful.”

Dana received degrees in Business andMarketing from Drexel Univ. and inInterior Design from JFK Univ. She’sactive in the Yosemite Fund and cancerpatient advocacy. Dana and Dave live inDanville with sons Ryan and Brendan.

Michael Hitchcock isOwner and Principalof Michael HitchcockAICP in WalnutCreek, a land use andcommunity planningconsultant firm. Forfive years he wasProject Manager for

the Mountain House New Town nearTracy. “SMD is a great organization withtremendous dedication,” said Hitchcock.“We’ve been supporters for more thantwenty years. I consider Mt. Diablo to beone of the most important landmarks inthe state and one of our metropolitanarea’s most important open spaces—forthe habitat, recreational facilities, and as abuffer against urban development.”

Mike has brought substantial expertise toSMD’s Land Committee and now to theBoard, in City and Regional Planning,Resource Management, DevelopmentFeasibility, and in review of individualdevelopment projects. He has coordinatedpreparation of dozens of General Plans,Specific Plans, ordinances and EIRs forprojects throughout California.

“I’m a proponent of good planning in theurban rural fringes of the East Bay and Ithink my planning experience can be use-ful to SMD. I’ve worked on open spaceprograms for many agencies and I have adedication toward preserving open spaceand habitat here locally.”

Mike has degrees in Sociology from theUniversity of Michigan, in City andRegional Planning from U.C. Berkeley,and a J.D. from Golden Gate University.He lives in Walnut Creek with his wifeNadine, coordinator of the SF BayProgram at the California CoastalConservancy, and their son Philip. Theirdaughter Alana attends U.C. San Diego.

Dana Dornsife & Mike HitchcockNew SMD Board of Directors

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Major Donors - $1,000+: Anonymous, ABI Industries, Diablo Funding Group, Graham & Trisha Anderson, WilliamArmstrong, Ardel Bert, Burt Bogardus, Robert & Cynthia Brittain, Giles Brown, John Deeming, Ed Grubb, Harold & JanetHaggett, Ralph & Jo Ann Hanna, Dick & Sally Ingraham, Torsten & Tineke Jacobsen, Peg Kovar, Sidne Long, Carolyn Lynn,Lloyd & Carole Mason, Andres & Julia Matisoo, Patricia Morris, Herb & Elinor Nootbaar, Shirley Nootbaar, Thomas Nootbaar,Rick & Pam Oshay, Joyce Payne, Kerry Randall, Howard & Benegene Rudiger, Dorothy Shelton, James & Barbara Stevens

Supporters - $500+: Sgambati Painting, AIG Matching Grants, Ralph Cotter, Jr., Oscar Fernandez & Patricia Galindo, Clint & Sue Phalen, Monica Sheridan, Jay &Jasmin Mumford Contributors - $250+: Anonymous, Appian Imaging, Encina Bicycle Center, Brian Bigelow & Audrey Gee, John Deeming, Dan & PenelopeDenenberg, Richard & Karen Hyde, Marion Jamison, James & Sonya Kieran, Thomas & Sandra Magill, Edward & Phyllis Mathias, Susan Newcomb, Eleonora &Christopher Schlies, Judyth Scholz, Jeff Schwarck Construction, Daniel Sitzmann

Friends - $100 +: Acalanes Chapter NSDAR, Civic Feline Clinic, Crossroads Pony Club, EBCo Printing & Graphics, Feathered Follies, Fleming Associates,Goodrich Ad Valorem Services, Hasley & Associates, LeConte Corp, Morrison & Frazier, Rocco's Ristorante & Pizzeria, Paul E. Schwenger & Company, Thomas &Annette Alborg,William Alexander, Leslie Anderson, Dennis & Linda Ashlock, Gary & Susan Barker, Rex & Fran Beach, Daryl & William Brand, Edward & PatriciaBrands, Ray & Barbara Bronken, Dorothy Brown, Michael & Sue Carney, John & Louise Carson, John & Susie Cecchi, Gale Chapman, Eric Chiang, W. X.. & MaureenClark, Jennifer Cook, Charles & Susan Couch, Clyde & Mary Davidson, Betty Ebers, E. Enke, Rich & Anita Ergo, David & Julie Farabee, William & Evelyn Farry,Francise Fiorentino, Lester Foley, Michael Gacsaly, James & Mary Ann Gaebe, George & Deborah Gage, Leslie & Virginia Gallaugher, James & Joan Galletly, George& Valerie Gardner, BD & Trudi Garland, Suzanne Gates, Teresa Lynn and William Gibson, James & Judy Gillivan, Gary & Judith Ginder, Beverly Ginochio, EarlGoldman, Diane Griffiths, P.T. Grimes, David & Sue Grubb, Concetta Hagen, Harold & Janet Haggett, Thomas Hagler, Robert Hahn, Allan & Margaret Hansell, Thomas& Melva Hansen, Nora Harlow, Peter & Grace Hartdegen, Heather Hayden, Carlyle Hedrick, Luman & Karen Hughes, William & Lesley Hunt, Diane Isbell, ThomasJamart, DDS, Eleanor Jardine, Philip & Lee Jenkins, Thomas & Margaret Jones, Jerry & Susan Kaplan, Patricia Kinman, Michael Kowall, Lyn Lazar, Tom & Pam Lee,Walter & Mabel Liang, Jay & Caroline Lutz, David McCloskey, Ann Michelsen, Edward Milbank, Jerry Miller, James & Sharon Moore, F.W. & Patricia Moulthrop,Joyce Munson, Terrance & Linda Murray, Tracy Murray & Mark Williams, David & Margaret Nicholas, Robert & Joan Nootbaar, Vicki Nuetzel, Rudy & Marge Oehm,John & Teresa Onoda, Jamie & Charlotte Panton, Berous Parish, Anne-Lise Peachee, Warren & Irene Peters, Brad & Trish Piatt, Tom & Elizabeth Piatt, Marjorie & TedPlant, Albert Price, Ed & Gwen Regalia, Deborah Revis, Jennifer Rice, Barbara Riggins, Bud & Jane Rotermund, Cory Saltau, Dorothy Sattler, Dixie & Cliff Sauvain,John & JoAnn Schexnayder, C.O. & Gloria Scilacci, Pamela Seifert, Ernest & Beverly Sherne, Ronald & Karin Siemens, Leslie & Elizabeth Simmonds, Bonnie Slatkin,Dana Slauson, Matt & Mary Maddux Smith, David Smith & Theresa Blair, Joseph & Diane Starkey, Barbara Steben, Terry & Susan Stiffler, Marietta Stuart, Robert &Barbara Suczek, Lisbeth A. Suyehira, Julie Taylor, Mervyn & Christine Taylor, Virginia Thomas, Laura Tow, Mary Ulrich, Stephanie Unruh, Jack & Connie Wallace,Vern & Josephine Ward, Dick & Margo Watson, Tom & Carolyn Westhoff, Roger & Penny Westphal, Robert & Karen Wetherell, Jeanne Wiegand, Rick & ElaineWilliams, Clyde Wilson, Donald Wilson, Ed & Carolyn Wood

