w a t c h
D I A B L O Save Mount Diablo
Protecting the Mountain Since 1971
Winter/Spring 2003 No. 34
Joseph Galvin Ranch Acquired “Would you like to buy our property?” In June the Galvin family approached Save Mount Diablo about their 62 acre property, which their family has owned since around 1908. The family has lived at the base of Mt. Diablo for more than a hundred years. Their father Joseph Galvin recently died and three children inherited two properties. One of them, in Morgan Territory, had a large loan coming due. The family was torn between their financial need and their father's wish that the property be preserved.
too important and the family's financial needs critical. We normally leverage purchases over time to allow for fundraising, but the Galvins agreed to a cash offer of $385,000. We entered escrow the next week and closed escrow on Jan. 24th. Most of this article was written three weeks after the Galvins contacted us in fear of
For less than the cost of a house we can protect a strategic and spectacular 62-acre property, as beautiful as it is biologically important. We can also help a ranching family that has lived here for generations."
White Bridges on Marsh Creek When you drive south from Marsh Creek road on Morgan Territory road, about six miles in, the road narrows into a densely wooded and narrow stream canyon. Before long, Marsh Creek begins crossing one-lane white bridges and the canyon opens to the first in a series of small meadows along the creek's flood plain. It's not unusual in one of the first clearings to see a herd of horses. They graze on the Joseph Galvin Ranch.
While the Joseph Galvin Ranch is spectacular, we had to pass on the offer, even though it would probably mean another expensive house like the one right next door to Galvin. Save Mount Diablo is land rich and cash poor-at the time we owned As frequently hapthree properties and pens with Save on Jan. 7th we comMount Diablo's pleted our purchase of acquisitions on the Save Mount Diablo Board, staff, and several guests preview the Joseph Galvin Ranch. (Scott Hein) a fourth, the Morgan mountain's east side, losing their property to the bank. We have "Red Corral" property. Our cash reserves we are indebted to Anne Homan for her identified $95,000 in endangered species are low until one or more of our properties historical research and her book, “The mitigation funding and are "dialing for dolcan be transferred to a public agency (see Morning Side Of Mount Diablo: an illuslars" to a variety of donors and funding 427 acre Silva Ranch article on page 5). trated account of the San Francisco Bay sources. Unless we can find $290,000 to Area's historic Morgan Territory Road”, bridge our funding gap, we will have to utiTwo weeks before Christmas, the Galvins published in 2001, that we have liberally lize operational reserves. contacted us again. A buyer's offer had quoted and paraphrased below. fallen through and their loan would soon be According to Ron Brown, SMD's foreclosed. Board members toured the The Joseph Galvin Ranch includes a heaviExecutive Director, "This unusual opportuproperty that weekend and then held an ly wooded canyon draining west between nity is at the heart of why Save Mount emergency Board meeting several days two ridgelines to a long stretch of Marsh Diablo's work is important. No public later. Although making an offer on the Creek below, just south of the point where agency can move as quickly as we can. Galvin Ranch would cut into our operating reserves, we decided that its resources were Galvin, continued on page 10
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