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A Danville couple is offering to match up to $100,000 in donations to Save Mount Diablo for its efforts to acquire and preserve the Krane Pond property that has long been at the top of the nonprofit’s list of “Missing Mile” properties that are priorities for conservation.
Save Mount Diablo announced the matching challenge from philanthropists Dave and Dana Dornsife on Aug. 3, with just months to go before the deadline for the organization to raise the $500,000 by Oct. 25 for the purchase of the property.
“On behalf of Save Mount Diablo and all who cherish Mount Diablo’s natural areas and flora and fauna, I extend heartfelt thanks to Dave and Dana Dornsife for their $100,000 matching challenge to help us protect the Krane Pond property before time runs out,” SMD Executive Director Ted Clement said in a press release. “Dave and Dana have been important Save Mount Diablo supporters for many years, and we are grateful for their generosity, leadership and long-term vision.
So far, organizers are more than halfway to their goal, at $279,000 as of the Aug. 3 announcement.
The 6.69-acre Krane Pond property has been high on the organization’s list of priorities for acquisition and conservation since its early days, going back as far as 1971. It was subsequently purchased by Walter and Roseann Krane in 1978, with the couple initially planning to build a house for their family.
However, the environmental significance of the property, which was home to a lake that has grown more shallow over the years and become a pond, was evident to the Kranes and led to a change of plans.
“Instead of building a house, we decided to preserve the land,” Roseann Krane said in the statement on Aug. 3.
“Walt loved the outdoors and our family camped and fished all over California,” she added. “Walt adored our boys and was an Assistant Scoutmaster for 11 years. He bought 200 bass and stocked the lake and helped the kids build a dock. We spent time with Indian Guides, Boy Scouts, soccer, and many friends picnicking, swimming, boating, fishing and horseback riding at the site. Wildlife we observed visiting the property included many deer, bucks, songbirds, ducks, ground squirrels, rattlesnakes and a great blue heron.”
Roseann Krane said that she and her late husband were longtime Save Mount Diablo supporters, with Walter Krane donating the oil paintings that he’d produced during an art career that started upon his retirement in 2000 for fundraising.
“Last May 2021, Walt passed away from leukemia,” Roseann Krane said. “I thought that the best way to honor Walt’s memory and love of the outdoors was having our open space preserved by Save Mount Diablo, and eventually be part of the state park system.”
Although it’s shrunk over the years, the pond on the property remains one of the largest on the mountain’s north side, which is critical for wildlife and the overall ecosystem of the mountain.
The Oct. 25 deadline to raise the $500,000 necessary to acquire the land comes one year after Save Mount Diablo first secured an option agreement that gave the nonprofit 12 months to raise the full funds.