Community (Under $100): Adventures on Horseback, B&B Quarterhorses, Encina Veterinary Hospital, Gail Murray Consulting, Horse Laundry Service, JaliscoGourmet Burritos, Leonidas Chocolates, Mechanics Bank, Mount Diablo Interpretive Assn, Seidell Enterprises, Samuel & Suzanne Abbott, Elaine Deborah Aitken,Marline Alford, J. Fred & Connie Allen, Kathleen Archbald, Patricia Ashley, Andy Aston, Carol Bagshawe, Adrienne Bal, Norma Bardsley, Donald & Joan Baum,Howard & Katherine Beadleson, Marie K. Bell, Linda Belt, Al & Annalee Benton, Angie Bergeson, Roberta Berkman, Frank Bindt, Suzanne Bitz, James Borchardt,Joanne Bourland, Richard & Mary Bowers, Ethyl Bowman, Melinda Boxold, Sefton & Claudia Boyars, Paul & Kim Bradley, Daryl & William Brand, Angela T.Broadhead, Jennifer Brodie, Penelope Brody, Roland Bueche, Diane Burton, Karen Carpenter, Alexander Castle, Benton & Doreen Cavin, Harvey & Phyllis Ceaser,Stephanie Chandler, Gale Chapman, Patricia Charley, Mara Chettle, Ed & Kathy Chiverton, Frank & Adah Clapp, Paul Clarkson, William & Norma Combs, MelissaCordova, Henry & Dorothy Couden, David & Joan Cox, Barbara Dahl, Dale & Mary Ellen Dalgaard, Clyde & Mary Davidson, Mildred Day, Brenda de la Ossa, PatriciaDebruce, Donnell & Janet Degraf, Yvonne Dewitt, Margaret Diaz, Marilyn Dorsey, Elisa Dowd, Elaine & Gregory Dunlap, Thomas & Jane Dunphy, Fern Eaton, Steven& Janine Eldred, Margaret Elliott, Mary Engstrom, Marvin & Ruth Epstein, Ruth Eseltine, Virginia Evans, William & Walta Everette, Val & Mary Fairman, RonFerguson, Marge Ferrari, Willard & Ann Fine, John & Marjorie Fischer, Susan & Donald Fitch, Laurence Fitzgerald, Mary S. Fitz-Stephens, Marilyn Fleetwood, VickiFlickinger, Wilbur & Nell Fliehmann, David Foorman, Ronald & Barbara Forsstrom, Vivian Fox, Morris Fraser, John & Rosemarie Frost, Loren Furtado, James &Christine Garcelon, Monica Garner, Mark & B Geiser, Raymond & Christina Gillie, Ellen Glasser, David & Rose Glover, Michael & Diane Gorman, Mark & Leslie M.Graham, Janet & H. Donald Grant, Walter & Mildred Greenberg, Shawn Greene, Alice Gregori, John & Sandra Gregory, Edward & Carolyn Griswold, Margaret Gromm,Uwe & Veronica Gunnersen, Irene & Frank Guros, Alice Hansen, Dennis Hanson, Jeannie Harmon, Kathy Ann Harris, Karl & Billi Haug, Walter & Shirley Hausser, Tom& Janeen Heath, Jaqueline Heath, Frank & Barbara Heffelfinger, Scott & Claudia Hein, Mary Joan Helbig, John & Ruth Helgeson, Susan Hester, Mary Higuera, David &Nancy Hill, Roberta Hilson, Takeo & Carle Hirahara, Dorothy & Gordon Howell, Jane Hrynkow, Luman & Karen Hughes, Leonard & Ronell Ialeggio, Muriel Jameyson,Armand & Marylye Johnson, Gordon & Theo Johnson, Donald & Carole Johnson, Raymond & Joan Johnson, John Jones, Maryann & Norman Kay, Angela Keres, Boise& Lucy Ketcham, Helen Kimball, Timothy & Mary Ann Knabe, Melanie Koehler, Ralph & Carolyn Kraetsch, Kurt & Lori Kroothoep, Ann Lagerquist, Wanda Lamanno,Philip Lathrap, Linda F. Lipson, Vera Lis, Erin Lohec, Joan London, Richard & Anne Long, Emme Lorenzen, Sally Lowery, Alice Lynn, Doug & Carol Mackintosh,Robert & Claire Magliano, Leonard Mahler, Andrew D Marshall, DDS & Lynne D Martz, DDS, Diana & David Marzola, Margaret Mason, Eileen Mathey, SusanaMcComb, Daniel & Maureen McGlathery, Bonnie McLaverty, Robert & Julia Merson, Barry & Susan Miller, Peter & Carole Miller, Valerie & Ernest Moniz, DorisMoore, Sandra Moriarty, Kellie Morin, Stanley & Sally Morner, Georgia Morrison, Caroline & David Moyer, Brian Murphy, Dione & Brad Mustard, Thomas & PhyllisNagle, Paula Nelson, Susan Newcomb, Louis & Jean Nobbe, Paul B. Northrup, Andrew Noymer, Delores & Sandi Nunes, John & BarbraNystrom, Geraldine & Jeffrey Oh, Dale & Jean Olds, Patrick & Susan O'Neil, Tim Ory & Diana Minnick, Lura Osgood, John & Shirley Osmer,Robert & Joan Oyler, Julie Papas, Carol Parsons, Harriett Bamford Peabody, David & Jeanette Pearson, Jacquelin & Werner Pels, Dick & GaiPerry, Toni Lee & Perry Carney, Manfred & Barbara Peter, Dolores Petersen, Jane Peterson, Steve & Marley Poff, Kathleen K. Pond, Karen &John Pontrelli, Frank Portillo,Tara Lynn Prescott, Sam Rice Jr, Carissa Richards, Dale & Bonnie Rickford, Marilyn Roach, Norman & IngeRobertson, Gael Rodgers, Patricia Rogers, James & Phyllis Rossi, Kris Rowland, Louis & Zora Sandor, Glendoris Sargent, AnnemarieSchatzmann, Herb & Ruth Schiller, Judyth Scholz, Ed & Joan Schommer, David Seaborg, Robert & Shirley Sherman, Lela & Bill Shewry,Maxine Skeen, Diana Skibiel, Margery Ann Smith, Selma Soss, Barney & Nancy Speckman, June & Richard St John, Mary Stack, MargaretSteele, Martin & Rene Steinpress, Sue Stenstrom, Robert & Margaret Stithem, Robin Stoneham, William Surges, Eric & Debbie Swallow,William & Jean Tarr, Bill & Lorraine Thomas, Fred & Margaret Trask, Robert & Amalia Troyer, Jay & Joan Valancy, Frank & Edith Valle-Riestra, Nestor Vaschetto, Stephanie Vasquez, Nancy Verrier, Kevin & Susan Walmsley, Jacqueline Warden, Alan & Sandra Warner, Frederick &Margaret Warnke, Thomas & Carol-Anne Watt, Charlotte Webber, Jeanne Wiegand, James & Susan Wilson, Patsy Wilson, Dorothy Wilson,George & Grace Winterton, Jack & Jane Wulff, Donald & Lillyan Yoder, Bradford & Bonnie Young, Joel & Jacqueline Zaves

Gary Bogue And His Readers Come ThroughGateway Property Fundraising CompleteLast Fall fundraising for preservation of the Gateway property was almost complete. Of $1.56 million neces-sary to purchase a conservation easement, all but $15,000 had been raised. We asked Contra Costa Timescolumnist Gary Bogue to help and he agreed to ask his readers to help raise the funds by donating in honorof Gateway Alliance member JoAnn Hanna’s October 21st birthday - a deadline that was just weeks away.The goal amount of $15,000 was raised in just two weeks. By the October 21 deadline, 900 families con-tributed more than $49,000 to help save more of Mt. Diablo. Thanks to Gary and his readers!

