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After being one of Save Mount Diablo’s priorities for 50 years, the Krane Pond property will be protected!

We managed to secure an option agreement for the 6.69-acre Krane Pond property in late 2022.

Part of Mount Diablo’s “Missing Mile” and directly bordering Mount Diablo State Park, Krane Pond is a hugely significant location for local wildlife and could potentially provide habitat for endangered species like California red-legged frogs.

Now, Save Mount Diablo needs to raise a total of $500,000 by October 2023 to complete the purchase of the Krane Pond property.

Thankfully, we’re making progress. This month, we received a generous contribution towards the permanent protection of the Krane Pond property from Resources Legacy Fund.

Thank You to the Resources Legacy Fund

The Resources Legacy Fund, a leader in conservation, has awarded Save Mount Diablo a $30,000 grant to be used for preacquisition costs for our Krane Pond property acquisition.

Preacquisition includes important costs such as title work, environmental assessments, survey work, and so on.

“We’re incredibly honored and grateful to receive a grant for our Krane Pond property acquisition project from the Resources Legacy Fund as they are a recognized leader in land conservation who understand important conservation opportunities, said Ted Clement, Save Mount Diablo Executive Director.

“Thankfully, their grant gives us an important endorsement and momentum to help us raise the remaining funds to permanently protect this land contiguous with Mount Diablo State Park and within the strategic Missing Mile area on the slopes of Mount Diablo,” Ted said.

Krane Pond: A Jewel on Mount Diablo’s North Peak

The Krane Pond property includes one of the largest bodies of water on Mount Diablo’s northern side. Protecting this land and its pond could help protect hundreds of species that rely on it, particularly during the warmer months when many creeks and ponds dry out.

Bordering the property is a scenic ridge, overlooking the state park on one side and a housing development on the other, indicating what could take place if the property isn’t protected. In the past, there nearly was a house built directly next to the pond.

Development has carved its way into Diablo’s foothills and Mount Diablo itself over the decades, stopping at the border of this property. Now, if we can raise the necessary $500,000, this property will be permanently protected.

Mount Diablo’s “Missing Mile”

Over the decades, Save Mount Diablo has been working to permanently protect Mount Diablo’s “Missing Mile.”  The Missing Mile is about a square mile made up of many privately owned open space acres on the slopes of Mount Diablo’s North Peak.

In addition to the Krane Pond property, Save Mount Diablo has worked to conserve several other properties in the Missing Mile: almost 90 acres of North Peak Ranch; just under 154 acres of Concord Mt. Diablo Trail Ride Association land; and more than 17 acres of Young Canyon.

Within a large portion of this area, 92 percent of the species found are native to California, according to a botanical survey completed by Heath Bartosh and George Phillips.

Thanks to the unusual serpentine soil of this region, it hosts a jaw-dropping variety of rare flora, brightening the mountainside every spring.

Protecting the Krane Pond property means that the “Missing Mile” as a whole is one step closer to being largely protected.

The Importance of Habitat Connectivity

Throughout Save Mount Diablo’s history, the preservation of habitat connectivity has been one of our main priorities. We’ve worked to protect habitat corridors like Marsh Creek and the Diablo Range itself.

Animals need connected habitats and wildlife corridors to access food, water, and shelter, and to preserve genetic diversity.

Guaranteeing that the Krane Pond property is never separated from Mount Diablo by development will help ensure that it is safely accessible for the numerous animals that inhabit Mount Diablo’s eastern slopes.

Top photo by Seth Adams