Mountain Star Awards

Mountain Star Awards recognize individuals and organizations whose contributions have been significant in helping Save Mount Diablo’s land preservation programs. The 2012 Mountain Star Awards are sponsored by Dave and Dana Dornsife. Save Mount Diablo thanks them for their support.

City of Concord, Mountain Star Alliance Award

When the Concord Naval Weapons Station closure was announced, Save Mount Diablo began meeting with a new coalition of environmental, labor, interfaith, affordable housing and neighborhood groups.  The coalition worked hand in hand with the City of Concord to develop a plan that would benefit the entire region. 

As a result, all of the development will be more-dense and centered around mass transit.  25% of the housing will be lower-income affordable.  There will be thousands of new jobs and policies which promise to support unions and hire locally.  70% of the 5,000 acres will be dedicated to parks and open space extending a broad wildlife and recreational corridor from Mt. Diablo and Black Diamond Mines almost to Suisun Bay.  The new parks will protect Mt. Diablo creek and buffer existing neighborhoods from new developments.  A new regional preserve will be twice as big as the Presidio.

Save Mount Diablo’s Land Programs Director, Seth Adams remarked,“None of it could have happened without the leadership of the City of Concord, especially its City Council, City Manager and the Concord Reuse Project Director.  We recognize the City of Concord with a Mountain Star Alliance Award for its incredibly visionary leadership over a six year process to include affordable housing, transit-oriented walkable communities, open space, and quality local jobs in the Reuse Plan for the Concord Naval Weapons Station.”
Like the City of Concord, Dave Sargent, a former volunteer Board Member and Chair of the Stewardship Committee for Save Mount Diablo, worked hard for years to protect the mountain but he did it with his hands.

Dave Sargent, Mountain Star Stewardship Award

Even though Save Mount Diablo does not give awards to its own Board or active committee members, Dave Sargent, the now retired Save Mount Diablo Board Member and past chairman of its Stewardship Committee, has been nominated for years.  Despite his amazing volunteer efforts, each time he has been nominated it was decided that he wouldn’t be considered until “the day after he leaves the Board.”

Dave worked in the life insurance industry most of his life and joined the Save Mount Diablo Board in 1998.  Each Save Mount Diablo property is assigned a volunteer steward who helps care for the land, leads hikes and becomes an ambassador to neighboring landowners. Dave became the first chairman of the Stewardship Committee because he worked very hard. 

“He and the committee have removed many miles of old barbed wire fencing, cleaned up tons of debris, overseen trail building and habitat restoration and pitched in wherever muscle or trade skills were needed.  When he rolls up old barbed wire fences, he thinks about the wildlife, cattle and hikers he's saved from getting snagged and cut up.  He sees his mission as returning Mount Diablo to its natural state” said Adams before giving Sargent the award.

For his leadership, his thousands of hours of hard labor, and for his significant contributions to the mountain’s ongoing ecological health, Save Mount Diablo awarded Dave Sargent a Mountain Star Stewardship Award.

Read the press release.