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The Balcerzak inholding lies below Save Mount Diablo’s newly opened Knobcone Point Trail connection in upper Curry Canyon, nestled on the slopes of a rugged side canyon.

When we acquired this piece of land, we gained a special opportunity to restore it by removing tons of debris that have been negatively affecting the state park land surrounding it.

The Balcerzak inholding is one of the park’s last inholdings—land entirely encircled by Mount Diablo State Park.

Inholdings like this provide special opportunities and challenges—with stunning views, spectacular nature, and isolation come access challenges, fires, and floods.

When the rain comes, accessing the property can become interesting because of the nuances of clay soils found in the area.

Despite its rugged and remote nature, this property is far from undisturbed. By the time Save Mount Diablo acquired the Balcerzak inholding in August of 2023, it had been heavily used for ranching for 40 years.

Now comes the task of cleaning up this remote portion of Mount Diablo.

Cleaning Up a Remote Piece of the Mountain

Since we acquired the Balcerzak inholding, our staff and volunteers have been hard at work.

So far, we’ve removed over 20,000 pounds of scrap metal from this property, filling metal recycling containers many times over!

According to our Land Programs Director Sean Burke, what we’ve done so far “is barely scratching the surface” of the work needed to clean up this property.

An estimated tens of thousands of pounds (or more) of ranch and construction debris are still on the property along with several barns and outbuildings, many of which are in disrepair.

Cleaning up the Balcerzak inholding is a big task made more challenging by its remote location, but with a lot of hard work, we will clean up and heal this piece of the mountain.

We’d like to extend a big thank you to CASS Inc. for providing us with their recycling bins at no cost. They’ve been a great partner, helping us effectively and cost-efficiently clean up our properties.

Cleanup has also been significantly aided by our new tractor, which was funded by the Hedco Foundation. We’ve been using it to move large pieces of metal that would have otherwise taken a lot of time and people to move.

Thank You to Our Volunteers!

Twenty-two volunteers, some from the Trail Dogs, accumulated 141 work hours over five workdays in 2023. In 2024, we’ll continue to clean up this property.

The Trail Dogs and trash removal project crew have been removing the perimeter barbed wire fencing that surrounds the property, allowing wildlife to once again roam freely through this portion of Mount Diablo.

This work will significantly help the area, removing major obstructions that have impacted Diablo’s wildlife for decades.

We need a lot of help to fully clean up the Balcerzak property. Will you join our next volunteer workday? If you are interested, please email Sean Burke.