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Gary Bogue(by Scott Hein)

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D i a b l o C e l e b r a t e d

Under threatening skies, Mark & Shannon Jones opened their home and property toSMD members to celebrate the preservation of the last parcel in Riggs Canyon, thecanyon mouth. The Jones protected their 232 acres with conservation easementsinvolving Braddock & Logan, East Bay Regional Park District & Lennar. As theevent took place both the sun and Mt. Diablo joined us. Thanks to our Sponsors:Mark & Shannon Jones, Braddock & Logan Services, Sycamore Associates LLC.

Jones Property DedicationOctober 24, 2004

Cowell Ranch State Park Special Donor Preview

December 5, 20044000 acre Cowell Ranch State Park, newly created in2003, isn’t yet open to the public but SMD donorsgot a special preview during a hike led by KenDyleski (pointing). The Park’s sensual grasslandssupport one of the area’s largest concentrations ofeagles and other raptors; it is an important new linkin the proposed 60 mile “Diablo Grand Loop” Trailwhich Dyleski has mapped. Another preview isscheduled for May 15th.

Save the Date“Moonlight on the Mountain”Saturday evening, September 17, 2005

An elegant evening under the light of the full moon, at the China Wall on Mt Diablo.Celebrate SMD’s 34th anniversary and acknowledge recipients of Mountain Star Awards.

• Be a table host • Donate silent or

live auction items• Call 925-947-3535

Catered reception withhosted bar, sumptuousdinner, jazz quartet,silent & live auctions.

• Sign up as anevent sponsor

• Join the planningcommittee.

from left, top to bottom: the view up the Jones property’s canyon toward Highland Ridge; former Supervisor Millie Greenberg & Seth Adams, SMD Director of LandPrograms present Shannon & Mark Jones with a photo of their property; Regional Park District Director Beverly Lane and Greenberg, view into Riggs Cyn; the ParkDistrict’s Nancy Wenninger, SMD’s Seth Adams, Beverly Lane & Roger Epperson, Morgan Territory Reg. Preserve Supervisor; SMD Board member Frank Varenchik& Barbara Halkett; Manny Lindner who first proposed Morgan Territory Reg. Preserve & Epperson; EBRPD’s Nancy Wenninger; Pat & Debbie Gregory; JohnKiefer, Scott Hein; the crowd listens to speakers on the Jones porch; David Lingren & Ilana Schatz; Sharon Walters, Art Bonwell, John Kiefer, Allison Hill.

The 3rd annual Trail Adventure included record numbers of participants in a halfmarathon & 10K run & interpretive hike, as well as a BBQ and family expo featuring avariety of non-profits. Adam Rhoads was half marathon winner in 1:24:53; MarianneBaldetti first woman in 1:52:17; Justin Coffeen 10K winner in 39:46; Jenny Wong firstplace woman in 47:53. Thanks to our Sponsors: the Contra Costa Times,Forward Motion, Jamba Juice, New Balance, Pacific Coast Trail Runs, REI.

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Mt. Diablo Trail AdventureNovember 7, 2004

Photos by Liede-Marie Haitsma, Scott Hein

from left, top to bottom: Justin Coffeen 215, winner of the 10k run in 39:46 & Dan Stefanisko 203, MSDSP Supervising Ranger and 10k 2nd place in 43:39; little girlmeets a snake at the family expo; sponsor tents set up; two happy finishers; Jenny Wong 193, first place woman in the 10k in 47:53; Adam Rhoads 319, first place halfmarathon in 1:24:53; Claudia Hein collects canned goods for the Contra Costa-Solano Food Bank; racers enjoy donated Jamba Juice; crowd at one of the tents withthe band Grabbag; runners starting the race; Trail Adventure sponsors and committee: Talia Smith, Chris Chambers of REI, Ron Brown, New Balance’s Jenny Wong,Marty Breen of Forward Motion, Wendell of Pacific Coast Trail Runs, Dave Husted; Interpretive hikers finish the race last, together, led by SMD’s Seth Adams.

D i a b l o C e l e b r a t e d

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Over the next 30 days the coalition col-lected nearly 11,000 signatures to qualifya referendum, with major funding fromSMD. When the developers attacked thepetitions in court, SMD funded the legaldefense. We prevailed and won the refer-endum vote in November 1989 with 81%,thereby reversing the project approval.

The developers began working with SMDand neighbors instead of against us. Fouryears later a new Crystyl Ranch proposaladhering to the Concord General Plan—454 units, no golf course, and 333 acres ofopen space—was approved. SMD sup-ported the proposal.

Duchi, Mangini & SproulDevelopers had also begun showing inter-est in the Mangini Ranch but in 1990 thecitizens of Contra Costa County voted tocreate an Urban Limit Line. Mangini isoutside of the line. No more than a minorsubdivision of five lots could be approved.Still, over the next thirteen years, onedeveloper or realtor after another floatedplans for Mangini. Each one fell through.

Finally Bob Duchi, an engineer and part-ner in DK Associates, an engineering firmwhich represents developers, approachedSMD’s president Malcolm Sproul, a bioticconsultant at LSA Associates, which alsorepresents developers. SMD has workedwith Duchi in the past on developer miti-gations resulting in significant land preser-vation. Duchi was honored last year withSMD’s Mountain Star Leadership Award.

Jim Mangini, a son of one of the fiveowners of the Mangini Ranch, works forDK and because of Duchi’s involvementwith the organization over the years, hadbecome increasingly aware of SMD’swork. Bob and Jim recognized the unlike-ly chances of development at Mangini andthought SMD might be pragmatic enoughto negotiate a deal with the family. Twoyears later agreement was reached, and wehave 2 years to complete the purchase.

Don Salvio Pacheco, who later donatedland for the town of Todos Santos, whichbecame Concord. Don Salvio Pacheco wasgrandson of Juan Salvio Pacheco, a footsoldier in Spain’s 1776 de Anza expedition,the second one around the mountain. DonSalvio Pacheco’s son-in-law was DonFrancisco Galindo, for whose family thecreek is named.

Diablo’s north and west sides wereparceled out quickly and Lime Ridge’smineral deposits were an early focus ofeconomic development. Prior to the 1850discovery of lime there, necessary for plas-ter, stucco and cement, it had to be shippedaround Cape Horn. Lime Ridge allowedCalifornia to begin replacing fire pronewooden towns with cement skyscrapers.

Lime Ridge to Mt. DiabloWhat’s miraculous is that Mangini propertysurvived Spaniards, Mexicans, Americanhomesteaders, miners, railroads and sub-urbs. Farmers were succeeded by farmingcompanies and then by Henry Cowell Limeand Cement Company which moved to theDiablo Valley in 1909, less than two milesaway. By 1911 a railroad spur had beenextended to the west side of the ridge.

After World War II Walnut Creek andConcord, which totaled just 2,960 residentsin 1940, spread across the grain fields andorchards of Central County toward themountian.

Save Mount Diablo was formed in 1971and funds for Lime Ridge Open Spacewere approved in June 1974. Open spacepurchases on Lime Ridge began in 1976aided by significant dedications from near-by developments.

Lime Ridge Open Space stretched north-west toward the Concord BART station, a

ridgeline green-belt betweenConcord andWalnut Creek,even as Mt.Diablo State Parkexpanded downthe mountain andacross Mitchelland WhiteCanyons. Thetwo parks are amile and a halfapart. TheMangini Ranchrepresents most ofthe gap.

