w a t c h
D I A B L O Save Mount Diablo
Protecting the Mountain Since 1971
Summer/Fall 2002 No. 33
4,445 Acres Preserved in 2002 N early seven square miles have been preserved this year as additions to Diablo parks!!! The most surprising new projects are in Morgan Territory—the preservation of a square mile east of Morgan Territory Road, and Save Mount Diablo’s option of an historic 20 acre property nearby, to serve as a staging area for Mt. Diablo State Park.
The Morgan Red Corral
In 1989 Save Mount Diablo acquired 631 acres from Willard ‘Bill’ Morgan for $1.4 million—a square of landscape draped corner to corner across Highland Ridge, another corner at Marsh creek and the last across the ridge at Tassajara creek in Riggs Canyon.
At Cowell Ranch nearly 4000 acres will be preserved as a new State Park, surrounding the John Marsh home.
The Morgan Red Corral photo by Scott Hein
There was no place that made sense as a staging area and the property’s April 1989 dedication took place at Diablo’s summit, with searchlights marking the two parks and the new acquisition that connected them.
On July 10th the Save Mount Diablo Board of Directors approved a six month, $25,000 option with Bill and Naomi Morgan for another 20.05 acre parcel, with a total purchase price of $290,000. The option will be matched by a second $25,000 amount in 90 days. SMD has until the end of the year to pay the remaining $240,000.
A significant addition was made to Black Diamond Mines, and a small one at Lime Ridge that includes a new staging area. Still to come is the protection of a visually significant property at the North gate entrance to the State Park.
SMD first toured the property in September 1999 and made an initial offer soon after. Last year a similar property adjacent to the State Park sold for $310,000.
It’s not all good news, though. Mt. Diablo State Park continues to suffer an acquisition drought. Only one parcel has been purchased for addition to the State Park since 1993, the 66 acre Turtle Rock Ranch addition. There have been a number of development dedications that Save Mount Diablo has negotiated.
Funding for the purchase was awarded to Save Mount Diablo on July 19th, part of a penalty paid by the Seeno development company for Endangered Species Act and Streambed Alteration permit violations at its San Marco project in Pittsburg (see “Revenge of the Jumping Frog” article). In addition, Save Mount Diablo
Inside this newsletter you’ll find a special insert. The city of Antioch has designs on nearly eight square miles east of Black Diamond, the largest piece of which is the Sand Creek Specific Plan or FUA#1 (Future Urban Area #1). Meanwhile the County ignored the public in approving the Combined Tassajara/Alamo Creek projects, despite hundreds of suggested improvements in the proposal.
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Seth Adams
The Trust for Public Land’s fundraising success allowed them to exercise their option on Cowell in September. Their project would not have been possible without the land use success of Greenbelt Alliance, the Sierra Club, Save Mount Diablo and others, that culminated in the tightening of the Urban Limit Line two years ago.
We passed that rugged property to the State Park in the spring of 1990. This created the first connection between Mt. Diablo State Park and Morgan Territory Regional Preserve.
SMD‘s Art Bonwell and Bill Morgan
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