Sean Burke – Save Mount Diablo
Save Mount Diablo this week closed escrow on the 6.69-acre Krane Pond property on the slopes of Mount Diablo, permanently protecting it from development.
The conservation group said in a statement Wednesday that the property is part of the “missing mile,” a square mile of partly unprotected land on Mount Diablo’s north peak.
The group said the property has been one of its priorities since its founding in 1971, partially because of its large pond, one of the largest on Mount Diablo’s north side, and its position directly adjacent to Mount Diablo State Park.
“Krane Pond is a vital water source for Mount Diablo’s wildlife, one that contains water throughout most summers, unlike many of the creeks and other ponds found on Mount Diablo. The ecological significance of Krane Pond far eclipses its size,” the group said.
Save Mount Diablo secured the option agreement to purchase Krane Pond in the fall of 2022, with a year to raise the necessary $500,000 to complete the purchase.
“A development lies along one of the property’s borders, a very real reminder of how the land could have been graded and paved over had Save Mount Diablo not acquired it,” the group said.
In 1978, Walt and Roseann Krane purchased 6.69 acres of land on the outskirts of Clayton, bordered by Mount Diablo State Park and the meridian on the west side, Mount Diablo Creek on the north side, and property held by ranchers to the east.
The Krane family initially had plans to build a house on the property, but later decided to preserve the land and eventually sold it to Save Mount Diablo.
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Darn. We’re in a housing crisis you know. It could have been a dense residential project… the kind envisioned by Sen. Scott Wiener (Democrat-SF).
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(Sarcasm intended)
Anyone who wanted to develop that parcel could have BOUGHT it with their OWN MONEY. Save Mount Diablo was the winning bidder and can do with the land whatever they please.
Great example of free markets securing a public good with private capital.
This news is fantastic. First, to see the beauty of Krane Pond, which I’ve never seen, and to know it’s been a vital source for Mount Diablo’s wildlife as well, which until now I did not know either.
Kudos to Save Mount Diablo for securing the option agreement to purchase the pond, showing that development is not always progress and keeping the Krane family’s unselfish desire to perserve the land intact.
Save Mount Diablo is one of the few respectable NIBY organizations because it exists solely to PUT THIER MONEY WHERE THIER MOUTH IS.
You want to “save” someone else’s property from development? Fine. BUY IT!
Agreed.
I’ve had the honour (and pleasure) of working with the John Muir Land Trust for the same reasons.
No more property taxes to be collected.
Fished there way back in the early 1980s …. full of fish, every cast! Way to go Save Diablo.
I am a little tired of Save Mount Diablo. They should be named Save Mount Diablo with Barbed Wire and Rusty Signs. They took over the Mangini Ranch property ten years ago and were supposed to open it as a park. Instead it’s still wrapped in No Trespassing signs and locked gates, open to “guided tours” only by appointment. They need to donate the land to parks or open the properties so everyone can use them, not just put up fences and lock them away.
GOOD-HOPEFULLY SAVE IT FROM SEENO, et al.