w a t C Save Mount Diablo
Protecting the Mountain Since 1971
Spring 2001. No. 29
Wright Canyon & Curry Creek
Please Write the Governor!
Talking To The Stars, Saying Goodnight To Loved Ones - $640,000 Deal Signed
Is The State Forgetting Mt. Diablo?
In a recent appeal, SMD mentioned 'No-Name Canyon' because the deal wasn't complete. In December a year ago, Dorothy Wright called Save Mount Diablo. She wanted to sell her property, near the mouth of Curry Canyon, to add to Mt. Diablo State Park. Her husband Martin had died several months earlier and her kids did not want to live on the property. Her health was not good but she wanted to continue living at home. We can now announce that on January 29th, Save Mount Diablo signed an option agreement with Dorothy - $640,000 for the seventy-six acre Wright Canyon. The agreement calls for an immediate payment of $30,000 and another $50,000 in six months. The terms are favorable and in exchange, if SMD successfully acquires the property, a life estate agreement will allow Dorothy to live out her life on the property. The Wright and Olofson families will be given continual access to 'the Gathering Place', a family monument high up between Wright and Curry canyons. We will need your help to raise the funds.
Dorothy Wright Normally we would start by telling you about this wonderful place. Wright and Curry Canyons can't be separated from the people who
Continued on Page 6
Last year California voters approved a $2.1 billion resources bond, including hundreds of millions for state parks. Save Mount Diablo pursued funding and received several small appropriations, but many requests were cut by Governor Davis. He stated his intent to allow agencies time to set their own priorities. Despite this intent, he approved large appropriations for projects, especially in Southern California cities. By comparison, the 1977 State Park bond, only a third as large, included $4 million specifically for acquisition on Mt. Diablo. In Governor Davis' recently released budget there is not a single appropriation for Mt. Diablo, one of California's oldest and most heavily used state parks. There are no new funds identified for acquisition at Mt. Diablo. There is not a balance between Northern and Southern California. This despite the fact that the Bay Area economy is leading the State's economic growth. There are thousands of acres of threatened private land on the slopes of Mt. Diablo. Please write Governor Davis and ask for acquisition funding specifically for Mt. Diablo State Park. Send copies of your letter to State Parks Director Rusty Areias and to our State legislators. • Gov. Gray Davis; Constituent Affairs, State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814, FAX: 916 445-4633 • Rusty Areias, Director, Dept. of Parks & Recreation, P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001 • Senator Tom Torlakson, State Capitol, Room 2068, Sacramento, CA 95814 • Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla-916 319-2011-Room 6011, State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814 • Assemblywoman Lynne Leach-916 319-2015- State Capitol, Room 4015, Sacramento, CA 95814
Visit the Save Mount Diablo Web Site at < savemountdiablo.org >
Dorothy Wright receives an 80th birthday present from Ron Brown and Seth Adams of the SMD Staff- a panoramic photo of her property.
1
To receive email updates about land use issues, events, or purchases, call our office at 925-947-3535 to give us your email address, or send us an email at
<savemountdiablo@aol.com>