ThreatsDespite creation of the new open space,during the 1970s development pressureaccelerated. Between 1988 and 1990 fourproposals threatened Lime Ridge’s veryslopes on both sides. Applications forCrystyl Ranch—just north of Mangini—anda State College campus in Concord includ-ed more than 900 acres and 921 units, an18-hole golf course and a college site.Rancho Paraiso and the Portofino projectsin Walnut Creek included more than 500units on 500 acres.

SMD began organizing opposition and lead-ing hikes to show the public what was atstake. Ultimately we were neutral on thecollege proposal (most of which was openspace), and brokered a compromise atRancho Paraiso that preserved almost halfthe site. We opposed the Portofino project(also known as Newhall North & South)outright since it was surrounded on 80% ofits border by Lime Ridge Open Space. In1993 it was acquired and added to the OpenSpace in a cooperative effort by WalnutCreek and the East Bay Regional ParkDistrict.

Coalition for Concord’s FutureEighteen groups organized by SMDopposed Crystyl Ranch, including a numberof nearby homeowner associ-ations. Ignoring overwhelm-ing public opposition, theConcord City Councilapproved the project in Juneof 1989. The city revised itsGeneral Plan, which hadcalled for 454 homes and 300acres of open space on the512 acre site - insteadapproving 725 units (downfrom 900), an 18-hole golfcourse, and just 30 acres ofopen space.

continued on page 11

Mangini is a bowl stretching from Lime Ridge east toward Mt. Zion and its quar-ries. The Crystyl Ranch development is out of sight, at left.

Crystyl Ranch, downstream

Mangini (Continued from pg 1)

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Bowerman, Buckwheat, Olive & LarkspurWhy the interest from SMD? If you’vebeen a member for the past several yearsyou might remember a 2003 fundraisingappeal, describing our work. Seth Adams,SMD’s Director of Land Programs wrote:

I had the interesting experience yesterdayof walking in the footsteps of MaryBowerman, Save Mount Diablo’s founder.In the 1930s Mary was finishing her Ph.Din botany at Cal, and was catalogingMount Diablo’s plant life.

Five botanists and I were looking for apretty little rose-colored wildflower whichmay be extinct. It was last seen in 1940and local botanists describe finding it as‘the holy grail’. Save Mount Diablo isnegotiating for several properties, includ-ing the headwaters of a local creek. OnJune 20, 1936, above the creek and nearthe boundary of the two parcels, Marylocated the flower.

Her notes are precise; it was at a knoll,west of a well known landmark, at its‘north end, 1150 ft., fairly steep hillside,west exposure, associated with red brome,poison oak, climbing bedstraw, Californiasagebrush, and Jepson’s woolly sunflower’.Most of the dozen locations where theflower was found are around the mountainand most are privately owned, off limits tobotanists. I spoke to a 6th grade classtoday. By coincidence, the class is workingon a project to protect and restore a sectionof creek—the same creek whose headwatersI had climbed….

We haven’t found the Mt. Diablo buck-wheat but we were at the Mangini Ranchabove Galindo Creek. The buckwheat, if it

survives, is justone of the prop-erty’s rarespecies. It alsoincludes one ofthe northenmostpatche of desertolive along withHospital Canyonlarkspur. Itschaparral almostcertainly sup-ports threatenedAlameda whip-snake and rarehorned lizards.

Whether we findthe buckwheat or

not, Mangini’s diverse habitat—grassland,stream canyons, two springs, oak woodland,chaparral, oak savannah—supports highdiversity. Its huge oaks are centuries old.Mangini’s preservation will build on ourwork at Lime Ridge and Crystyl Ranch, andprotect another section of Galindo Creek.

California Riding & Hiking TrailA walk onto the Mangini Ranch is a study incontrasts. As you walk along Galindo Creekup the California Riding and Hiking Trail,which ends at the Ranch’s gate, you leavedense new development behind.

In 1944 a California Riding and HikingTrails Project Committee was established toinitiate development of a statewide trail sys-tem. One of the system’s visionaries wasClayton resident George Cardinet, perhapsCalifornia’s most famous equestrian and the“Father of the trail system in California,”according to the California StateHorseman’s Association.

The 1945 Legislature and Gov. Earl Warrenapproved the California Riding and HikingTrail Bill, to be overseen by the State ParkCommission. The plan called for a 3,000mile trail, extending from San Diego countynear the Mexican Border, north through theTehachapi Mts. and Sierra Nevada to theOregon Border and returning southwardthrough the Coast Range.

As much as possible, the route was estab-lished over pre-existing trails and dirt roadson public lands. State funds provided forconstruction and helped to create jobs forreturning war veterans. Subsequent legisla-tion provided for feeder trails extendingfrom communities and connecting publiclands. Portions of the trail have been incor-porated into local and regional systems.After sixty years only half of the continuous

trail has been completed.

Cars and radios fade into birdsong as youcross through Crystyl Ranch’s open space.Stretching up to the ridgeline you aretransported more than 60 years back intothe area’s cattle ranching history. The pur-chase of Mangini adds a new link in theRiding and Hiking Trail, which continueswithin Mt. Diablo State Park.

Come See ManginiWe’re just beginning to explore theMangini Ranch ourselves. Future issues ofDiablo Watch will describe its recent histo-ry. We didn’t have to visit at all to knowthis: the property is historically interestingand extremely important for its strategiclocation, for its diverse wildlife habitat andrare species, for regional trail connections,because of the needs of adjacent residents,and given development threat. If we hadnot acted the property would be developed.

When we did visit the property, we foundeven more. The property has high ridge-line views to Marin, Sonoma and SolanoCounties. It also has intimate views withinthe property’s narrow canyons. This prop-erty could function as a stand alone park.Its fire road system already provides sever-al beautiful loop trails of varying lengthand difficulty. A short walk allows you toleave development behind.

It’s spectacularly beautiful. But don’t takeour word for it. Come see for yourself.We need your support to raise the proper-ty’s $1.45 million price and we’ll be lead-ing preview hikes this spring.

Mangini Ranch nearly bridges the gap from LimeRidge Open Space to Mt. Diablo State Park

SMD Board of Directors, staff and a few friends tour Mangini in December 2004.

Mangini (continued from page 10)

SMD has scheduled a public hike atthe Mangini Ranch on April 3rd.

Check “Galindo Creek”in the Spring on Diablo

schedule for hike information.

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SMD’s new project, the Mangini Ranch,includes a mosaic of plant communities,including a unique and rare scrub commu-nity, desert olive scrub. Desert olive,Forestiera pubescens, is a deciduous shrubthat grows up to 9 feet tall. It is in thesame plant family, but distantly related to,the commercial table olive (Oleaeuropaea). The fruits of the desert oliveare small (5-8 mm) relative to the tableolive, and don’t have commercial value.

It grows in sometimes impenetrable thick-ets in the East Bay, and its bright greenfoliage is a sharp contrast to adjacent scrubtypes. Its branches are dense and stiff, andits twigs are like spines. The branches andtwigs are so dense that very little light pen-etrates the canopy and reaches the soil. Asa result, many of the associated plantspecies are those found in mesic, northslope vegetation types. Desert olive alsosometimes grows in association with the

rare Hospital Canyon larkspurand at the Mangini site, a coy-ote thistle that is nearly endem-ic (restricted to) to the East BayRegion. Entomologists at UCDavis are interested in a moththat uses the Coast Range popu-lations of desert olive as theirhost plant, as it might be differ-ent from the one that occurs inthe desert region, and thus aspecies new to science.

