w a t c h
D I A B L O Save Mount Diablo
Protecting the Mountain Since 1971
Fall 2006 No. 42
Young Canyon Protected !
Mangini Ranch !
Sisters’ Gift Will Forever Preserve Family Ranch
We’re in the Home Stretch
Gilbert Young always said “I won the race I wanted.” Gil was a high school track star in Nebraska in the late 1920’s. He attended the University of Washington and then trained at the Olympic Club in Los Angeles, qualifying to attend the Olympic trials. Yet he gave up a chance at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Save Mount Diablo is close to acquiring the historic 208 acre Mangini Ranch, just off of Ygnacio Valley Road, near the Crystyl Ranch community in Concord. It would almost connect Lime Ridge Open Space and Mt. Diablo State Park. On February 28, 2005 we signed a deal with the Mangini family which gave us two years to complete the purchase.
Only the first two qualifiers got their tickets back east to the trials paid for so Gilbert, who came in third, paid his own way. He had grown up in Hastings, Nebraska, and stopped there on the way east to visit his high school sweetheart Phyllis, a school teacher from Aurora, who happened to be out on a date when he arrived. He decided to give up the Olympics and three days later they got married and then got on a train headed west. Their four kids, Pam, Penny, David and Sarah, were born over the next twelve years.
The total price for the property is $1.46 million. With a $900,000 grant from the Coastal Conservancy, we’re just $100,000 short of completing this critical purchase, with just a few months until our deadline.
So where will the remaining $100,000 for Mangini come from? Hopefully from people like you. On Sunday, October 8th Contra Costa Times columnist Gary Bogue began a campaign to raise the final $100,000. We are trying to Young Canyon was preserved May 24th. View of Clayton & Concord. (Scott Hein) complete the fundraising for In 1956 Gil and Phyl bought a 500 acre farm near Clayton-- “I have this project by Thanksgiving-in time for Save Mount Diablo’s 35th no idea how my dad talked my mother into it,” said Sarah (Young) anniversary, on December 1, 2006. Shaeffer--part of which has since been added to Mt. Diablo State Park. On May 24th Save Mount Diablo preserved 18-acre Young On October 9th, the first donation showed up, a $500 check. As we Canyon, the family’s last parcel on the mountain, half-way up North write this article other checks are arriving at our office. We also Peak. The property had been a high priority for decades because of received two other extraordinary offers. its location and botanical significance.
Your Donation Will Be Doubled or Tripled The acquisition is precedent setting because, for the first time at Mt. Diablo, several landowners have donated their entire interest in a property. On September 2nd SMD recognized Sarah and David Shaeffer, and Pamela Young, as the first winners of Mountain Star Landowner awards.
The Very Slopes of North Peak
The East Bay Regional Park District has money set aside for the California Riding & Hiking Trail, which ends at the Mangini Ranch gates. The District has offered a $50,000 match for public donations. In addition the Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation is vitally interested in expanding Lime Ridge and in connecting that open space to Mt. Diablo State Park. The Foundation has offered another $10,000 as a match for donations by Walnut Creek residents.
“We’re always glad to work on projects on the north side of Diablo,” said Malcolm Sproul, SMD President. “Many of our projects are on the east where most unprotected land is located. Large areas are still unprotected on the very slopes of the major peaks. The preservation of this property helps to fulfill the dream of our founder, botanist Mary Bowerman, Young Canyon (cont. on page 6
In short, if you donate toward Mangini your donation will be matched and doubled, up to $50,000. If you’re a Walnut Creek resident, it will be tripled, up to $10,000. Donations can be sent marked “Mangini” to Save Mount Diablo, 1901 Olympic Blvd., Suite 220, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. Mangini Ranch (cont. on page 9)
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