w a t c h
D I A B L O Save Mount Diablo
Protecting the Mountain Since 1971
Fall 2005 No. 40
In Memory
Mary Leolin Bowerman January 25, 1908 - August 21, 2005 Celebration of Life for SMD Founder - Oct. 9, 2005 Mitchell Canyon, Mt. Diablo State Park, Clayton RSVP 925 947 3535 (see page 3 for more information)
No on Measure P in Pittsburg & Measure K in Antioch on November 8
Mount Diablo Buckwheat Rediscovered Propagation Attempts Underway
Developer Initiatives Threaten Natural Lands from Deer Valley to Willow Pass
The list of extinct species just dropped by one! On May 20th 2005, Seth Adams, Save Mount Diablo’s Director of Land Programs, and Scott Hein, an SMD Director and photographer, joined a small group of biologists and reporters. Their role was to assess and document the Mt Diablo Buckwheat, Eriogonum truncatum, a plant that hadn't been seen for sixty-nine years.
Developers including the Seeno Companies and Castle Company have qualified Urban Limit Line (ULL) initiatives in Pittsburg and Antioch that threaten thousands of acres of Diablo’s foothills. The proposals would snarl Highway 4 in gridlock, and add thousands of houses to East County where thousands more have already been approved but not built. Save Mount Diablo's Board of Directors recommends a NO vote on Measure P in Pittsburg and Measure K in Antioch on Nov. 8.
Resembling a small pink powder puff version of the baby’s breath used in floral arrangements, the wildflower was found on land preserved by SMD. “We are incredibly pleased and excited that the Mount Diablo buckwheat has been rediscovered on a property we had a hand in protecting,” said Malcolm Sproul, President of the Board of Directors of SMD. “The rediscovery is an example of why we are working so hard to preserve similar properties around the (continued on page 10)
Other opponents include State Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla, County Supervisor Federal Glover, Sierra Club, Greenbelt Alliance, California Nurses Association, Council member Michael Kee in Pittsburg and Citizens for a Better Antioch in that city.
Mt Diablo Buckwheat, Eriogonum truncatum (Scott Hein)
Developer initiatives threaten thousands of acres in East County (Scott Hein)
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