The desert olive grows in thesouthwestern U.S., and in north-ern Mexico, in association withrivers and springs—at Manginithe olive stand surrounds aspring. In California, it occursin the deserts, the Transverse

and Peninsular Ranges, the East slope ofthe Sierra Nevada, and in scattered occur-rences in the South Coast Range. TheMangini Ranch is the northernmost occur-rence of desert olive in California. Howdid it get there?

Paleobiologists believe that 8,000-5,000years ago, after the last glacial period, therewas an exceptionally warm dry period inthe southwest. In California, that meantthat a climate more representative of thedeserts may have occurred in southern andcentral portions of California.Temperatures in the southern San JoaquinValley would have increased by 5-6 degreesFahrenheit and precipitation may havedecreased by 4-5 inches, allowing deserttaxa to invade the San Joaquin Valley andsouth Coast Ranges via the Tejon,Tehachipi, and Walker Passes.

As conditions became milder, desert taxawould have been extirpated (wiped out) in

the valley areas but a few remnant speciespersisting in the Coast Range are indicatorsof the preceding dry period. They includethe desert night lizard, desert scaly lizard,leopard lizard, California juniper, golden-bush, and desert olive. Evidence for thisscenario is largely based on modern daypresence of these species rather than pale-ontological records. Additional evidence isneeded to test this hypothesis.

The modern day distribution of desert olivescrub in California, although widespread isscattered and rare enough that the Dept. ofFish and Game considers desert olive scruba community that is worthy of considera-tion when evaluating environmentalimpacts. In addition, potentially importantdifferences may exist between the ecologyof desert and Coast Range stands. A fewstands of desert olive scrub are known fromthe East Bay outside the Mangini Ranch.Two stands in Corral Hollow (AlamedaCounty) are threatened by expansion of theCarnegie Off-Highway Vehicular Park.Given threats to these other stands, protec-tion of desert olive scrub at Mangini is animportant conservation objective.

Sue Bainbridge is a Museum Scientist atU.C. Berkeley’s Jepson Herbarium &Vegetation Ecologist for the East BayChapter of the California Native PlantSociety.

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Not The Ordinary Table VarietyNative Olives At The Mangini RanchBy Sue Bainbridge

Special Eventsfor SMD’sSpecial DonorsDonors to SMD abovethe $250 level receiveinvitations to specialevents—expert guidedtours of unique andnewly preserved areas,as well as lectures, booksignings, dedications,etc.

Wouldn’t you like to helppreserve more of yourmountain? Call 925-947-3535 for member-ship information or seewww.savemountdiablo.org

United Way Donor OptionDesignate Save Mount Diablo as the recipient ofyour United Way Pledge. When asked to makeyour annual workplace donation, please remem-ber SMD. Our tax ID number is 94-2681735.

Business ContributionsMany companies match charitable contributions.Ask your employer if they have a matching gift pro-gram. Also let us know if your employer has a foun-dation or corporate donation program.

SF Foundation Awards $15,000New Member Matching GrantThe San Francisco Foundation has awarded SaveMount Diablo a $15,000 grant to assist us with theexpansion of our membership program. The grantwill match the $35 membership donation for eachnew membership that we receive.

We will only receive the full amount of the grant ifwe obtain enough new members by November of2005. You can help us achieve our goal by askingyour friends, family members and business associ-ates to become members.

PeopleSoft Develops Direct MailCampaign for SMDPrior to being acquired by Oracle, PeopleSoft’s CreativeServices team donated their time to develop a directmail brochure for SMD. The brochure is designed toassist SMD in obtaining new members to qualify for aSF Foundation matching grant. It was recently mailedto 20,000 households surrounding Mt. Diablo. CallSMD if you would like to receive copies of the brochureto distribute to potential new members. Special thanksto the entire PeopleSoft Creative team for their greatcreative effort. We wish them good luck in their futureendeavors!

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Summit Club($1,000 or more)Blackhawk-Nunn AAC of

BrentwoodBraddock & LoganBT Rocca, Jr. FoundationCalifornia State Society,

NSDARChevron TexacoConcord Feed & Pet SupplyDiablo Lincoln Mercury AudiDiscovery HomesEast Bay Regional Park

DistrictENGEO Inc.Gail Murray ConsultingIBEW Local Union 302Jamba JuiceLSA Associates, Inc.Morrison & FoersterPacific Coast CarpetPlumbers & Steamfitters UA -

Local 159REI, ConcordRichland DevelopmentSan Francisco FoundationSignature PropertiesThe Mechanics BankVivendi Universal

Penny & Jim AdamsGraham & Trisha AndersonRollin & Millie ArmerArdel BertBurt BogardusMary BowermanDavid & Rena Brantley*Jim & Carolyn ButlerHarry & Beth ByrneRuth & Frank CelleJohnson & Louise ClarkJane ColganSally DaltonDavid DevineDave & Dana Dornsife*Elizabeth GirgichCharles GreshamEd GrubbDick HeronVirginia Ives & Paul Orsay*Mark JonesScott & Tiffany KaplanJohn KieferDoug Lacey

Paul LiuKarl & Jan MangoldLloyd & Carole MasonWilliam & Louise MaxwellGordon & Donna MonroeDavid Ogden & Sandy BiagiDonald & Georg PalmerBrad & Trish PiattJan RichardsonCathy RoseJames & Patricia ScofieldMarian ScottRuth ShererWilliam SikkemaRichard & Sandra SmithMildred SnelsonMalcolm & Casey SproulGeorge & Helene StraussJeanne ThomasGregory & Cathy TibblesDavid & Deborah TrotterClifford WalkerPeg & Steve WilcoxSonja WilkinEarl & Marlys Worden

(* Donors who make a 10year annual donation pledgeto Save Mount Diablo of atleast $1,000, qualify asFounder’s Circle members)

Peak Guardian($500 or more)AIG Matching Grants

ProgramBank of America Matching

Gifts ProgramBank of the WestBarth FoundationClorox Gift CampaignContra Costa RoofworksDel Monte FoodsDiablo Analytical, Inc.Lamorinda Rotary ClubMills AssociatesSycamore Associates

Karl BartleBurt BasslerRobert & Lisa BlumMalcolm & Sylvia BoyceDonna Buessing-JohnsonDavid, Abbey & Becky CookDon de FremeryKaye DeckerLeslie & Sydney DentStephen EvansSusan FlauttLee GlasgowMarylee GuinonLaurie & Alden HarkenDoyle HeatonScott & Claudia HeinKen & Joanne HughesDavid & Lynn JesusJohn & Linda JuddGiselle JurkaninJoyce KellyPaul & Vivien LarsonMichael MagnaniBarbara MahlerLeonard MahlerJohn & Kathleen McCorduckMartin & Janis McNairSteve and Linda MehlmanShirley NootbaarLawrence & Mary PeiranoMarjorie & Ted PlantPaul PopenoeAllan & Kit PragerWilliam RobinsonWayne RudigerDaniel & Janet SchalkStuart & Bette SchusterMonica SheridanDana SketchleyDavid Smith & Theresa BlairHenry StaufferJohn & Elouise SutterMaryellen TylerFrank & Barbara VarenchikSharon & Bill WaltersShawn WillisBruce & Mary Louise Wilson

Mountain Saver($250 or more)Bunker & CompanyFresenius USANike Employees Charitable

