Save Mount Diablo
Celebrating 25 Years of Protecting Mount Diablo
Spring 1996, No.18
Save Mount Diablo Celebrates Twenty-Five Years of Success
Sacramento News
EXCERPTED FROM AN ARTICLE BY ART BONWELL
The changes in Sacramento in the last year have been challenging for users and lovers of parks. The good news is that the Governor's state budget, released January 10, apportioned $16.5 million in additional money from the General Fund to State Parks to make up for supplements no longer available. The Governor should be commended for this help to the State Park System.
Editors Note: Art Bonwell co-founded Save Mount Diablo in 1971 with Dr. Mary Bowerman, who wrote the book on Mount Diablo-The Floweri11g Plants and Fems of Mount Diab/a, Cal~fornia ,. He served as president from 1973 to 1977, and recently rejoined the Board of Directors after returning to California. In this issue of Diablo Watch I'll recount the story of SMD' s founding and our accomplishments in SMD' s first decade. If there's a theme, it's that a small group of volunteers can indeed make a great difference. Many of the things that made Contra Costa County special in 1971 are ones with which you're familiar today. We're blessed with a gorgeous landscape. Our hills and ridges are exceptional. Above Art Bonwell & Mary Bowerman, SMD Co-Founders. all, are the peaks of Mount Diab lo. What has changed is the level of development. Extraordinary changes in land use development took place during the 1960' sand helped lead to Save Mount Diab lo' s formation. Public perception at the time was that the State Park included the entire mountain. The truth was the State Park stood alone at the summit and down to Rock City, a solitary 6,788 acres. Except for the drive to the summit, one could not easily get into the Park. None of the low elevation staging areas or trails existed and some of us became increasingly alarmed as subdivisions started creeping up to the mountain's foothills. At meetings of local conservation groups Dr. Bowerman would rise to ask 'What can we do to help save Mount Diablo'. Finally I responded, why don't we start a group to focus on expanding the State Park? Dr. Bowerman provided the inspiration, I helped get things organized, and on December 7, 1971 we held our first meeting. continued on page 8
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The bad news 'is that many bills have been submitted to the Legislature which can put park land in jeopardy. These range from more major cuts in the budgets of regulatory and park agencies to crippling amendments to the California Endangered Species Act and the California Environmental Quality Act. The deliberations are going on with little public input. Now is the opportunity to tell those who represent us of your support of parks and the environment. continued on page 9
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