Imagine all Save Mount Diablo’s acquisition projects over the past 54 years. Thousands of acres have been preserved directly, or with our agency partners.
The surprise is that we’ve protected even more land than that through our land use advocacy efforts, starting with the Blackhawk Ranch project in 1971 and 1972.
At Blackhawk, ultimately five-sixths of the 10-square-mile ranch were protected, and two-thirds added to Mount Diablo State Park.
Even just recently, 69 percent of the land is being protected at the Concord Naval Weapons Station and 93 percent is being protected at Danville’s Magee Preserve project, often at no cost to the public.
I was hired to help expand Save Mount Diablo’s advocacy efforts down the entire 12-county, 200-mile Diablo Range.
I Grew Up Locally
If you have ever hiked through Mount Diablo’s meadows on a spring afternoon or listened to its dry grasses sway on a summer evening, you have gotten a small glimpse of the wonders of the mountain.
Over the years, each glimpse expands into a magnificent panorama of beauty and life. You begin to unravel its secrets: knowing which ridges the sunset will reflect on, what trails house walls of ferns, or where water flows in a meditative procession.
It’s hard not to fall in love with the place, and I was hooked from the moment I took my first hike.
I grew up in Concord, never farther than 10 minutes from a Mount Diablo trailhead. I would spend most of my free time hiking, camping, or in awe of the mountain. Traveling or moving never shook the hold it had on me—Mount Diablo was home.
Mount Diablo in springtime, seen from Morgan Territory. Photo: Scott Hein
I went to college at UC Davis, only an hour north of the East Bay. On most days, you could walk onto the levees near the edge of town and see Mount Diablo in the distance.
Environmental science seemed like the natural choice of study for me at Davis. The major paired well with my love for the outdoors. Similarly, jobs and internships during college gifted me with time outside.
A stint in an agricultural startup introduced me to soil science and a summer of forestry research revealed a passion for fire ecology, but the job I favored most was the seasonal one I took in Glacier National Park.
As an Interpretive Ranger, I had the privilege of teaching thousands of visitors about the park, including how climate change is affecting the park and its namesake glaciers.
It was a gorgeous experience of pure alpine bliss, but Mount Diablo was always in the back of my head.
Once I returned home to Concord, I went straight towards the Regency Gate in Clayton.
Ranger hat on, boots laced up, trying to impress my dad. Photo: Pete dePaschalis
Looking for Threats and Opportunities up and Down the Diablo Range
When you spend enough time on the mountain, it doesn’t take long for you to learn about Save Mount Diablo.
Volunteering with the organization gave me the opportunity to spend time with some true Mount Diablo enthusiasts, and when you spend time around true enthusiasts, you learn a thing or two. Or 10.
My understanding of Mount Diablo State Park widened to include its sustaining 200-mile Diablo Range. When a land use position was advertised, I jumped on it.
As the new Land Use Advocate at Save Mount Diablo, looking for threats and opportunities throughout the Diablo Range is my top priority.
This work starts by reviewing dozens of city, county, and agency meeting agendas. The agendas give a glimpse into future discussions that may involve the Diablo Range.
Save Mount Diablo isn’t new to reviewing agendas. Before expanding our scope of interest, we were reviewing agendas relating to Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
In doing so, we’ve stopped poorly planned development projects, helped expand public access to open space, and worked to protect more than 120,000 acres north of Altamont Pass.
My work now expands our review to the full southern extent of the range.
When looking over 65 agendas across 12 counties, the review process serves a dual purpose: staying up-to-date on the latest agenda items and identifying areas of interest within the range.
Map of the 12-county Diablo Range, all of which is under extensive agenda review. Map: Laura Kindsvater, Seth Adams, and Sam Kading
A new trail plan in the Diablo Range may need additional support that we can help provide. One agenda proposal to cut down trees in a lesser-known city could reveal a natural boundary to protect.
Certain counties may be looking to expand urban sprawl into critical habitat that Save Mount Diablo is yet to know about.
Meanwhile, as Save Mount Diablo shifts its attention to the entire Diablo Range, new collaboration opportunities arise.
Ill-advised dam proposals are fought by local grassroot groups with our assistance. Threatened species now have a voice from multiple organizations up and down the range.
And local leaders, with our help, are beginning to understand the scope and importance of the Diablo Range itself.
View of the Diablo Range from Quien Sabe Road in San Benito County. Photo: Scott Hein
Working with Save Mount Diablo has presented the opportunity of a lifetime: advocating for my hometown mountain range. I found my love for nature on Mount Diablo, now I’ve found a community surrounding the Diablo Range that shares that same passion.
With the help of Save Mount Diablo and our partners, I look forward to the day when the Diablo Range and all its peaks, valleys, plants, and animals will be permanently protected.
Until then, there is work to be done!
If you hear about a threat to Mount Diablo or the Diablo Range, I can be reached at 925-440-0837 or by email at sdepaschalis@savemountdiablo.org.
About the Author
Steven dePaschalis joined Save Mount Diablo in 2025. He grew up in the Bay Area and has always had an immense passion for being in nature. In college, he studied environmental science and management and graduated with a BS from UC Davis.
In his time there, he ran cross country and track, worked as a park ranger for the National Park Service in Glacier National Park, and conducted forestry research. After graduating, he interned at Alameda County Water District in their water resources department.
In his free time, Steven loves to read, hike, and go road biking. He is excited to protect land throughout the Diablo Range for everyone to enjoy and find inspiration in.