Giving ProgramPlant Decor

Clark AndersonGlorya Anderson-WeberAlan & Helen ApplefordMary I. BaldwinStephen & Karen BeckGeoffrey & Sally BellengerMark & Silvia BelotzArthur BonwellDiane BrownPolly BrowneEmily CampbellRuth CollinsJohn & Charlice DanielsenPhillip & Jean DavidJohn DeemingRaymond & Laura DePoleConrad & Shirley DiethelmNancy & Mark DixonRichard & Betty FalckTom FanninAna FienPaul & Kathy FitzpatrickSid & Linda FluhrerDavid Frane & Charla GabertW. J. FrankPaul & Marilyn GardnerKarl & Kathleen GeierLiana Genovesi & Scott

AhrendtDavid & Betsy GiffordPeter HagenLiede Marie HaitsmaRon & Ann HendelRoz HirschHarlan & Gayl HirschfeldMichael & Nadine HitchcockRichard HoedtBrian & Claudia HowardBarbara JenningsDarryl & Beverly JohnsonDave & Lois KailDeborah & Steve KaplanGerald & Rosette KochJonathon LawlisMarston & Anne LeighPaul & Yen Yee LocklinChristopher & Barbara McLainMark McLaren & Nancy

NorlandIvy MorrisonJoyce MunsonErin O’BrienStephen & Susan OhanianTom & Nancy PattenJames & Patricia Pray

Membership Matters

Pitcher Sage (Scott Hein)

Larkspur (Scott Hein)

Robert & Dolores PriceJim RichardsDon & Sharon RitcheyRichard & Judy RogersAl & Mary Anne SanbornDave & Helen SargentCarlo & Margareta SequinKathy Simons & Jeff GustafikKevin & Rhonda SlaterDana SlausonJesse SmithKay SmithDean & Samantha StokerSandor & Faye StrausTodd & Barbara TillinghastTom & Jill ToffoliJohn WaggonerTom M. WagnerMilton WatchersStu & Kim WeinsteinCharles WiscavageLeslie WyattMilo Zarakov & Deborah Long

Diablo Donor($100 or more)Alamo Women's ClubButera Video ProductionsGibson, Dunn & Crutcher

LLPIBM Matching Grants

ProgramKnapsack ToursMal Warwick & AssociatesMicrosoft Matching Gifts

ProgramOrinda Garden ClubOrinda Hiking ClubPacific Coast Trail RunsPatricia Robertson InteriorsRK Taylor & AssociatesThe Wednesday WalkersTriple Crown RealtyWellPoint Associate Giving

CampaignWild Bird Center

Who Is A Member of Save Mount Diablo?Historically, only those donors who specifically earmarked their donation for “membership” were actually count-ed as SMD members. The problem was that this definition failed to recognize that there are many differentfinancial contributions that individuals make in supporting Save Mount Diablo.

Therefore, beginning with this issue of Diablo Watch, we will be counting an individual’s combined contribu-tions (totalling $35 or more) received in the previous 365 days to determine that individual’s “membershiplevel.” Donations that will count toward membership include: appeals, general donations, memorial and hono-rarial gifts, Heritage Tree donations, land acquisition donations, United Way donor option contributions, eventsponsorships, as well as all other purely charitable donations. (All of these contributions will continue to be 100% tax deductible as allowedby law). Previously these contributions, while equally appreciated, were not counted toward an individual’s membership level. Instead, theyclassified the individual as an SMD supporter. This new method of defining membership levels will remove confusion that has arisen in thepast and will allow us to more appropriately acknowledge the generous support we receive from our many donors.

The members listed in the following sections reflect all of our membership qualifying donors since January 1, 2004. We thank and appreciateeach and every one of them.

Mic

hael

Sew

ell

13

14

Sherrill CookMarilyn CooperNancy CossittJanice CostellaLeonard & Virginia CosterCharles & George Anne CoyleKenneth CribleyChristopher & Dee Dee CrossDavid L. CumminsSharon CumminsBradley & Carol DavisGraham & Mary DavisHattie DavisRichard DavisJames DayMarilyn DayLeslie De BoerAlma DeBisschopErnest & Florence DicksonConstance DiernisseJack & Ami DitzelRobert DociliLinda DomeierFred & Sue DoneckerBarbara DrewAndrew & Rosemary DuBoisPeter & Judith DuncanThomas & Jane DunphyKen & Lynn DyleskiJohn EdwardsDonald & Jeanie EganCharles EisnerAnthony EmersonKaren EricksonBill & Margaret EspeyJohn & Robbin EudyCarol EvansCharles & Marjorie EvansWilliam & Evelyn FarryLarry FerriKent FickettMarcia FisherkellerJim & Debbie FlemingDaniel & Joan ForneyPaul, Lisa & Kelsey FrancisGreg & Cindy FranciscoMorris FraserSusan FreemanRobert P. & Maria FrickAlex & Deborah FriedmanJack & Maureen FritschiGerald & Irene FritzkeJohn & Rosemarie FrostJoanne FruddenDavid & Bonnie FryCarolyn FulcherLeslie & Virginia GallaugherJames & Joan GalletlyAl & Pat GavelloBingham & Larry GibbsGurpreet GillJohn GinochioGarrett & Cathy GirvanDavid & Diane GoldsmithFrank & Sarah GotchLarry & Cynthia GrabelHarvey & Linda GreenMarjorie GriffinDonald & Melinda GroomDaniel & Linda GuerraMary Ann HalvorsonMary HandelAllan & Margaret HansellMichael & Jo-Ann HansenMona Hansen

Bozena AdamJudy & Andy AdlerStephanie AguiarGlenn AlexNorma AlexanderRoger AlperinH. Ward AlterCatherine AndersonJack AndersonJanice AndersonLloyd & Sheila AndresRobert & Susan AndrewsAlice AnthonyLyn ArscottKenneth & Linda BackDavid BaerSteve BakaleyJames BartlettVirginia BaryHunt & Patti BascomChristina BattPhil BellmanClaude & Carol BenedixLesley BennEdward & Mildred BennettWilliam BernellBruce & Sandra BeyaertDick & Alice BiagiPatty BiascaLewis BielanowskiWendell & Barbara BigelowAnne BlandinMargaret BloisaDan BoatwrightAndrei BoitorAdela & Norman BonnerDon & Jeanne BoydKate BoyleWilliam & Zanya BradfieldButch & Lynn BrearBeverly BridgesDirck & Phyllis BrinckerhoffJennifer BrodieRichard & Alice BrownKatherine & Fred BrunswigDennis ButkowskiPam ButlerKenneth & Janet CaldwellSarah Anne Ginskey & Greg

CaligariJohn & Jane CambusDavid & Janet CarlsonWilliam & Deborah CarrAllison CarterAlice CastellanosReno & Shea CervelliKris ChaseTim CleereCharles ClemChristine & Tom CloughAlan & Kathleen ClutePatricia CoffeyFlorence ColeAnne & Daniel CondonJennifer Cook

John HarrisKatherine HartToni & Bob HassardLes HawkinsJanice HendersonDelbert & Mary-Louise

HendrixDan & Carol HenryJerry & Kathy HicksMark HillRudy & Stephanie HoffmanVirginia HolmesMary Jane HuffMargaret & William HughesCarolyn HuntNoel & Laura HurdCarl & Patricia IrvingToris JaegerMartin & Mary JansenDonald & Ann JonesIrene JonesSteven & Anne JonesGail JordanTom & Mary Anne JordeRamesh & Sushila KansaraJerry & Susan KaplanJordana & Barry KatcherEdward & Marjorie KellerDenis Kenneally & Kim LippiJohn & Marian KingSelma KingElizabeth King-SloanStephanie KirschbaumPatricia KlahnDelma KlineDoug Knauer & Jennifer

