DIABLO WATCH Save Mount Diablo
Protecting the Mountain Since 1971
Fire on the Mountain This spring has been one of the best seasons for Mount Diablo State Park. We are back in full operation with campground and day use areas in high demand. The trails have seen thousands of visitors on horse, bike and foot enjoying the views and the fantastic wildflower displays. As I write this the grass is turning shades of golden brown and soon the green of our mountain will be replaced by the golden color of summer and the beginning of yet another summer fire season. Wildfire can be beneficial to the natural systems of the mountain. In some cases plants require fire to complete their natural cycles. Many plants, particularly herbaceous species, only germinate within a few years after a fire. Other seeds remain dormant until the next fire, in some cases as much as twenty to thirty years. As we all know, wildfire can also be quite destructive.
Summer 1991
Save Mount Diablo 20Years and Still Counting!
Over the past six years the California Department of Parks and Recreation has developed and implemented two major programs addressing the fire issues from a wildfire management aspect and a fire ecology aspect. The two programs, the Wildfire Management Plan and the Prescribed Fire Management Program, have goals specific to each plan as well as goals that are shared. The following information will help to explain each program and what we have done and where we are with each one today. The Wildfire Management Plan began in 1985 when it became apparent that the wildfire management issues within Mount Diablo State Park needed to be addressed prior to completion of the Mount Diablo General Plan. To work with concerns that adjacent fire districts and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) had, one of which
On major anniversaries people and organizations look back ontheir achievements. So it is with Save Mount Diablo on this our 20th year. This is a subject that can be simply nostalgic, but I want to recount here the solid achievements Save Mount Diablo has made toward its goals of land preservation over these twenty years. Few people realize that in 1971 Mount Diablo State Park had under 7500 acres. Development around the mountain was sparse and the large number of open lands gave the mountain the appearance of wilderness; remote from the busy urban setting nearby. The reality was different as development inexorably crept toward
- continued on page 4
- continued on page 5
Back Canyon after September 1977 lightning induced fire.
Back Canyon 4 years later, April 1981. 1