BabineauxGeorge KohutEmma KolokousisLester & Bonnie KramesDavid KwinterMelba LahtiLynn & Gordon LaksoRobert & Diane LangPhilip LathrapCharles & Lynn LeavittRay LehmkuhlCecil & Mary Louise LeithLillian LemonRonald & Rose LernbergTracy & Paul LindowJames LingelDavid LingrenR Bruce & Joan LintonLinda LocklinDavid LoebJanet & N.C. LuhmannPaul & Julie LundstedtJames & Shirley LynchJon MaienscheinJane MailanderBill & Georgia MarshallBunny MartinBob & Joan MarxJames MatherCarolyn MatthewsSteve & Marcia MatthiesenRobert McClainJim & Joan McCrackenL C McCuneJames & Phyllis McDonaldMary Ann McGillPatrick & Donnalee McHenryKate McKillopHelen McLaren

Diane MeadeEd MendelsohnJohn & Jill MercurioSusan MingerMichael MohrAnn MoldenschardtTom & Maria MonicaBarbara MonslerJay & Jasmin MumfordMaynard MungerRobert MyersThomas & Phyllis NagleTheron & Elizabeth NelsonRolf & Elise NeuweilerSusan NewcombDavid & Margaret NicholasThomas NootbaarAndrew NoymerGenevieve NygaardMichael OglesCharles & Anne OlsenJohn & Constance OrmondRonald & Prentice OsbornVerna OsbornStephanie & Alan OswaldChristopher & Margaret PantonJamie & Charlotte PantonMildred PartanskyJag & Judy PatelJoan PattersonAnita & Oliver PearsonLouise PereiraDale PerkinsWarren & Irene PetersRobert & Susan PhillipsBeatrice PixaTom PotworowskiKathryn PowellJeff & Joyce RadiganHarold & Margarette RayConstance RegaliaJean ReynoldsSusan ReynoldsPeter & Ann RichardsClara RichertBrooks RogersWalter & Mary RogersLeslie RosenfeldTod Rubin & Catherine CoreyAlfred & Mary RussellPatricia SagenkahnSaint Mary’s CollegeLinda SanfordSheryl SankeyPeter & Maureen SanseveroSubir & Mary SanyalMartin SargentDorothy SattlerEarl & Kathy SawyerFrederic SawyerJean SaylorRoberta SchaneMarvin & Carolyn SchickAnthony SchillingLeo & Maryann SchindlerEleonora & Christopher SchliesAlex Schmid & Tina HoganWalt & B.R. SchmidtGary & Diane SchneidermanMandy SchubarthJeff & Jacqueline SchubertAndrew SesslerRich & Ann SextonDonald & Lorraine SharmanWilliam Sharp

Charles & Jeanne ShawStacey ShewryJoanie ShicoffScott & Sharon ShumwaySharon SingerElizabeth SlateBob SlykerAlan & Mary Louise SmithDiane SmithKathryn SmithMatt & Mary Maddux SmithMorgan & Sarah SmithRon & Judy SmithWinifred SoremJohn & Elaine SpieckerJohn & Marjorie SproulRichard & Mary SproulJames & Barbara StevensNancy StorchMark StottJeffrey & Eileen StrausPaul & Bea StunzJo & Jack SudallDan SuzioRose Marie TantilloKate & Will TaylorPatricia ThomasPatricia ThunenMichael & Connie TomcikThomas & Lynn TrowbridgeJacob Van AkkerenR.F & M.K Van CantfortJohn & Linda VanHeertumNestor VaschettoLee & Jacqueline VoltaDavid & Laura WaalMichael & Joyce WahligElizabeth WaidtlowSally WalkerBarbara WaltersJohn WaterburyDouglas & Ruth WatermanDick & Margo WatsonSusan WatsonDavid & Elaine WegenkaDave & Cindy WeinerElspeth WellsVincent & Rosemary WeltzTom & Carolyn WesthoffRobert & Karen Suzanne WidmarPeter & Amelia WilsonAlice Bernice WoodheadCraig & Barbara Woolmington-

SmithAmy & Tom WorthJames & Sieglinde WylesDonald & Carolyn ZerbyGeorge & Sarah ZimmermanKurt ZimmermanFrances ZurilgenCrystal Zwiebach-Eng

Trail Blazer($50 or more) 307 donors have mademembership contribu-tions in this category

Friends($35 or more)219 donors have mademembership contribu-tions in this category

Valley Oak (Scott Hein)

Membership Matters (Continued from pg 13)

15

In Memory ofAnne Brinckerhoff

Kathryn PowellEllen Burleigh

Kathleen O’BrienAnne Campbell

Robert Shively & CarolReillyAna FienPeter VillaBetty PaulLarry & Delane Sherman

Betty & Mitch CampbellJacqueline & Harley Buettner

Paul & Elizabeth BaxterCarol Baxter

Michael DiBenedettoMarcia Goodman-Lavey

Steve HarrisShari Judkins

Patricia A. KozyJenniffer Kozy

Jennie PhillipsSusie Hovey

Ed & Carolyn WoodsRobert & Vikki Kristic

My Fellow ArtistsJamie & Charlotte Panton

AnonymousJohnson & Louise ClarkCharitable FoundationREI OutdoorsB T Rocca Jr FoundationSan Francisco Foundation

Bank of AmericaMatching Gifts Program

Clorox Gift CampaignDel Monte FoodsMal Warwick &

Associates, Inc.Microsoft Matching Gifts

ProgramVivendi Universal

All contributionswere made from

July 31, 2004through

December 31, 2004

In-Kind Gifts

Heritage Trees

Concord Feed & PetSupply

Bales of hay forerosion control

Scott MooreTV/VCR combo

In Memory of Bill CollinsRuth Collins & Family

In Honor of Leonard andMargaret MahlerThe Mahler Family

In Honor of

huge trafficinducingdelelop-ment.Please con-tact thesecities andurge themto “HoldThe Line”at its pres-

ent location, as suggested in “Plan C” -proposed by SMD and other environ-mental and business groups.

Concord City Council, 1950 ParksideDr., Concord, CA 94519, Fax 925 671-3375, citycouncil@ci.concord.ca.usAntioch City Council, P.O. Box 5007,Antioch, CA 94531, Fax 925 779-7034www.ci.antioch.ca.us/_private/citycoun-cil.htmPittsburg City Council, 65 Civic Ave.,Pittsburg, CA 94565, Fax 925 252-4851, aevenson@ci.pittsburg.ca.usBrentwood City Council 708 ThirdStreet, Brentwood, CA 94513, Fax 925516-5441, councilmembers@ci.brent-wood.ca.usClayton City Council, 6000 HeritageTrail, Clayton, CA 94517, Fax 925 672-4917www.ci.clayton.ca.us/clayton_con-tact-us.php

Concord Naval Weapons StationConcord has been the spoiler in discussionsover a County Urban Limit Line—in partbecause it’s interested in massive developmentat the 13,000 acre Concord Naval WeaponsStation. It’s amending its General Plan to allowfor as many as 33,000 new residents. Ask thecity council to “Hold The Line” on the currentUrban Limit Line, and when they update theirGeneral Plan to: 1) protect the Naval Weapons Station east of

Mt. Diablo creek, 2) protect Mt. Diablo creek, and 3) protect sensitive cultural areas.

Concord City Council (Laura M. Hoffmeister,Mayor; Susan Bonilla, Vice Mayor; Helen M.Allen, Mark Peterson, Bill Shinn,Councilmembers): City of Concord, 1950Parkside Dr., Concord, CA 94519, Fax: (925)671-3375, citycouncil@ci.concord.ca.us

Please send copies to our congressional repre-sentatives:Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher1034 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515,(202) 225-1880, FAX (202) 225-5914;http://www.house.gov/tauscher/IMA/get_address.htm ,

Congressman George Miller2205 Rayburn House Office Building,Washington, DC 20515, (202) 225-2095George.Miller@mail.house.gov

Endangered Species ActAfter 30 years of serving as one of our coun-try’s last defenses against the destruction ofour natural world, the Endangered SpeciesAct is under attack from powerful corporateinterests and their allies in Congress.

Opponents of endangered species haveannounced their intent to devastate the ESA,which protects our wolves, bald eagles, seaotters, kit fox, and so many more.

Congressman Richard Pombo, as chairman ofthe House Resources Committee, has theauthority to maintain or weaken the ESA buthas been attempting to make it unenforceableand meaningless. For this reason we are ask-ing our supporters to support a campaigncoordinated by Defenders of Wildlife. Ifyou’re interested in getting involved, pleasesend your name, address, telephone numberand e-mail address to:saerom@greencorps.org or contact ClaudiaRiley at: criley@defenders.org

Let our representatives know that you supporta strong Endangered Species Act:Congressman Richard Pombo, RayburnHouse Office Building, Washington, D.C.20515, 202-225-1947, FAX (202) 226-0861;www.house.gov/pombo/contact/comments-form.htmCongresswoman Ellen Tauscher &Congressman George Miller (See contactinformation above)

Foundat ions

CorporateMatch

Michelle & Jack CampbellMary Christensen

Leslie & Gayle ServinDiane L. Clapp

Viriginia HeiderickNorman Clegg

Leslie & Gayle ServinJohn Curletto

Bill & BarbaraSickenberger

Margaret & Penn DeRocheChristopher & Dee DeeCross

Edward A DurellJacklyn & GeorgeMacKenzie

Sydney EngelbergCharles Gresham

Mrs. EvansRobert & Mary Redmayne

Toni FauverDonald & LorraineSharmanSusan Watson

Anna FerriLarry Ferri

Ray GrandleinDottie Dorsett

Bob HaginJoyce Kelly

Jean HauserBarbara Hauser

Mary Dubow Howard

Philip & Henrietta DubowD. B. Kenney

Janice AndersonElizabeth Lathrap

Philip & Betty LathrapVincent P. Lawton

Kathleen LawtonRobert Loeliger

Cynthia & W.R. HardiePeggy Mahler

Cecelia & Joseph AnthonyPatricia BentleyMilton & Barbara WalkupLes HawkinsJohn & Dorothy WellsRuth DixonElaine AndersonNancy Cossitt

Helen HoneggerMattson Lloyd & SheilaAndres

Lee McGillBeth SnortumHarvey & Phyllis Ceaser

Orville MorganMary Ann McGill

Mary Beth Marshall & MartyMothornDon & Gladys Laston

Betty PlewaKip & Sally Edwards

John RaventosPatricia & Gerald Donegan

Ed SandersonJeanne Thomas

Bruce B. SmithKay Smith

Venice SmithJacklyn & Geo.MacKenzie

RC VendettaJames & Kat Walden

Lucia VenosDavid & Elizabeth Birka-White

Bob WalkerSara J Walker

Triple Threat !!! (cont. from Pg 1)

Burrowing owl (Scott Hein)

s a v e M O U N T D I A B L O

1196 Boulevard Way, Suite 10Walnut Creek, CA 94595-1167

Address Service Requested

Non-Profit

Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Concord, CA

Permit No. 525

16Save Mount Diablo's Mission . . To preserve Mount Diablo's peaks and surroundingfoothills through land acquisition and preservationstrategies to: protect the mountain's natural beauty,integrity, and biological diversity; enhance ourarea's quality of life; and provide recreationalopportunities consistent with protection of naturalresources.

In support of our mission, we:· Protect open space through purchases, gifts and

cooperative efforts with public and private entities· Educate the public regarding threats to the moun-

tain's flora, fauna and rugged beauty, as well as

the history and heritage of the mountain and itssurrounding foothills

· Work with landowners to preserve their prop-erty and to ensure that they receive fair valuein any transaction aimed at preserving openspace

· Work in partnership with Mt. Diablo StatePark, East Bay Regional Park District, andother public and private entities to increaseand manage open space and to identify mitiga-tion opportunities

· Participate in the land use planning process forprojects that could impact Mount Diablo andits surrounding foothills

· Aid in the restoration of habitat and the protec-tion of rare species

· Offer technical advice to community andneighborhood groups regarding preservation ofopen space

· Raise funds and sponsor events to build publicawareness and to carry out our programs

· Temporarily own and responsibly managelands prior to their transfer to a public agencyfor permanent preservation.

· Encourage recreation and public enjoyment ofMount Diablo's parklands consistent with theprotection of their natural resources

Four Days Diablo: April 27 - 30, 2005

The Heritage Tree Program was establishedin 1994 after SMD acquired the 333-acreChaparral Spring as the first link in the Mt.Diablo to Black Diamond Mines Corridor.

Tree adoptions range from $250 to $1,000and groves range from $2,500 to $20,000.The process of choosing a tree or grove isvery personal. Some choose a tree wheretheir family will be able to gather and pic-nic. Other supporters have chosen grovesthat remind them of a loved one's favoriteview or favorite type of habitat.

The journey to find the perfect tree or groveis just as enjoyable as the moment when itis found. The tree or grove becomes a liv-ing memory of loved ones or a joyous trib-ute to honor friends or family.

Those who adopt a tree or grove can visiton scheduled visitior days, or by personalappointment. If you are interested in a treeor grove, call the SMD office at 925-947-3535

An elegant experienceEach April Save Mount Diablo leads itsFour Days Diablo backpack trip on the 30-mile Diablo Trail. The four day-three nightadventure takes participants across sixparks from Shell Ridge Open Space inWalnut Creek to Round Valley RegionalPreserve in Brentwood.

The route is on permanently protected openspace and crosses just two narrow roadsduring the four days.

Participants carry just a daypack, enjoybeautiful and lush landscapes and thou-sands of wildflowers, and stroll into campto gourmet meals prepared by area chefs.Experts are along to identify flora andfauna, and you will learn about the naturaland cultural history of the mountain.

As of mid-February registration is alreadyat 12. Space is limited to 20 participants at$750 per person. Don’t miss out - call 925947-3535 to reserve your spot.

Adopt a Heritage Treeat Chaparral Spring

Participants carry day packs with waterand catered box lunchs (provided bySunrise Cafe). Sleeping bags, tents andother food are transported from site tosite by volunteers. As participants arrivein camp at the end of the day, they aregreeted with refreshing drinks and receiveassistance in setting up tents and inflatingair mattresses. Each dinner is a cateredfeast. Included in the preperation of this year’sdinners will be chefs from:

Prima Ristoraante Sunrise Bistro1522 N. Main St. 1559 Botelho Dr.

Walnut Creek Walnut CreekPeter Chastain Cindy Gershen

Owner/Chef Owner